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Week 2

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I learned that there is a tremendous amount of preparation and fact-checking that goes into most wikipedia pages - especially those which already have the appearance of a "developed page". The Talk section of the pages that I reviewed have lengthy discussions concerning what should be added to each page and equally, what should not be added to a page. Additions should be thoughtful but also backed with rigorous citation. This is something that I suspected already, but had verified for me once I took a look at these "Talk" sections.

I would like to explore one of the following for my article: Roman Finance & Education in Ancient Rome

Week 3

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I have chosen to improve the article on Roman Finance. As it stands, the article focuses almost exclusively on the history of the Roman treasury and the various forms that it assumed from the republic through the empire. The exceptions to this history are discussions on public figures who concerned themselves with Roman finance and a reform measures implemented by Roman leaders.

There is a notable exclusion of information/history regarding more day to day aspects of finance, such as the interest rates on and structures of loans. Rome is a great example for many of the financial phenomena we see in today's society and I think it is important to illustrate that much of what seems extraordinary today actually happened once before in ancient Rome.

One example of this is a maximum allowable interest rate that could be charged on loans that was reduced from 8% to 4%, paralleling the monetary easing policies that we see around the world today. Two more key parallels that are not discussed is the forgiveness of private debts by the state treasury, and the large financial impact of the Gracchi social reforms[1]. The "too big to fail" debate surrounding the bailout of financial institutions following Lehman's collapse, and debate centered on the financial impact of social programs like Medicare and Medicaid are clearly paralleled by these two examples, respectively[1].

Week 5 - Rough Draft → Week 7/8 - Final Draft

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Pooling Capital

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Before banks were established in Rome there was little ability to mobilize large amounts of capital, leaving Romans to operate within the constraints of the wealth of their household. When household wealth was exhausted, the elites in Roman society would often extend loans amongst themselves[2]. The value of these loans to the lender was not always derived from interest payments, but rather from the social obligations that were an implication of being a lender.[3][4] The formation of societas allowed for the utilization of pooled capital. Societas were groups who could pool their resources to place a bid for a government contract and then share in the resulting profit or loss.[2][5] The publicani (public contractors) were an early incarnation of societas who would bid for the right to collect taxes from the Roman provinces. Senators were not allowed to engage in trade, so it fell to the knights (equites) to bid on these contracts issued by the censors every five years.[6] Banks were established in Rome that modeled their Greek counterparts and introduced formalized financial intermediation. Livy is the first to acknowledge the rise of formal Roman banks in 310 BCE.[7] Ancient Roman banks operated under private law, which did not have clear guidance on how to decide cases concerning financial matters, which forced Roman banks to operate entirely on their word and character. Bankers congregated around the arch of Janus to conduct their business and despite their informal location, were clearly professional in their dealings.[8][9]

Private Loans

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Up until the dawn of the empire, it was common for loans to be negotiated as oral contracts. In the early empire, lenders and borrowers began to adopt the usage of a chirographum (“handwritten record”) to record these contracts and use them for evidence of the agreed terms.[10] One copy of the contract was presented on the exterior of the chirographum, while a second copy was kept sealed within two waxed tablets of the document in the presence of a witness.[11][12] Informal methods of maintaining records of loans made and received existed, as well as formal incarnations adopted by frequent lenders. These serial lenders used a kalendarium to document the loans that they issued to assist in tabulating interest accrued at the beginning of each month (Kalends).[13] Parties to contracts were supposed to be Roman citizens, but there is evidence of this boundary being broken.[14] Loans to citizens were also originated from public or governmental positions. For example, the Temple of Apollo is believed to have engaged in secured loans with citizens’ homes being used as collateral.[15] Loans were more rarely extended to citizens from the government, as in the case of Tiberius who allowed for three-year, interest-free loans to be issued to senators in order to avert a looming credit crisis.[16]

Deferred Payment

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There is sufficient evidence of deferred payments and financing arrangements to be negotiated for large purchases. Deferred payments were used in the auction of wine or oil that was “on the tree” (not yet harvested or produced), requiring payment from the winning bidder long after the auction had ended. Roman peasants who needed money to pay their taxes would use an inverted form of this process by selling the right to a portion of their harvest in the future in exchange for cash in the present.[17] The Sulpicii arose as professional bankers in the first century AD, and among other forms of financial intermediation, they offered financing for speculators in grain markets.[2][5]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Reed, Lawrence W. (2015-08-17). "The Slow-Motion Financial Suicide of the Roman Empire | Lawrence W. Reed". Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  2. ^ a b c Holleran, Claire (2008-01-01). Jones, D. (ed.). "Roman Finance". The Classical Review. 58 (2): 538–539.
  3. ^ Temin, Peter (2013). The Roman Market Economy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-691-14768-0.
  4. ^ Scheidel, Walter (2012-11-08). The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy. Cambridge University Press. p. 279. ISBN 9781107495562.
  5. ^ a b Scheidel, Walter (2012-11-08). The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy. Cambridge University Press. p. 281. ISBN 9781107495562.
  6. ^ Wilhelm Ihne (1882). The History of Rome. Longmans, Green, and Company. pp. 158–159.
  7. ^ Temin 2013, p. 177
  8. ^ Temin 2013, p. 176
  9. ^ Scheidel, Walter (2012). Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-521-89822-5.
  10. ^ Temin 2013, p. 168
  11. ^ Temin 2013, p. 168
  12. ^ Scheidel, Walter (2012-11-08). The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Economy. Cambridge University Press. pp. 277–278. ISBN 9781107495562.
  13. ^ Temin 2013, p. 169
  14. ^ Temin 2013, p. 169
  15. ^ Temin 2013, p. 178
  16. ^ Temin 2013, p. 175
  17. ^ Temin 2013, p. 171
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