Le pouvoir impérial et les cités

Abstract

The Roman Empire was an agglomeration of numerous cities. During Late Antiquity, these cities are more than ever a crucial link in the government of the empire. The curiales carried out all sorts of local management tasks (munera or liturgies) that were essential to Roman power, especially in tax matters. The emperors always presented themselves as protectors of the cities and even founded new ones. The munera were nevertheless a burden for the curiales, who were tempted to shirk their duties and join the imperial administration, the army or the service of God. The fiscal demands of the imperial power also deprived the cities of the free enjoyment of their resources, as the allocation of civic revenues was supervised by the governors over the course of the fourth century. This paper thus aims to analyse the relationship between the imperial government and the cities as a tension between necessary autonomy and increasing control.

Keywords

• Roman Empire
• Late Antiquity
• City
• Curials
• Munera