empt from taxes (Ezra vii, 24). In the Ptolemaic pe- riod of the Egyptian rule over Palestine instances occur of the farming or leasing out of the collection of the public revenues (tolls ?) to the highest bidder (Joseph. Ant. xii, 4, 1, 4 and 5). The yearly rent of all such dues in Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine amounted under Ptolemj' Evergetes to 1G talents of silver; and we may easily imagine what vexation it occasioned when the taxes reached so enormous a sum (Joseph. Ant. xii, 4, 5). Imposts by the Syrian rulers of Palestine are also named (1 Mace, x, 29 ; xi, 35 ; xiii, 39). They con- sisted in the levy of duties (0iipoi) upon salt (n/o) aXui;) ; the royal tribute (artipavoi, crown dues, comp. the Lat. "aurum coronarium," see Adams's Rom. Ant. i, 295 ; in a rescript of Antiochus the Great [Joseph. Ant. xii, 3, 3] this assessment is called technically an- (pavirnc tpupog. Atfirstthe Jews were obliged to bring a gold "crown-piece" as the [expected] "gift," but afterward it might be rendered in any coin ; such a regal due is indicated in 2 Mace, iv, 9); the third of the seed (rpirov rijg mropac), and the half of the prod- uce of the trees (j'^uav tov Kapnov tov %v\ivov), these latter being payments in kind common to most nations of antiquity (comp. Pausan. iv, 14, 3 ; see the Hall. En- cyclop, xxi, 90). There existed also tolls and poll- taxes (Joseph. Ant. xii, 3, 3; xiii, 8, 3), as these are not classed under the usual name (ipt'ioot) of imposts (on 1 Mace, x, 33, see Michaelis in loc). The priests and Levites mostly enjoyed an exemption from these assessments (Joseph. Ant. xii, 3, 3). Letting out of the (royal) ground-rents (of single districts) was also, at this time, not uncommon (1 Mace, xi, 28 ; xiii, 15). A species of forced contribution also appears to be re- ferred to (1 Mace, xv, 31). Jiukea was first brought under tribute (vtt-oteXijc, (popov, Joseph. Ant. xiv, 4, 4; perhaps, however, this refers to Jerusalem only) to the Romans by Pompey, although the country as yet does not seem to have been subject to a yearly payment, but rather to occasional exactions at the caprice of the governor in power at the time. The regular taxes were raised by the native princes (whether yearly is uncertain, comp. Appian, Civ. v, 75; but the Ro- mans were accustomed to impose tribute upon their dependencies, 1 Mace, viii, 7 ; 2 Mace, viii, 10), and Julius Cwsar ordained this by a special decree (Joseph. Ant. xiv, 10, 5 sq. ; comp. 2'/). These revenues were not inconsiderable (Joseph. Ant. xix, 8, 2), and were derived parti y from royal lands (Joseph. Ant. xiv, 10, 6), partly from the ground and income taxes (Joseph. Ant. xv, 9, 1; 10, 4 ; xvii, 2, 1 ; 8, 4. Josephus, Ant. xix, 6, 3, likewise mentions a house-tax, either a duty upon the simple dwelling, or the premises in general), and partly from tolls (Joseph. Ant. xiv, 10, G, 22); and under the Herods were also added very oppressive city taxes (Joseph. Ant. xvii, 8, 4 ; comp. xviii, 4, 3). In addition to all these, the Jews, in consequence of their partisan warfare against the Romans, were compelled to pay man}' special war taxes (Joseph. An', xiv, 11, 2). As at first single parts of Judaea, and finally the whole country, came under the immediate Roman gov- ernment, the Jews were obliged (Plin. Hist. Xat. xii, 54), like other Roman provinces (see Savigny, in the Abhandl. der Berl. Akademie, 1822 and 1823, Histor- philol. Class, p. 27 sq.), to pa}' the ground and head tax (Matt, xxii, 17), with a view to which a census and assessment had alreadj' been made out by Augustus (Lukcii, 1, 2; comp. Acts v, 37; see Joseph. Ant. xviii, 1, 1); moreover, the city consumption excise (in Je- rusalem) continued still for a long time (Joseph. Ant. xviii, 4, 3), and the tolls (on <popoc and r!-\oc, the Lat. tributum and vectigal, Rom. xiii, 7, see Kype, Observ. ii, 183 sq.), which were considerable along the com- mercial routes (especially between Damascus and Ptol- emais) and at the sea-ports, and also from the export of balsam and cotton, were exacted as elsewhere. See Custom. These united imposts, but especially the capitation-tax (Appian, Syr. 50), severely oppressed Hh
the people (Tacit. Annals, ii, 42), particularly, no doubt, because they were not apportioned according to an exact ratio of taxation ; and, in addition, the pro- curators, who superintended the collection, and were responsible for the retun/of the duties into the impe- rial treasury, as well as the principal collectors them- selves (one such, <j)6pwv iicXoytve,, under the Emperor Caius, by the name of Capito, is depicted in Philo, ii, 575, comp. 325 sq.), in various ways made use of ex- tortion. See Publican. The power of remitting tax- es, where circumstances rendered it reasonable, be- longed, under the direct Roman rule, only to the Pres- ident of Syria (Joseph. Ant. xviii, 4, 3). See, gener- ally, P. Zorn, Historiajisci Jud. sub imperio vet. Roman. (Alton. 1734 ; also in Ugolini Thesaur. xxvi) ; Jost, Gesch. d. Israelit. 1 Anhang, p. 49 sq. — Winer, i, 4. See Census ; Tax.