Положај и статус декуриона у време Позног царства

Abstract

У овом раду настојимо да осветлимо друштвени положај и правни статус декуриона у време Позног царства на основу првих десет одредаба Дванаесте књиге Теодосијевог кодекса (De decurionibus1 ), чији превод објављујемо по први пут на српском језику. Сви декрети проглашени су за време владавине цара Константина Великог и имали су за циљ да вежу декурионе за муниципије, као и да драстично повећају њихове финансијске обавезе према локалној заједници. Наметнуте дужности и обавезе изазваће снажна настојања декуриона да побегну и од статуса, и од места живљења. Бекства декуриона за крајњу последицу имала су дезорганизацију и економско назадовање градова, али и урушавање унутрашње стабилности државе.

The twelfth book of the Theodosian Code, dedicated to the decurions, contains over ninety legal decrees. It was undoubtedly the most extensive book of this legal corpus. Based on the insight into the first ten provisions, we can point out the outlines of all changes that took place on the social and economic level during the Late Empire. The major change was a new position and status of the decurions, as well as the local city councils, for they became the very basis of a complex fiscal regime. The decurions were responsible for the supply of grain, public order and peace, the maintenance and construction of public buildings in the city, as well as for financing public games and festivals. They were expected to manage the entire finances of their cities and to bear full financial responsibility for all fiscal debts. However, the biggest burden was the obligation to collect all kinds of taxes in their communities. The decurions were threatened with severe penalties in case of non-fulfillment of obligations and were personally responsible for the amount of money collected. It was precisely because of the latter that their fellow citizens often perceived them as tyrants. The imperial policy that turned decurions into tax collectors played a major role in the emergence of animosity in Roman society of the Late Empire. In the economic conditions of this time, it was not always possible to fulfill the obligations, which is why the decurions became 323 victims of the state. We should not be surprised, therefore, by their persistent effort to escape from their status, position and place of residence, whether they entered the imperial or notary service, married slave women or sought salvation in the ranks of Roman cohorts and legions. The Roman state of the Late Empire could only find methods of force in order to oblige the decurions, but also craftsmen, merchants and farmers, to deliver the requisite taxes and services. This practice also had its legal basis, and in this period a rather energetic legislative activity was noticeable, which was reflected in the codification of numerous laws and decrees. The state constantly perfected the method of compulsion by enforcing the practice of inheriting occupations but also through the introduction of a complex revenue system that included old and new taxes. Although the Roman state during the reign of Constantine the Great was still strong and powerful enough to keep things under control, the absence of freedom, even freedom of movement, and the heavy tax burdens meant the oppression of numerous social groups who increasingly viewed the state as the enemy. The Roman state, on the other hand, no longer satisfied the interests of large landowners. The despotic character of the monarchy of the Late Empire was even more obvious in comparison with earlier periods, so that the alienation from the state covered all social groups. In its last moments, the Roman state faced two dangers: invasions of barbarian tribes and alienation of its citizens who perceived the state as their enemy and oppressor. The emperors, the state and provincial administration, as well as Roman officers, could not win this battle on two fronts.