Due to the growth of the now vast Roman Empire, the Empire was broken into two separate halves, the Eastern …show more content…
No lone emperor could govern all the territory, so a system of shared ruling was employed- an emperor for each division. However, the rule of the two halves was disjointed. The halves fought for resources, such as food and militaries, and Western Rome began to fall into a strife. It was difficult for the West to provide substance for its citizens, ergo “[r]evenue was needed to pay the increasing costs of defense and a growing bureaucracy” (Bartlett). Bartlett notes that “there is evidence that the demand for revenue led to the debasement of coinage.” The value of the coin is lowered, thereby, creating a tax on coinage. However, these methods were not enough to alleviate the nation’s burden; emperors often took assets away from wealthy citizens. Duplicitous charges were brought up against wealthy individuals to seize their possessions. The tribute system was also modified to receive additional aurum coronarium from residents. Aurum coronarium is a system of gold contributions to the government that is traditionally voluntary and often used to