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117
УДК 94(37)
DOI: 10.30914/2411-3522-2019-5-1-36-45
Private alimentary foundations in Roman Italy (1st-3rd century A. D.)
Tomás Klokner
Danubius College, Janko Jesensky Faculty of Law, Slovakia
The paper is based on epigraphic sources (inscriptions) and is devoted to the research of private alimentary foundations active in Roman Italy in the first three centuries A. D. These were founded on the initiative of wealthy members of the local aristocracy and can be considered an expression of their private generosity (munificentia privata) towards the population. Their function rested on the regular distribution of rations used for the subsistence (alimenta) of Roman children. The financial means for distributing the rations were obtained from the interests from the loans offered to landowners. The aim of the article is to collect, analyse and interpret the Latin inscriptions which offer not only a witness to alimentary rations from private sources, but at the same time, bring also important insights into various aspects of the existence of the particular foundations (the persona of the founder, number and age of supported children, amount and intensity of the rations, etc.).
Keywords: Roman Italy, social history, alimenta, Roman children.
Частные благотворительные фонды в Римской Италии (1-3 век н. э.)
Томас Клокнер
Колледж Данубиус, Юридический факультет им. Янко Есенского, Словакия
Статья основана на эпиграфических источниках (надписях) и посвящена исследованию частных благотворительных фондов, действующих в римской Италии в первые три столетия нашей эры. Они были основаны по инициативе богатых представителей местной аристократии и могут рассматриваться как выражение их личной щедрости (munificentia privata) по отношению к населению. Функция фондов заключалась в регулярном распределении пайков, используемых для пропитания (alimenta) римских детей. Финансовые средства для распределения пайков получались из процентов по кредитам, предоставленным землевладельцам. Целью статьи является сбор, анализ и интерпретация латинских надписей, которые не только свидетельствуют о продовольственных пайках из частных источников, но и в то же время дают важное представление о различных аспектах существования конкретных фондов (личность основателя, количество и возраст поддерживаемых детей, количество и интенсивность пайков и т. д.).
Ключевые слова: Римская Италия, социальная история, пособие, римские дети.
The rich epigraphic material offers a wide range of options of looking into the social situation in the Roman Empire. One part of the Roman social history in the first three centuries A. D. was the alimentary program that was divided into a private (foundations) and a state part (state fund). As the main goal of both of them, we can consider providing rations for the subsistence (alimenta) of poorer Roman children who came mostly from the legal marriages of Roman citizens. The finances for their activities were obtained via a sophisticated system of loans that were offered to landowners.
The evidence of the alimentary program comes not only from literary sources, but also Latin inscrip-
tions. According to them, the first ones that came into existence were the foundations founded by wealthy private individuals, and a bit later we can see a gradual institutionalization of state-funded and controlled alimentary fund (institutio alimentaria), the origin of which is traced back to the reign of caesar Nerva (96-98 A. D.).1
One typical feature is that the alimentary program privately run by the Roman elite was realized considerably ahead of time (about 30 years) compared to the state efforts. It was not the first time the
1 Puellas pueroque natos parentibus egestosis sumptu publico per Italiae oppida ali iussit. Epit. de Caes. 12,4.
© Tomás Klokner, 2019
private initiative surpassed that of the state. Based on this, we cannot exclude the possibility that the private foundations could be an incentive in establishing a state fund which was active only within the „homeland" of Roman citizens - Italy. Compared to it, the activity of the private alimentary foundations was significantly limited and they were carrying out their business within the confines of the town from which the founder came from. They are concentrated mainly in Italy, but are also to be seen in the Roman provinces, specifically in Hispania and Africa.
In this essay we will consider the private alimentary foundations which during the time of the Principate operated in Italy, specifically in the areas of Latium, Etruria and Transpadana. Their founders were Roman senators and members of the municipal elite.
The first evidence of the planned and long-lasting alimentary support by private means, directed exclusively to Roman children, was the foundation active in the town of Atina in Latio.1 Its founder was the senator Titus Helvius Basila who had a rich political career. The inscription reveals that he held the positions of an aedile, pretor, proconsul and Augustus' legate.2 The foundation originated around the reign of Nero (54-68 A. D.), but an earlier date cannot be excluded.3
At its start, it had the financial capital of 400,000 sesterces which were bequeathed by the founder in his will (... qui Atinatibus sestertium CCCC milia legavit). This sum was used for granting loans for those interested close by. From the interests, the grain was bought and distributed among the entitled recipients (... ut... ex reditu... pervenirent frumen-tum) until their coming of age (dum in aetatem per-venirent). The time interval of providing the support and the volume of the grain ration were not mentioned in the inscription. Apart from the rations in
1 Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (= CIL) X 5056 = Dessau In-sciiptiones Latinae Selectae (= DILS) 977: [T(ito] Helvio T(iti) f(ilio) Basilae, / aed(ili), pr(aetori), proco(n)s(uli), / legato Caesaris Au-gus[ti], / qui Atinatibus (sestertium) CCCC (milia) legavit, / ut liberis eorum / ex reditu dum in aetate[m] / pervenirent frumentu[m] / etpostea sesterti[a] / singula millia darentur. /Proculafilia posuit.
2 We know from other sources that he was a proconsul probably during the reign of Tiberius (14-37 A. D.) and that as Augustus' legate he was active in Asia Minor in the province of Galatia (legatus Augusti pro praetore Galatiae). Prosopographia Imperii Romani (= PIR2) H 67.
3 See the commentary to DILS 977. Bernhard Laum, for example, dates the inscription to the Augustan period. LAUM, Bernhard: Stiftungen in der griechischen und römischen Antike II. Aalen 1964, p. 170.
the form of grain, Titus Helvius Basila ordered that everyone after reaching a given age is to be paid out a single allowance of 1,000 sesterces (postea sester-tia singula millia darentur). The foundation served only for the children of Atina (liberi eorum). For all this information, we are indebted to the senator's daughter Procula who had a tomb built with the stated text (Procula filia posuit).
The alimentary foundation, such as that founded by Titus Helvius Basila, was not a rare occurence in the first century A. D. This was evidenced by the epigraphic material from Florentia (the area of Etruria).4 The inscription came from a later period of the Flavian dynasty (69-96 A. D.)5 and told about an unknown centurion from the Legio XX who distributed grain to the inhabitants of Florentia (pecunia sua tritici peregrini modios ... municipibus suis gratuit praestitit)6 At the same time, he established a foundation for their children that provided them with alimentary rations (item ad alimenta... dedit). In contrast to the inscription from Atina we find here a note that states more concretely the period of giving the support. As for boys, the aid was to be paid out throughout 14 years; the data for girls, however, has not been preserved (... pueris ingenuis per annos XIIII puellis ingenuis per annos...).1 Nevertheless, we observe a considerable shift vis-a-vis the last case. Compared to the foundation of Titus Helvius Basila, we can see several changes. The common term, liberi (children), is not used anymore, but rather pueri (boys) and puellae (girls). The change happened also in the form of the regular support -it was not in kind, but monetary. On the other hand,
4 CIL XI 1602:---C(centurio) leg(ionis) XX [... donatus
donis] / [mil(itaribus) coro]n(a) aur(ea) hasta [pura] / [- - -]
divi Vespasiani f(ilio) [---] / [pecunia s]ua tritici peregrini
[modios... municipibus] / [suis gratu]it praestitit [item ad alimenta pueris] / [ingenuis per a]nnos XIIII puellis [ingenuis per annos ... (sestertium) ...]/[dedit] maceria de [- - -].
5 The inscription states... divi Vespasianifilio..., which refers to the reign of Vespasian's sons. A. Müller suggest rather the reighn of Domitian (81-96 A. D.). Müller, Albert: Jugendfürsorge in der römischen Kaiserzeit. Hannover 1903, p. 22.
6 The Legio XX was founded probably by Augustus around the year 25 A. D. Its symbol was a boar and used the Latin epithets Valeria Victrix. It is hypothesized that it gained them after supressing Boudicca's revolt, from the tribe of Iceni, taking place in the years 60-61 A. D. For more information about this legion see Ritterling, Emil: Legio (XX. Valeria victrix). In: Pau-ly-Wissowa Realenencyklopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Band (=RE) XII, 2, 1925, col. 1769-1781.
7 It is important not to overlook that in the inscription he used the term per annos (for the duration) and not ad annos (until) as is the case in other private foundations.
neither the amount of the allowance, nor the time interval of its distribution is stated again.
We know about the third private foundation active in the Apennine peninsula from an inscription from a northern Italian town of Comum Novum (the area of Traspadana, today's Como).1 In terms of content, it can be divided into two parts. In the first one we learn detailed information about the life and public career (cursus honorum) of the foundation's founder, while in the second one about his enormous generosity towards his hometown. Both a native of Como and the founder of the local alimentary foundation, on behalf of whom the inscription was made, was a renowned politician and writer, C. Plinius Secundus (the Younger).2
Because of the focus of this paper, we will look into the second part of the inscription in which we read about the concrete deeds of Pliny's generosity. However, that is not to devalue the first part of the inscription elaborating on the persona of the founder of this private alimentary foundation. Rather, in no other case do we have such precise and detailed information about the founder's life. We owe it not only to the inscription's content, but also to literary works that Pliny left and that provide rich data about his persona.
In the second part of the inscription we learn about two kinds of Pliny's generosity. First stated are the issues that were carried out only after his death on the basis of a written will, followed by those still made during his life. In his will Pliny
1 CIL V 5262 = DILS 2927: C(aius) Plinius L(uci) f(ilius) Ouf(entina tribu) Caecilius [Secundus co(n)s(ul),] / augur, legat(us) pro pr(aetore) provinciae Pon[ti et Bithyniae] / consulari potesta[t(e)] in eam provinciam e[x s(enatus) c(onsulto) missus ab] / Imp(eratore) Caesar(e) Nerva Traiano Aug(usto) German[ico Dacico p(atre) p(atriae)], / curator alvei Ti[b]eris et riparum e[t cloacarum urb(is)], / praef(ectus) aerari Satu[r]ni, praef(ectus) aerari mil[it(aris), pr(aetor), trib(unus) pl(ebis)], / quaestor imp(eratoris, sevir equitum [Romanorum], / trib(unus) milit(um leg(ionis) [III] Gallica[e, (decem)vir stli]/tib(us) iudicand(is), therm[as ex (sestertium) - - -] adiectis in / ornatum (sestertium)
CCC (milibus) [---et eo amp]lius in tutela[m] / (sestertium) CC
(milibus nummum) t(estamento) f(ieri) i(ussit), [item in alimenta] libertor(um) suorum homin(um) C / (sestertium) XVIII (centena milia) LXVI (milia) DCLXVI rei [p(ublicae) legavit, quorum inc]rement(a) postea ad epulum / [pl]eb(is) urban(ae) voluit per-
tin[ere---, item vivu]s dedit in aliment(a) pueror(um) / et puel-
lar(um) pleb(is) urban(ae) (sestertium) [D (milia), item byblio-thecam et] in tutelam bybliothe/cae (sestertium) C (milia).
2 The origin of the inscription is dated by the scholars to the period shortly after Pliny's death, that is, to 111-113 A. D. at the earliest. Duncan-Jones, Richard: An Epigraphic Survey of Costs in Roman Italy. In: Papers of the British School at Rome 33, 1965, p. 246.
ordered the building of a bathhouse in his hometown for an unspecified amount (the inscription is damaged here)3 for the decoration of which he added 300,000 sesterces, and for their upkeep (a probably also their running costs) another 200,000 sesterces (thermas ex sestertium... adiectis in ornatum sestertium CCC milibus... et eo amplius in tutelam sestertium CC milibus testamento fieri iussit)4 Likewise, he bequeathed 1,866,666 sesterces to the hometown, the profits of which were to serve for the sustenance of his freedmen (100 people in total), and later, after their death, to be used for a feast for the townsfolk (item in alimenta libertorum suorum hominum C sestertium XVIII centena milia LXVI milia DCLXVI rei publicae legavit, quorum incrementa postea ad epulum plebis urbanae voluit pertinere). Of the deeds that the benefactor performed while still living, we have a mention of his giving 500,000 sesterces for the sustenance of boys and girls of the townsfolk (item vivus dedit in alimenta puerorum et puellarum plebi urbanae sestertium D milia) and the construction of a library (unspecified amount), for the upkeep of which he set apart 100,000 sesterces (item bybliothecam et in tutelam bybliothecae sestertium C milia).
About the alimentary foundation in Como we get very little information, the main data being the existence of the foundation, its financial capital5 and a circle of recipients (children of both genders). This simple account of facts would surely be complete were it not for the preservation of Pliny's correspondence. The content of some letters enables us to confront the material from the inscription concerning his generosity with what can be found in the literary documents.
The text of the letter listed as number eighteen in the seventh book of Pliny's correspondence corroborates basic facts about his foundation seen
3 It is not presumed that their value would be over 500,000 sesterces. DUNCAN-JONES, Richard: The Finances of the Younger Pliny. In: Papers of the British School at Rome 33, 1965, p. 187-188.
4 According to modern scholars, Pliny's promise of building the bathhouse for the inhabitants of Como was made while he was still alive, but the very construction occurred only after his death based on his will. They argue for this position with the sum designated for the decoration of the therm, which had a character of an addition (adiectio) to the original (unpreserved) sum. DUNCAN-JONES, The Finances, p. 187. Cf. ECK, Werner: Die Grosse Pliniusinschrift aus Comum: Funktion und Monument. In: Varia Epigraphica. Atti del Colloquio Internazionale di Epigrafia, Bertinoro, 8-10 giugno 2000. Ed. A. Bertinelli and A. Donati. Faenza 2001, p. 230.
5 The amount of the foundation's financial capital has not been preserved on the inscription in its original form, but was supplemented on the basis of the subsequently mentioned literary sources. See the commentary to DILS 2927.
the inscription: the existence of the foundation, its financial capital and the circle of recipients (Nam pro quingentis milibus nummum, quae in alimenta ingenuorum ingenuarumquepromiseram...).1
Pliny left in the letter a report about the way how his foundation was obtaining financial means for paying out the alimentary subsidies.2 Its value lies not only in its mere confirmation of some of the inscription's data, but we have to see it also in the further expansion of our knowledge about this very foundation as well as the whole alimentary program. The letter is a reply to a plea for advice which was sought by Caninius Rufus, a native of Como. Rufus wanted to know how to guarantee a good state of his postmortem financial gift that he provided for his fellow citizens of Como for the annual feasts (deliberas mecum quemadmodum pecunia, quam municipibus nostris in epulum obtulisti, post te quoque salva sit).
Pliny in his letter describes how sometime during the years 96-108 A. D.3 he bestowed on his hoometown (through an administrator of public property - actor publicus) a land worth more than 500,000 sesterces. Following this, he decided to withdraw it, making a pledge to pay an annual payment of 30,000 sesterces to be used for the sustenance of the local children.4 On this principle he could continue using his property, the town had its funding, and the
1 Plin. Ep. VII, 18. In this regard, another term for designating the alimentation's recipients is of note. The inscription uses ,pueri etpuel-lae plebis urbanae", whereas the letter ingenuus and ingenua.
2 The nature of the functioning of the whole alimentary program is revealed best by the epigraphic material from the Italian towns of Veleia [CIL XI 1147 = DILS 6675] and Ligures Baebi-ani [CIL IX 1455 = DILS 6509], both of which participated in the project of the state alimentary fund. The documents related to these towns tell us that the imperial treasury (fiscus) provided the Italian landowners with loans in exchange for the payment of annual interests and having their assets as a collateral. The interest paid was dependent on the amount of the loan, and this in turn was related to the value of the collaterals. This system was probably created by the state. It is likely that the creators of the state institution were in establishing their basic business rules inspired by the very state foundations whose activity was realized on a very similar principle. FELL, Martin: Optimus Princeps? Anspruch und Wirklichkeit der imperialen Programmatik Kaiser Traians. München 1992, p. 156.
3 The dating is based on Duncan-Jones, An Epigraphic Survey, p. 247. Cf. Garnsey, Peter: Trajan's alimenta. Some problems. In: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 17, 1968, no. 3, p. 379. Older publications state the period of 97-100 A. D. Kubitschek, Wilhelm: Alimenta. In: RE I, 1894, col. 1486.
4 Nam pro quingentis milibus nummum, quae in alimenta ingenuorum ingenuarumque promiseram, agrum ex meis longe pluris actori publico mancipavi; eundem vectigali imposito re-cepi, tricena milia annua daturus. Plin. Ep. VII, 18, 2.
alimentary foundation a steady income (per hoc en-im et rei publicae sors in tuto nec reditus incertus, et ager ipse propter id quod vectigal large supercurrit, semper dominum a quo exerceatur inveniet). From the listed data it is possible to calculate an annual interest of about 6 % (the value of the land was not exactly 500,000 sesterces, but a bit higher).
In addition, we can learn from the letter the reasons that led his to this solution: „Numeres rei publicae summam: verendum est ne dilabatur. Des agros: ut publici neglegentur. Equidem nihil commodius in-venio, quam quod ipse feci. "5 Its conclusion states the motives of this behaviour: „Nec ignoro me plus ali-quanto quam donasse videor erogavisse, cum pul-cherrimi agri pretium necessitas vectigalis infregerit. Sed oportet privatis utilitatibus publicas, mortalibus aeternas anteferre, multoque diligentius muneri suo consulere quam facultatibus. "6
The existence of the alimentary foundation as well as the library, mentioned in the inscription, is mentioned in another letter addressed to Pompeius Saturninus.7 In it, Pliny asks his friend to find time for the corrections of his speech made in front of his native citizenry at the opening of the newly built li-brary.8 As to the foundation he writes: „... In addition to these motives there was the fact that I was pledging money not for shows or gladiators, but for year-by-year expenses towards the rearing of freeborn children. "9
As neither the inscription nor the literary sources provide any details about the number of the supported children and the amount of the allowance, there
5 Plin. Ep. VII, 18, 1-2: „You could make over the capital to the town, but with the fear that money may dribble away. You could make a gift of land, but being publicly owned it would be neglected. I find no arrangement more suitable than the one which I myself made. "
Plin. Ep. VII, 18, 4-5: „I am well aware that I seem to have paid rather more than the sum I donated, for the need to pay the rental has reduced the value of the very handsome property. But one must put the interests of the state before private advantages, and lasting benefits before transient ones; and also look to the interests of one's gift much more carefully than to one's own resources. "
7 Plin. Ep. I, 8.
8Petiturus sum enim ut rursus vaces sermoni quem apud municipes meos habui bibliothecam dedicaturus. Plin. Ep. I, 8, 2. Based on the dating of the letter, it is thought that the building of the library happened before 97 A. D. ECK, Die Grosse Plini-usinschrift, p. 231.
9Accedebat his causis, quod non ludos aut gladiatores sed annuos sumptus in alimenta ingenuorum pollicebamur. Plin. Ep. I, 8, 10.
has been a place for various speculations in terms of these aspects. According to the calculations of some scholars, the sum of 30,000 sesterces was enough for an annual support of a group of 175 children, composed of 100 boys and 75 girls.1 Their calculations are based on the data of the state fund, within which boys received 16 sesterces and girls 12 sesterces a month.2
Another inscription, that informs us about the existence of a different private alimentary foundation in Italy, comes from Tarracina (Latium, today's Terrac-ina).3 There have been a lot of discussions as for its dating. At present, there is a general acceptance of the opinions of the Polish historian, S. Mrozek, and an English scholar, R. Duncan-Jones. Both of them place its origin into the 2nd century A. D.4
1 Duncan-Jones, Richard: Human Numbers in towns and town-organisations of the Roman Empire. The evidence of gifts. In: Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 13, 1964, no. 2, p. 206. Cf. CHRIST, Karl: Geschichte der Römischen Kaiserzeit. Von Augustus bis zu Konstantin. München 2005, p. 410.
2 See CIL XI 1147 = DILS 6675.
3 CIL X 6328 = DILS 6278: Caelia C(ai) f(ilia) Ma[c]rin[a] ex [test]ament[o (sestertium)] C[CC] (milibus) fieri iussit. In cuius ornatum /et tu[te]lam (sestertium) ... reliq[u]id. Eadem in memoria[m] Macri fili sui Tarracinensibus / (sestercium) X (centena milia) r[eli]quid, ut ex reditu eius pecuniae darentur cen[t]um pueris alimentor[u]m nomine sing(ulis) / mensib[us si]ng(ulis) pueris colonis (denarii) V, puellis colonis s[i]ng(ulis) in mens(ibus) sing(ulis) (denarii) IIII, pueris usq(ue) ad annos XVI, puellis / [usq(ue) ad] annos XIIII ita ut semper C pueri C puellae per successiones accipiant.
4 Richard Duncan-Jones dated the inscription's origin to 100-190 A. D. Duncan-Jones, An Epigraphic Survey, p. 247. Stanislaw Mrozek dates the inscription to the 2nd century A. D., stating three reasons which led him to this conclusion. See MROZEK,
Stanislaw: Zu der kaiserlichen und der privaten Kinderfürsorge in Italien im 2. und 3. Jh. In: Klio 55, 1973, p. 282. An older generation of historians, represented by the Italian scholar Bartolomeio Borghesi, traced the inscription's and foundation's origin to an earlier period. See the commentary to CIL X 6328. Borghesi argued that the Caeli family was known in Tarracino already during M. Tullius Cicero, and he also referred to the age of the allowance recipients stated in the text of the inscription (boys until the age of
16 and girls 14). In terms of thusly set age limits, he pointed to the decree of ceasar Hadrian (117-138 A. D.), according to which the alimentary allowance was to be given to boys until the age of 18 and girls 14, respecively. See also Dig. XXXIV, 1, 14, 1. Borghesi thus claimed that the inscription must date to the period before the reign of Hadrian. Richard Duncan-Jones sharply dismissed this reasoning based on the rules of a private alimentary foundation in the African town of Sicca Veneria which existed during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 A. D.) and did not adhere to the age limits set by the Hadrian's decree. Duncan-Jones, An Epigraphic Survey, p. 292. A German scholar, Werner Eck, supported Duncan-Jones' opinion saying that this rule was applied only to the state alimetary fund. ECK, Werner: Die staatliche Organisation Italiens in der hohen Kaiserzeit. München 1979, p. 165.
Its content reveals that Caelia Macrina had, on the basis of her will, a building built, worth 300,000 sesterces, from which the mentioned inscription comes. Unfortunately, its identification is not possible today anymore. As she left for her decoration and upkeep a certain, equally hardly recoverable amount of sesterces (in cuius ornatum et tutelam (sestertium) ... reliquid), it could be the case of a tombstone or a public building.
At the same time she founded a private alimentary foundation in honour of her son (... in memori-am Macri fili sui), the financial capital of which she set to million sesterces. The profit that was gained from this sum om interests was to be used for redistribution of alimentary subsidies for 100 boys and an equal number of girls, that is, 200 children. To each boy that was an entitled recipient of the support, the foundation was paying out 5 denarii (20 sesterces) a month, until reaching the age of 16 (... mensibus singulis pueris colonis (denarii) V;... usque ad annos XVI).5 In the case of girls, the sum was 4 denarii (16 sesterces) a month until the age of 14 (... puellis colonis singulis in mensibus singulis (denarii) IIII;... usque ad annos XIIII). The last line is of extraordinary importance. From it follows that in case of losing the right to the alimentary allowance (death, reaching the upper age limit), this recipient was to be substituted for a new one, which ensured the constant number of subsidized children (ita ut semper C pueri C puellae per suc-cessiones accipiant).
The activity of an alimentary program privately run in Ostia (Latium) is attested by an inscription according to which on the basis of the will of Fabia Agrippina, a foundation was founded, and its above-mentioned donor at the same time bequeathed on it a sum of million sesterces.6 A part of the interests served for paying out the financial allowance for 100 girls (... ut ex eius summae usuris puellae alimentariae centum alerentur...), probably
5 The inscription has the amount of the allowance stated in denarii. In the conversion we used the exchange rate of 1 denarius = 4 sesterces.
6 CIL XIV 4450:---f(?) Ag[ripp - - -] Fabi Agr[ippini]
cons[ulis - - -] / decurion[um dec]reto, col[onorum] / consensu
pu[bli]ce, quod e[a---] / sestertium [decies] centena [milia
n(ummum)] / testament[o s]uo deder[at, ut ex eius] / summae
usu[ris p]uellae [alime]ntar[iae] / centum alerentu[r e]t---
Maia[s] / quod anni[s] ludi eder[entur in] memori[am] / Aemi-liae Agrippinae - - - suae [et] / [t]er in ann[o] decurio[nes c]enare[nt - - -]. The inscription was possible to be reconstructed on the basis of five preserved fragments.
in monthly intervals. The amount of the allowance cannot be specified as the inscription is damaged here. From another part of the profits, the costs for organizing, games (ludi) and banquets (cena) for the members of the town council (decuriones) were paid. The games were held once a year in honour of Aemilia Agrippina (... quod annis ludi ederentur in memoriam Aemiliae Agrippinae), perhaps on the date of birth of the foundation's founder.1 The feast for the municipal council's members was to be ensured three times a year on a more unspecified date (ter in anno decuriones cenarent). The dating of the inscription can be roughly dated without much difficulty as Fabia Agrippina was a daughter of the senator C. Fabius Agrippinus (... Fabi Agrippini consulis...), who held a consulship in the year 148 A. D.2 R. Duncan-Jones dates the inscription between the years 148-180 A. D., while S. Mrozek leans more towards the second half of the second century A. D.3
Number of supported children
To evaluate the social significance and results of the activities of the private alimentary foundations, it is important to explore the question of the number of children that were involved in this form of support. The following data reveal that only two inscriptions contribute with certainty to the solution of this conundrum. The foundation in Tarracina supported 100 boys and 100 girls. The foundation founded by Fabia Agrippina in Ostia was paying allowances to 100 girls. To this we can add a hypothesis that Pliny (the Younger) provided a support in his hometown of Comum to 100 boys and 75 girls.4 In other cases the data are either no preserved or it is not possible to reconstruct them.
Site/ Место Boys / Мальчики Girl / Девочки Total amount / Общее кол-во
Comum 100? 75? 175?
Tarracina 100 100 200
Ostia - 100 100
1 Hermann Dessau opines, that Aemilia Agrippina could be Fabia's mother. See the commentary to CIL XIV 4450.
2 PIR2 F 20.
3 Duncan-Jones, An Epigraphic Survey, p. 272 and Mrozek, Zu der kaiserlichen, p. 283.
4 See n. 23.
From the viewpoint of the circle of recipients of the allowance, we can say that there were two types of private foundations in Italy. The first type supported only girls (Ostia), whereas the second one both sexes (Tarracina). We cannot even rule out that there were foundations dedicated only to boys.5
Next, we should focus our attention on the ratio between the supported boys and girls in the individual cases. In Tarracina we encounter a rare ration of 1:1, in Como 4:3 in favour of male gender. Based on this statistics it is clear that in Como it was to a certain extent boys who were preferred to girls, although not significantly. A higher amount of supported boys than girls in the case of Como's foundation (though this data is only a hypothesis) we regard as intentional. At the same time, we reject the possibility to interpret this information by claiming that in the process of writing up the list of the allowance recipients, the gender of the potential applicant was disregarded and the total amount of the supported boys was a "chance occurrence". If one indeed did not take the child's gender into consideration, we would not have been encountering such round numbers of the allowance recipients, such as 100 and 200.
The ratio between boys and girls within individual private foundations in Italy is sharply contrasted with the situation in the state alimentary fund. An inscription from Veleia made during the reign of Trajan (98-117 A. D.) speaks of the state's activity in this Italian town somewhere between the years 103-114 A. D. According to the text, the state fund was distributing here allowances to 246 boys and 35 girls. The ratio between the sexes poses a significant 7 : 1 ratio in favour of the boys. Compared to the abovementioned relations in the private foundations, this is a striking difference. This manifold preference of males in the case of the state is in the literature accounted for in two ways. One group of scholars think that the 7 : 1 ratio reflects the attempt to enhance the military potential of the empire which implies military purposes of the state fund.6 Other group of scholars argue with the possibility that the parents usually could apply only one child for the list
5 There is no evidence for the from the Roman provinces either.
6 Ashley, Alice M.: The alimenta of Nerva and his Succesors. In: The English Historical Review 36, 1921, no. 141, p. 13.
of the supported children.1 It is understandable that every family preferred to apply their son as they were eligible for a bigger allowance than girls, and moreover, they were paid for a longer period. In the case of private foundations we cannot speak of any military purposes and we opine that a slight favouring of the males was caused rather by the patriarchal character of the Roman society. With respect to the opinion of the latter group of scholars, it is interesting that the parents decided not to prefer sons to daughters even in applying for allowances from the private foundations that were, however, of a different value, but in terms of finances they equally gave advantage to boys rather than to girls. Besides, the time period of distributing the allowance was not all that different.
A specific case in terms of the group of recipients is the foundation in Ostia since it supported only girls. The English historian R. Duncan-Jones came to hold the opinion that the foundation of the daughter of the senator C. Fabius Agrippinus served probably as a model for a foundation founded a little bit later by the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 A. D.) to commemorate his deceased wife Faustina (the Elder).2 Similarly, it supported only girls, and moreover only those whose name was that of the deceased empress, that is, Faustina. 3 The reason for the exclusion of boys from the circle of recipients in similar foundations could be a matter of compensation of females, because while boys since the emperor Trajan could participate in the distribution of state grain, girls were not given this opportunity.4 This could account only for the foundations in the capital as the so-called frumenta-tions (distribution of free state grain) were during the Principate known only in Rome. For this reason, in explaining the rule for the allowance recipients in Ostia, we consider a better option to lean towards the persona of the founder who
1 Jongmann, Wilhelm: Alimenta. In: Der Neue Pauly: Enzyklopädie der Antike I. Ed. von Hubert Cancik - Helmut Schneider. Stuttgart 1996, col. 492 and Woolf, Greg: Food, Poverty and Patronage. The Significance of the Roman Alimentary Inscriptions in the Epigraphy of Roman Italy. In: Papers of the British School at Rome 59, 1990, p. 207.
2 Duncan-Jones, An Epigraphic Survey, p. 296.
3 We find a mention of this foundation in a late ancient biography of Antoninus Pius: Puellas alimentarias in honorem Faustinae Faustinianas constituit. Historia Augusta (= HA), Antoninus Pius 8, 1. Comp. HA, Alexander Severus, 57, 7.
4 Plin. Paneg. 26, 3.
was of female gender and thus could intentionally favour it.5
In terms of the number of supported children it is even more crucial to ask the question whether individual foundations were contributing in individual towns to all children who met the set requirements. From the inscription in Tarracina follows that in the case of a loss of the right to the alimentary allowance (death, reaching an upper age limit) the child was crossed out of the list of the recipients and another applicant was put in its place. Such a rule leads to the existence of children who found themselves outside of the alimentary programme and were in a position of „waiting in line" for a freed position. The private foundations thus did not contribute to the alimentation to all the children in the place of their activity which is confirmed by the situation in the specific towns. The foundation in Como had an annual budget for supporting 175 children, while the total population of the town during the years 111-113 A. D. is estimated at 18,900 to 22,500.6 With this estimate it is highly probable that even on the lowest demo-graphical surplus there had to live more than mere 175 children in Como. The situation could not be different in Tarracina where we could surely find more than 200 children. Comparison to the state fund with the example of Veleia (281 children) leads us to a similar conclusion. There is no doubt that the supported children formed only a fraction of the whole children population in the individual towns.
The number of supported children had to depend to a great extent on the financial security and possibilities of each foundation that were determined by several factors, such as the amount of financial capital, ability to distribute it among the landowners, interest rate, and so on. After estimating the annual incomes on the interests from loans and defining the amount of the allowance, the representatives of the foundation decided on the number of the children their organization could help. Then probably on the basis of some as yet unclear criteria, they compiled lists of eligible recipients of the allowance, similarly as in the distribution of state grain and gifts.
5 Duncan-Jones, Human Numbers in towns, p. 208.
6 It is assumed that the free population comprises 14 700 to 17 500 inhabitants. Duncan-Jones, Richard: The Economy of the Roman Empire. Quantitative Studies. Cambridge 1982, p. 273.
After learning that the recipients of the alimentary allowance could not be all the children in the town, it will be essential in the future to ponder the number of supported children in relation to the total (or only children) population in individual areas. As long as we do not know the precise social structure of the individual towns' population, however, we can only hardly put into numbers the ratio of the supported children to the number of inhabitants. This question can be solved only with a greater amount of sources or qualitatively richer sources than are known to us today.
The age of the recipients
Setting the age limits for the recipients of the alimentary allowance must have been made especially due to the purpose of the support. The goal of the alimentary programme was to contribute to the survival of the most critical period of every Roman's life by providing the necessary means for alimentation (alimenta). This was because the mortality rate of infants and young children was constantly high throughout the whole antiquity.
The question of the age limit, as one of the criteria used for the selection of the recipients of the alimentary support, was decided upon logically. The foundations were to help the child or the family by covering the expenses until he/she grows up and becomes a full member of society able to take care of himself/herself. Using our terminology we could say that the eligibility for the allowance lasted until one's coming of age. The Romans did not have other general term apart from adulthood (aetas or pubertas - sexual maturity). The difference was in reaching this limit in terms of age. Whereas at present this milestone in everyone's life is reached by the eighteenth year regardless of gender, in Roman society both girls and boys came of age much sooner. The difference lay also in the fact that girls reached adulthood sooner than boys.
The first known alimentary foundation provided children in Atina an allowance for alimentation until reaching their adulthood (dum in aetatem pervenirent), which is very non-specific. In the case of another foundation in Tarracina, the boys could partake in the distribution of alimentary allowances until their sixteen, and girls until their fourteen years of age. We find an interesting way of recording the age regulation that was in place in the foundation in Florentia. An inscription tells us
that the boys were to be given the allowance for fourteen years (per annos XIIII). The data for girls is, unfortunately, not preserved. In this case the setting of the upper age limit is problematic, especially because we do not know since what age could the children be eligible as recipients of the allowance. Some sources imply that the children could be supported since the age of three or even since their very birth.1 In the former case, the boys in Florentia would have received an allowance until they were seventeen, or until fourteen in the latter case, which would make it a foundation with the shortest period of paying the alimentary allowance in Italy.
A comparison with the state alimentary fund does not lead to adequate conclusions as such regulations have not been in this case preserved. 2 We can note that the foundations contributed to girls for the alimentation for somewhat shorter time than to boys. This had to do with the mentioned sexual maturity which they reached at a younger age. When a girl reached her sexual maturity she could get married and get a dowry from her parents. By entering the marriage she also moved to the family of her husband and became subject to the new head of the family (pater familias). Thus, the alimentary allowance lost its basis.
We can conclude our exploration of this aspect of the existence of the private foundations in the Apen-nine peninsula by stating that the age limits, serving for the eligibility for the allowance from the private sources, were various and were decided upon by the founder of the foundation or by a person acting on his/her behalf.3
Intensity and form of the allowances
In the case of the first known private foundation from Atina we encounter two types of allowance. While the first one represented a more long-lasting support in kind (frumentum), the second was paid in a single payment in monetary form. The time horizon of assigning the first allowance is not discussed in the inscription. From analogy to the distribution of the state grain in Rome (frumenta-tiones) and from the fact that it was paid in kind, it is logical to assume rather a monthly interval
1 See Plin. Paneg. 26, 3 and 28, 4 and BELL, Harold Idris: Diplomata Antinoitica. In: Aegyptus 13, 1933, p. 518-522.
2 See CIL XI, 1147 = DILS, 6675 and CIL IX, 1455 = DILS, 6509.
3 Cf. L'Année épigraphique 1972, 118.
of distribution. An inscription from Florentia discussing the foundation of a centurion belonging to the Legio XX, does not offer any concrete information in terms of the intensity and form of the allowances. We can only surmise that in comparison with the previous foundation of Titus Helvius Basila, there was a change as to the form of the regular support in which the grain distribution was replaced by paying out money. Such a conclusion is possible only on the basis of a reconstructed part of the inscription. The case of Como does not offer us any precise information with respect to the aspects explored here. Again we can only conjecture that the children received monthly allowanced in financial form. The inscription from Tarracina is the first one to speak of the intensity of the offered allowance without any doubts. The foundress of the local foundation preferred a monthly interval (in mensi-bus) and financial form in providing the allowances. About the foundation in Ostia we know that its representatives took similar steps in these matters as did the foundation in Tarracina.
Foundation / Фонд Form of the allowance / Форма пособия Intensity of the allowance / Периодичность выдачи пособия
Atina grain monthly?
Florentia money ?
Comum money? ?
Tarracina money monthly
Ostia money monthly?
The table implies that the alimentary allowances from the private sources were in terms of the time interval of their distribution on the Apennine peninsula paid monthly.1 As to their form, there were two categories: money and in kind.
The case of the first known foundation in Atina, the founder of which preferred to pay the allowance in kind, in combination with other explored cases leads to two postulates. The first one is the potential inspiration by the distribution of the state grain
1 The allowances were probably received by the parents of the eligible children as in the case of the state grain and gifts. Cf. Suet. Aug. 46.
(frumentationes) in Rome, which had by the first century A. D. already established a certain tradition. The second one is the possibility that the first alimentary foundations began distributing the grain, but the later ones decided to leave this practice and start preferring financial allowances instead. This trend could be caused by the problems related to the purchase of the grain (e. g., storage). Apart from that, a fixed financial subvention was causing the budgets of the foundations some drawbacks, especially when we consider the frequent fluctuations of the market prices of grain and the gradual inflation. Still an unresolved issue remains whether the amount of the allowance was indeed constant during the entire existence of the foundation or whether it was changing with respect to the current economical development.
In the final analysis, the decision about the form of the allowance was dependent on the will of the founder, or the people acting on his/her behalf, respectively. In any case, however, any subvention contributed to the improvement of the living conditions of some Roman families.
By way of conclusion, I would like to mention the intentions of the members of the Roman nobility who embarked on similar social measures. The motives that led them to their expression of generosity were significantly different from those that caused the establishment of the state fund. One part of the higher strata of the Roman society wanted to obtain the political capital in this way, by which it laid the ground for the future when it planned to apply for some office of a local or empire-wide character.2 Others intended to raise the prestige not only for their sake, but also to draw the attention of others to the whole family. Still others adhered to the ancient Roman traditions and considered the manifestation of the generosity towards their fellow citizens their duty.3
2 Private foundations were formed either on the basis of a testament, or still during the life of the founder. Based on the preserved inscriptions, it seems that the former option prevailed significantly. Due to this reason, we believe that this motive for establishing alimentary foundations was not in many cases decisive. Moreover, women were present among the donors who were not allowed to hold office, but eventually could in this way obtain votes for the members of their family.
3 Cf. n. 19.
References
1. Ashley Alice M. The alimenta of Nerva and his Succesors // The English Historical Review 36/1921, No. 141, 1921, p. 5-16.
2. Bell Harold Idris. Diplomata Antinoitica // Aegyptus 13, 1933, p. 518-522.
3. Christ Karl. Geschichte der Römischen Kaiserzeit. Von Augustus bis zu Konstantin. München 2005.
4. Duncan-Jones Richard. Human numbers in towns and town-organisations of the Roman empire. The evidence of gifts // Historia. Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 13/1964, No. 2, p. 199-208.
5. Duncan-Jones Richard. An Epigraphic Survey of Costs in Roman Italy // Papers of the British School at Rome 33, 1965, p. 189-306.
6. Duncan-Jones Richard. The Finances of the Younger Pliny // Papers of the British School at Rome 33, 1965, p. 177-188.
7. Duncan-Jones Richard. Equestrian Rank in the Cities of the African Provinces under the Principate: An Epigraphic Survey // Papers of the British School at Rome 35/1967, p. 147-186.
8. Duncan-Jones Richard. The Economy of the Roman Empire. Quantitative Studies. Cambridge 1982.
9. Eck Werner. Die Grosse Pliniusinschrift aus Comum: Funktion und Monument // Varia Epigraphica. Atti del Colloquio Inter-nazionale di Epigrafia, Bertinoro, 8-10 giugno 2000. Ed. A. Bertinelli and A. Donati. Faenza 2001, p. 225-235.
10. Eck Werner. Die staatliche Organisation Italiens in der hohen Kaiserzeit. München 1979.
11. Fell Martin. Optimus Princeps? Anspruch und Wirklichkeit der imperialen Programmatik Kaiser Traians. München 1992.
12. Garnsey Peter. Trajan's alimenta. Some problems // Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte 17, 1968, No. 3, p. 367-381.
13. Jongmann Wilhelm. Alimenta // Der Neue Pauly: Enzyklopädie der Antike I. Ed. von Hubert Cancik - Helmut Schneider. Stuttgart 1996, col. 491-493.
14. Kubitschek Wilhelm. Alimenta // Pauly-Wissowa Realenencyklopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. 1894, col. 1484-1489.
15. Laum Bernhard. Stiftungen in der griechischen und römischen Antike II. Aalen 1964.
16. Mrozek Stanislaw. Zu der kaiserlichen und der privaten Kinderfürsorge in Italien im 2. und 3. Jh. // Klio 55, 1973, p. 281-284.
17. Müller Albert. Jugendfürsorge in der römischen Kaiserzeit. Hannover 1903.
18. Ritterling Emil. Legio (XX. valeria victrix) // Pauly-Wissowa Realenencyklopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Band XII, 2, 1925, col. 1769-1781.
19. Woolf Greg. Food, Poverty and Patronage. The Significance of the Roman Alimentary Inscriptions in the Epigraphy of Roman Italy // Papers of the British School at Rome 59, 1990, p. 197-228.
Submitted 13.01.2019; revised 12.03.2019. Статья поступила в редакцию 13.01.2019 г.; принята к публикации 12.03.2019 г.
The author has read and approved the final manuscript. Автор прочитал и одобрил окончательный вариант рукописи.
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Citation for an article:
Клокнер Т. Частные благотворительные фонды в Римской Италии (1-3 век н. э.) // Вестник Марийского государственного университета. Серия «Исторические науки. Юридические науки». 2019.
Tomás Klokner. Private alimentary foundations in Roman Italy (1st-3rd century A. D.). Vestnik of the Mari State University. Chapter "History. Law". 2019, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 36-45. DOI: 10.30914/24113522-2019-5-1-36-45 (In Russ.).
Т. 5. № l. С. 36-45. DOI: 10.30914/2411-3522-20195-1-36-45
Об авторе Томас Клокнер
About the author Tomás Klokner
PhD, Danubius College, Janko Jesensky Faculty of Law, Richterova 1171 925 21 Sládkovicovo, Slovakia, tomas. klokner@vsdanubius. sk
кандидат наук, Колледж Данубиус, юридический факультет им. Янко Есенского, ШсЫегоуа 1171 925 21 Сладковичово, Словацкая Республика, tomas.klokner@vsdanubius.sk
