Taxes and Authority in the Late Antique Countryside

How did the late Roman Empire operate in rural areas, where most of its subjects lived? The papyri from Egypt hand us the opportunity to glimpse at state operations at the local level, how the countryside responded to it, and thus how "empire" looked on the ground.

Since a major motivator for state activity in the countryside was tax collection, this study puts at its center the pagarchs of late antique Egypt: key actors at the intersection of provincial, city, and village institutions from the fourth through the seventh centuries. The book contextualizes the pagarchs' dealings, backgrounds, and networks from the imperial sphere to the village level, delving into topics such as tax collection procedures at the village level, accounting and staffing at the city level, the hold and competition of local elites over the countryside, aristocratic careers at the provincial and imperial levels, and local agency vs. imperial policy.

In essence, the book analyzes the administrative and social mechanics of the fiscal regime in one region of the imperial periphery. Exploring the papyrological source material, it offers a uniquely detailed insight into the dynamic relationship between the Roman Empire and local communities in late antiquity.