ABSTRACT
The economic ills of the state had reached a critical point by the time Aurelian was elevated to the purple. The constant warfare, more often than not now fought on Roman soil, had brought about a marked increase in government expenditure while at the same time decreasing revenue. The military budget was the greatest part of this expenditure: soldiers had to be paid, and not infrequently donatives had to be found to supplement their income; they had to be fed and housed; in addition, in this age of rapid deployment, transport costs, of both men and supplies, became an ever larger consideration. To the effects of warfare were added those of an inefficient and burdensome system of taxation. This combination led to rising debts and to increasing amounts of farmland, particularly in the more marginal areas, being abandoned altogether as economically unworkable. The government’s answer to its economic plight had been to resort to debasing the coinage, which in turn had helped to fuel inflation. The government tried to circumvent the worst effects of this by resorting increasingly to taxation in kind in order to supply the army more cost-effectively.
