the basis of the _iuga_ and _capita_, there were certain other taxes
payable in money. The chief of these were: the _chrysargyrum_, a tax
levied on all trades; the _aurum coronarium_, a nominally voluntary but
really compulsory contribution paid by the municipal senators every five
years to enable the emperor to distribute largesses to his officials and
troops; the _aurum oblaticium_, a similar payment made by the senatorial
order of the empire; and the _collatio glebalis_ or _follis senatoria_, a
special tax imposed upon senators by Constantine I.

*Munera.* Besides the taxes, the government laid upon its subjects the
burden of performing certain public services without compensation. The
most burdensome of these charges (_munera_) were the upkeep of the public
post, and the furnishing of quarters (_hospitium_) and rendering other
services in connection with the movement of troops, officials and
supplies. So heavy was the burden of the post that it denuded of draught
animals the districts it traversed and had to be abandoned in the sixth
century. It was in connection with the exaction of these charges, the
collection of the revenue in kind, and in the administration of justice
that the imperial officials found opportunity to practice extortions which
weighed more heavily upon the taxpayers than the taxes themselves.

*The curiales.* The class which suffered most directly from the
established fiscal system was that of the _curiales_, as the members of
the municipal senatorial orders were now called. In the course of the
third century the status of _curialis_ had become hereditary, and was an
obligation upon all who possessed a definite property qualification, fixed
at twenty-five _iugera_ of land in the fourth century. Since the local
senates had become agents of the _fiscus_ in collecting the revenues from
their municipal territories, the _curiales_, through the municipal
officers or committees of the local council, had to apportion the quotas
of the municipal burden among the landholders, to collect them, and be
responsible for the payment of the total amount to the public officers.
They were also responsible for the maintenance of the public post and the
performance of other services resting upon the municipalities. Inevitably
the _curiales_ sought to protect themselves by shifting the burden of
taxation as much as possible upon the lower classes in the municipal
territory who regarded them as oppressors. "Every _curi