An imperial estate (''patrimonium'' or ''res privata'')
in the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medit ...
was the "personal property of members of the imperial family, as distinct from property belonging to the Roman state" (''ager publicus''). On the
Emperor's death these properties passed to his successor, and not to his private heirs.
Imperial estates were not only farming estates, or ''
latifundia
A ''latifundium'' ( Latin: ''latus'', "spacious" and ''fundus'', "farm, estate") is a very extensive parcel of privately owned land. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, ...
'', but also
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or ...
s (''saltus'') and
mines (''metalla''). Management of imperial estates within a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
was the responsibility of a
procurator
Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to:
* Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency
* ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title of ...
who, in turn, reported to the ''procurator patrimonii'' in Rome.
The procurator leased the estate to a ''conductor'', a contractor or administrator. On small estates the conductor might farm the land himself. On larger tracts the conductor sub-let the land to ''
coloni'',
tenant-farmers. Coloni were free men, and not bound to the land like later serfs. The coloni paid the conductor in shares of their crops, and were also obliged to perform other services a few days a year.
"At one period or another there seem to have been estates in most provinces of the empire." Estates were acquired in various ways: by "confiscation, acquisition by conquest and inheritance." Imperial estates might be disposed of through sales or given as gifts, to individuals, to temples, and later to christian churches. Land which remained imperial property was usually leased out.
It is difficult to estimate how much land was directly owned by the emperor. In North Africa in the fifth century, land registers show that he owned around 15–18%.
See also
*
Lex Manciana
*
Villa Magna
References
External links
Vagnari Roman Imperial Estate
Ancient Rome
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