Publican

Publican

In antiquity, publicans (Latin "publicanus" (singular); "publicani" (plural)) were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects. In addition, they served as tax collectors for the Republic (and later the Roman Empire), bidding on contracts (from the Senate in Rome) for the collection of various types of taxes. Importantly, this role as tax collectors was not emphasized until late into the history of the Republic (c. 1st century BC). The publicans were usually of the class of equites.

At the height of the Republic's era of provincial expansion (roughly the first and second centuries BC until the end of the Republic) the Roman tax farming system was very profitable for the publicani. The right to collect taxes for a particular region would be auctioned every few years for a value that (in theory) approximated the tax available for collection in that region. The payment to Rome was treated as a loan and the publicani would receive interest on their payment at the end of the collection period. In addition, any excess (over their bid) tax collected would be pure profit for the publicani. The principal risk to the publicani was that the tax collected would be less than the sum bid.

By New Testament times, publicans were seen chiefly as tax collectors by provincial peoples. It is in this sense that the term is used in Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. However, their role as public contractors, especially as regards building projects, was still significant.

With the rise of a much larger Imperial bureaucracy, this task of the publicans, as well as their overall importance, declined precipitously. Evidence for the existence of publicans extends as far back as the 3rd century BC, although it is generally assumed that they existed at still earlier times in Roman history. Knowledge of a tentative "terminus post quem" is taken from the histories of the 1st century AD Imperial historian Livy.

By the time of the Renaissance, the word "publican" meant a tavernkeeper (the licensed landlord of a public house), and by extension a slang term for a pimp.

In England in the late 12th century there existed a religious sect called the "publicani". Among their beliefs was the view that procreation was a sin. This sect was thought heretical and was commonly persecuted in the 1180-1190s by Archbishop William of Rheims (reigned 1176-1202). Cite book
last= Banks
first= S.E.
coauthors= J. W. Binns
title=
publisher=Oxford University Press
date= 2002
pages= xxvii-xxviii
isbn = 0-19-820288-1
This is mentioned in Banks and Binns' introduction to the "Otia Imperialia", a 13th century work by Gervase of Tilbury.

ee also

*Tax farming
*Matthew the Evangelist
*Zacchaeus

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12553d.htm Publican] article from the "Catholic Encyclopedia"
* [http://www.unrv.com/economy/roman-taxes.php Publicani] article from UNRV.
* [http://www.publicani.com/book Publicani the book] recent work of fiction

Notes and references


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  • Publican — • A member or employee of the Roman financial companies who collected the taxes. Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Publican     Publican      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • publican — PUBLICÁN, publicani, s.m. Persoană care strângea impozitele la romani. – Din lat. publicanus. Trimis de oprocopiuc, 24.04.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  publicán s. m. (sil. bli ), pl. publicáni Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic … …   Dicționar Român

  • Publican — Pub li*can, n. [L. publicanus: cf. F. publicain. See {Public}.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) A farmer of the taxes and public revenues; hence, a collector of toll or tribute. The inferior officers of this class were often oppressive in their exactions, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • publican — (n.) c.1200, tax gatherer, from O.Fr. publician (12c.), from L. publicanus a tax collector, originally an adjective, pertaining to public revenue, from publicum public revenue, noun use of neuter of publicus (see PUBLIC (Cf. public)). Original… …   Etymology dictionary

  • publican — ► NOUN 1) Brit. a person who owns or manages a pub. 2) Austral. a person who owns or manages a hotel. 3) (in ancient Roman and biblical times) a tax collector. ORIGIN Latin publicanus, from publicum public revenue …   English terms dictionary

  • publican — [pub′li kən] n. [ME < L publicanus < publicus: see PUBLIC] 1. in ancient Rome, a collector of public revenues, tolls, etc. 2. Brit. a saloonkeeper; innkeeper …   English World dictionary

  • publican — UK [ˈpʌblɪkən] / US noun [countable] Word forms publican : singular publican plural publicans British someone who owns or manages a pub …   English dictionary

  • publican — noun a) the landlord of a public house I went into a public ouse to get a pint o beer, b) a tax collector in ancient Rome The publican e up an sez, We serve no red coats here …   Wiktionary

  • publican — [12] The modern use of publican for ‘innkeeper’ dates from the early 18th century, and presumably arose from an association with public house. Its original meaning was ‘tax collector’. It comes via Old French publicain from Latin pūblicānus… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • publican — [[t]pʌ̱blɪkən[/t]] publicans N COUNT A publican is a person who owns or manages a pub. [BRIT, FORMAL] Syn: landlady, landlord …   English dictionary

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