Actually @PugJesus@lemmy.world what type of commerce taxes /sales taxes did the Roman Empire have ? I might have missed your memes on the topic ;)
Taxes on transported goods were the most common! Portoria, usually around 2.5% of the value - sometimes cargo was inscribed by local officials to verify that the tax was paid on the object passing through!
These inscriptions have provided archaeologists with an exciting amount of information about these imported items. For example, where the olive oil was produced; how much a single amphora weighed and when it arrived in Rome; even details of how much tax was paid. Occasionally, some jars reveal the name of the ancient olive oil producer.
Excellent! 👌 that’s the garum I’m talking about ! And did any Roman emperor got taxes crazy?
Btw if you don’t mind me asking, how are you so knowledgeable in the Roman Empire? Are you a time traveler ?
Excellent! 👌 that’s the garum I’m talking about ! And did any Roman emperor got taxes crazy?
Empire-wide taxes were harder to implement, but there are definite examples of more ‘tax-happy’ Emperors! In the Late Empire (the ‘Dominate’) it got particularly bad, but in the Early Empire (the ‘Principate’, what most people think of when they think ‘The Roman Empire’), most new taxes were implemented locally. The Principate, in general, found it easier to make demands of local governments, and then have those local governments do the necessary legwork to figure out how to get the money.
Two of the most hated taxes were actually implemented by the first Emperor, Augustus. One on slave auctions, and one on inheritances. The Emperor Vespasian though, famously, implemented a tax on urine collection in the city of Rome (as it was used in bleaching and leatherworking), to his son’s disgust!
Much of the time, Roman Emperors in financial trouble would resort to selling off parts of the imperial household, seizing the property of their political enemies, or debasing the currency over raising new taxes, though. Taxes cause unrest, and unrest can be quite deadly for a ruler!
Btw if you don’t mind me asking, how are you so knowledgeable in the Roman Empire? Are you a time traveler ?
I sacrificed basic life skills in exchange for an obsession with minute historical trivia.
I can’t change the oil on a car, but I can tell you all about Ancient Rome!
You rock 🤘
@PugJesus randomly giving high-quality historical references
Your comments make my day better - I’ve no clue where you get all this knowledge from, but thank you! I really appreciate learning something new from you :)
Senate Mission: do not crash the economy
Penalty: Absolutely nothing
I shitted on the Total War diplomacy system for years… Now I see they were striving for realism.
You forgot to put “lack of” in your headline.
Sometimes, when someone displays their intelligence, you’re terrified because it’s revealed that there is absolutely none, not a single goddamn smudge of gray matter there
I know people laughed at the original a lot and I did too, but I’ve since realized it was sort of non-aggression pact
