ABSTRACT
The imperial administrators had no intention of supplying indefinitely the tens of thousands of troops they were moving to the new frontier. Nor would they have been able to do so if they had wanted to. They intended from the start that the army would be supplied as fully and quickly as possible from local resources and with a minimal financial burden on the imperial treasury. Levies in kind in lieu of taxes began almost as soon as the first troops arrived on station. The huge military requirements for foodstuffs provided a critical demand that necessitated a rapid increase in local production. 1
