XXI: The Sky Tax, the Selling of All Offices, and How Border Armies Were Forbidden to Punish Invading Barbarians explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Corruption and Tyranny

  Justinian institutionalized corruption by selling offices to the worst scoundrels, who then plundered the populace, only to have their ill-gotten gains confiscated by the emperor.

• Injustice and Lawlessness

  The law requiring officials to swear against bribery was immediately violated by Justinian himself, who openly sold offices in the Forum, and by the officials who broke their oaths to plunder.

• Suffering of the Common People

  Subjects were robbed by corrupt magistrates, enslaved by Huns, and even punished when they tried to rescue their families from barbarian raiders.

Characters to notice

• Justinian

  Instituted the 'sky tax' and sold offices to corrupt magistrates, later confiscating their fortunes; forbade border armies from attacking invading Huns.

• John the Cappadocian

  Mentioned as an example of an official whose property was confiscated by Justinian after amassing wealth.

• Phocas

  One of the few honest officials who remained uncorrupted during his office, but was removed after a few months.

• Bassus

  Another honest official who was removed after a short tenure for being 'useless and unsuited to the times.'

Key passages

• “The Prefect in charge of the praetors each year handed over to the Emperor more than thirty centenaries in addition to the public taxes; this tribute was called the sky tax, to show, I suppose, that it was not a regular duty or assessment, but as it were fell into his hands by chance out of the sky: it should have been called the villainy tax, for in its name the magistrates robbed their subjects worse than ever, on the ground they had to hand it over to the autocrat, while they themselves acquired a king’s fortune in no time.”

  The prefect overseeing the praetors annually gave the emperor over thirty centenaries beyond regular taxes, calling it the 'sky tax' to imply it was a windfall, though it was actually a pretext for magistrates to extort their subjects and amass personal fortunes.

  Procopius condemns the 'sky tax' as a cover for systematic robbery by officials.

• “He passed a law that candidates for offices must swear they would keep themselves clean of all graft and never give or receive any bribe as officials; and all the curses that were named by the ancients he invoked on any who should violate this agreement. But the law was not over a year old before he himself, disregarding its words and maledictions, shamelessly put these offices up for sale; and not secretly, but in the public Forum.”

  Justinian enacted a law requiring officials to swear against bribery, but within a year he openly sold the same offices in the public Forum, violating his own law.

  Highlights Justinian's hypocrisy and the sham of legal reforms.

• “After armies of the hostile Huns had several times enslaved and plundered inhabitants of the Roman Empire, the Thracian and Illyrian generals planned to attack them on their retreat, but gave up the idea when they were shown letters from the Emperor Justinian forbidding them to attack the barbarians on the ground that alliance with them was necessary to the Romans against the Goths, forsooth, or some other foe.”

  Roman generals in Thrace and Illyria wanted to attack retreating Huns but were stopped by Justinian's orders claiming the Huns were allies needed against the Goths.

  Procopius criticizes Justinian's policy of forbidding defense against barbarian raids.