In the
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, this tax was known as the
chrysargyron (), also called
chrysargyrum. The term originated from the
Greek words for
gold (χρυσός) and
silver (), which initially were the required forms of payment. According to the early Byzantine writer
Zosimus, Emperor
Constantine I first initiated this tax, perhaps as early as 325. Also there are hints that the tax existed during the rule of
Severus Alexander (see
Augustan History). The ecclesiastical historian
Evagrius says that Constantine found the tax already established in the Eastern Empire, and considered abolishing it. Early in the 5th century, the tax had to be paid every four years. In some areas it was collected by
indiction year, every month. Each city chose individuals to collect the taxes from the community, which were then paid into the
sacrae largitiones.
Libanius, Zosimus and Evagrius list examples of the hardships caused by this tax, probably because it was collected in one lump sum every four years. Parents were forced to sell their children into slavery or prostitution to meet the required levy. The tax was abolished by
Anastasius I throughout the Eastern Roman Empire in the year 498 as part of his fiscal and monetary reforms. In the Italian peninsula, then ruled by the
Ostrogoths, the tax was continued for some years, until they were conquered by
Belisarius. According to
Joshua the Stylite, when the tax was ended, the people of the city of
Edessa, which was relieved of a tax of 140 pounds of gold every 4 years (2,520
solidi annually), celebrated with a week of festivities. The Emperor Anastasius compensated for this lost revenue by placing income earned from certain estates into a separate fund. ==References==