Asser, a learned monk of St. David's, whence (the name of that place in Latin being written Menapia or Menevia) he obtained the appellation of Asserius Mbnevensis. Asser was invited to the court of Al-
fred the Great, as is generally believed, in or about the j'ear 880, but probably earlier, merely from the reputation of his learning. His name is preserved by his Annales Rerum Gestarum JElfredi Magni. — Cave, Hist. Lit. anno 890 ; Eng. Cyclop. See Alfred.
Asses, Feast of. See Feast of Asses.
Assessment (XtiJE or Pl!K©T3; also 0373 and fi^SE) among the Israelites was of two kinds : (a) Ec- clesiastical.— According to Exod. xxx, 13, each Is- raelite (over twenty years old) was obliged to contrib- ute yearly a silver half-shekel (a didrachm, about 35 cents) to the Temple (2 Chron. xxiv, 6). This tax ex- isted still in full force after the Babylonian exile (Matt. xvii, 24; comp. Philo, Opp. iii, 224; Josephus, War, vii, 6, 6), and all Jews residing in Palestine were un- der the obligation of paying it (Josephus, Ant. xviii. 9, 1). See generally the Mishna {Shekalim, ii, 4), ac- cording to which this payment became due between the 15th and 25th of Adar (in March or April). See Temple. After the destruction of the Temple at Je- rusalem, the Jews were obliged by a decree of the Em- peror Vespasian to pay this sum yearly for the main- tenance of the Capitoline at Rome (Joseph. War, vii, 6, 6; Dio Cass, lxvi, 7, p. 1082). An increase of the temple-tax, which the pressure of circumstances ap- pears to have compelled, is mentioned in Neh. x, 32 (see Rambach, in loc). Besides this, there were for the support of the Temple certain definite assessments (2 Kings xii, 4), such as the tithes, first-fruits, and first-born offerings (see each of these in alphabetical order). Yet, on account of the great fertility of the soil and the original proprietorship of each Israelite over it, these sacred laws were certainly not onerous, however much the}' may resemble direct imposts upon the citizens of modern states. (6) Civil. — Of these no trace appears prior to the introduction of royalty. But the kings not only required liege duties (1 Sam. viii, 12, 16), but also tribute in kind (1 Sam. viii, 15), from which exemption was allowed only in certain cases (1 Sam. xvii, 25), and likewise personal service (Amos vii, 1), as well as a capitation-tax in extraordinary emer- gencies (2 Kings xv, 20; xxiii, 35). They also re- ceived voluntary presents from their subjects and chief vassals (1 Sam. x, 27; xvi, 20; 1 Kings x, 25; 2 Chron. ix, 24; xvii, 5), as is still customary in the East. See King; Gift. Crown-lands (or royal pri- vate property ?) seem also to be alluded to (1 Kings iv, 27 sq. ; 1 Chron. xxvii, 26 sq. ; xxvi, 10 sq.), as well as tolls on goods in transit (1 Kings x, 15), and even regal privileges and monopolies of a commercial character (1 Kings x, 28 ; comp. ix, 26 sq. ; xxii, 49). During the exile and later, the Jews of Palestine paid taxes of various kinds to their foreign masters, and so the remnant of the Jews under the Chaldrcan regents (see Josephus, Ant. x, 9, 1 and 3). As Persian taxes levied upon the new Jewish colonies are mentioned (Ezra iv, 13, 20; vii, 24), Cnri, tribute, tea, excise, and Tjbn, toll (Sept. and Joseph. Ant. xi, 2, 1, in gen- eral tyopoi, duties; as the Auth. Vers, "tribute" for the first two, "custom" for the last). The distinction between these terms, it is true, is not at all clear ; the foregoing renderings follow the etymology; the last term ("3!"!, halak') signifying u-ay-money (from ~3i"', to 170), the second (iP3, belo'), consumption-tax (from 1H52, to consume') ; the first (STTO, middah'}, the direct (ground or income) tax {apportionment, from ill "2, to measure out), which individuals had to pay (comp. Lat. demensuni), as Grotius and Cocceius have supposed (see Gesenius, Heb. Lex. s. vv. severally). Abcn-Ezra's interpretation of this last by cattle-tax has no good foundation. The governors increased the severe tax- ation of the people (Neh. ix, 37) by many additional assumptions of extortion (Neh. v, 15). We find men- tion (Ezra vi, 8 ; vii, 20 sq.) of royal exchequers. The priests and Levites were (under Artaxer.\es?) ex-
ASSESSMENT
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ASSHUR