A ''rationalis'' was a high-ranking fiscal officer in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. Until replaced by the ''

comes sacrarum largitionum The ''comes sacrarum largitionum'' ("Count of the Sacred Largesses"; in , ''kómes tōn theíon thesaurōn'') was one of the senior fiscal officials of the late Roman Empire and the early Byzantine Empire. Although it is first attested in 342/3 ...

'' by

Emperor Constantine Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a pivotal role in elevating the status of Christ ...

in the early 4th century, the ''rationalis summarum'' – comparable to a modern-day

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

– was one of two state officials who had authority over the imperial treasury, the other one being the ''rationalis rei privatae'' (manager of imperial estates and city properties). Examples for tasks that were performed by a ''rationalis'' are "the collection of all normal

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

es and

duties A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; , past participle of ; , whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, e ...

, the control of

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

and the administration of mines and

mints A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach, given their association with natural byproducts ...

". Each

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

also had various classes of ''rationales'', and Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

's administrative reforms had mirrored the dual structure on the diocesis–level, instituting the local positions ''rationalis summarum'' and ''magister rei privatae'' above the '' procuratores''. The former continued to exist after the reforms, one example are the ''

comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...

et rationalis summarum Aegypti''. In the 6th century, the post was increasingly rendered into its Greek equivalent, '' logothete'', which later was given to the senior fiscal secretaries of the middle

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

See also

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