A Study Of The Provincial Quaestor In Roman Republic

The quaestor was one of the main officials in the Roman Republic,whose origin can be traced back to the dynasty.Its function was initially that of a homicide searcher,who tried homicide cases.Later,the quaestor of the Roman Republic was established,and the consuls appointed quaestor to supervise the Treasury,so the quaestor became an official title mainly for managing financial affairs.After the establishment of the Sicilian province in Rome,the experience of the quaestor in managing the Roman city state was applied to the provincial financial management.The Senate began appointing quaestor to the provinces.Since then,the quaestor of the province has become the second in power and status to the governor,and play a supporting role in the official.By participating in the finance and taxation management of the province,assisting the governor in organizing the war and dealing with the judicial affairs of the province,the quaestor of the province has exerted an important influence in the management of the affairs of the province.However,after the collapse of the Republic,the establishment of the principate system by Augustus greatly impacted the republican office,and the authority of the traditional official was gradually occupied by the bureaucrats established by the principate.The provincial quaestor was no exception,and his function of administering the Senate’s provincial taxes was gradually replaced by the principate’s deputy.Therefore,the study of the financial functions of the provinces has some enlightening effect on our study of the essence of Roman governs the provinces in the republican period.This paper takes the quaestor as the object of study,through examining the background and reasons of the appointment of the quaestor by the Senate,analyzes its positive and negative effects on the management of the provincial government,and through investigating the emergence,development and decline of the quaestor,it can restore the change and development of the provincial official system at that time.First of all,in the introduction part,the background of this paper is elaborated,the main research status of domestic and foreign scholars on the topic of quaestor is summarized,and the basic framework,research methods,main research features and innovations of this paper are introduced.The first chapter of the text elaborates the historical evolution of the establishment of provinces and the reasons for the appointment of quaestor.The second chapter of the text mainly introduces the election process and appointment process of the quaestor,analyzes the specific role of quaestor the management of provincial affairs.The third chapter of the text summarizes the quaestor management significance.This paper discusses the positive and negative effects of the provincial quaestor,as well as its influence on Rome,and explores the outcome of the quaestor being replaced by the procurator after the fiscal reform of Augustus.The last part is the conclusion of the text.