Tributum et stipendium. La politique fiscale de l’empereur romain
Résumé
The two words, stipendium and tributum, which designate direct property and personal taxes levied on the provincial communities, are commonly to be found together in the source material of the early Roman Empire. This raises a problem : does such a double denomination imply a dichotomy or, on the contrary, a pair of synonyms ; or should it be considered as a hendiadys? The present article chooses not to dwell on the terminological studies and juridical explanations which, ever since Mommsen, have attempted to tackle this problem, perferring instead to focus on the political aspects. The hypothesis advanced here is that the adoption by the Imperial Chancellery of the term tributum, used during the Republic to designate the direct tax levied on Roman citizens, alongside the term stipendium, with its definitely derogatory connotation, was intended to facilitate the process of justification and legitimation ot the tax, and, hence, its acceptance by the provincial communities.