Thomas Kruse
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780197266779
- eISBN:
- 9780191916069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266779.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This paper examines the role of the state farmers, their organisation and changes as a village institution in Roman Egypt. Since the cultivation of public land in Roman Egypt constituted one of the ...
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This paper examines the role of the state farmers, their organisation and changes as a village institution in Roman Egypt. Since the cultivation of public land in Roman Egypt constituted one of the major sources of the income for the province, it is not surprising that the state farmers, usually called demosioi georgoi (public farmers), were one of the most important groups of the rural population. As public land was usually cultivated through a hereditary lease, the rural population saw the plots which were attached to their villages as their own property. It was, therefore, a natural consequence that the state farmers became involved in the management of their village’s affairs and in doing so cooperated with the local administrative officials.Less
This paper examines the role of the state farmers, their organisation and changes as a village institution in Roman Egypt. Since the cultivation of public land in Roman Egypt constituted one of the major sources of the income for the province, it is not surprising that the state farmers, usually called demosioi georgoi (public farmers), were one of the most important groups of the rural population. As public land was usually cultivated through a hereditary lease, the rural population saw the plots which were attached to their villages as their own property. It was, therefore, a natural consequence that the state farmers became involved in the management of their village’s affairs and in doing so cooperated with the local administrative officials.
