Editing Quaestor (section)

=== Responsibilities ===

After election, they were assigned – usually by lot on their first day in office – to their tasks.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=69, 74}} Very rarely were quaestors directly assigned to a specific task without lot (i.e., ''extra sortem''), likely with the approval of the senate to a magistrate's request.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=75–76}} Some quaestors were assigned to specific tasks (the management of the treasury or of the grain supply in Ostia), but most were assigned to assist a higher magistrate.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=72}}

Those assigned to the treasury were supervised by the Senate (usually with the consuls as intermediaries), while those assigned to a higher magistrate were supervised by their superior.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=73}} Quaestors could be dismissed by their superiors, but this appears rare; there is only one known case thereof, when then-proconsul [[Marcus Aurelius Cotta (consul 74 BC)|Marcus Aurelius Cotta]] dismissed his quaestor Publius Oppius in 73&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=77-78}}

In the early Republic, one quaestor was attached to each consul, both when the consul was in Rome for civic duties and on military campaign.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=125}} By 227&nbsp;BC,{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=128}} every magistrate with ''[[imperium]]'' (consuls and praetors) left the city accompanied by a quaestor.<ref>{{harvnb|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=125–26|ps=. The two associated phrases were ''ad ministeria belli'' (to administer war) and ''ut rem militarem commitaretur'' (to collaborate with military things).}}</ref> This close cooperation led these provincial quaestors to take a more active role in assisting their superiors with military – even assuming command at times – and administrative tasks.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=128–29}}  The expanding use of [[prorogatio]]n also affected quaestors, who were regularly prorogued with their superiors ''pro quaestore''; more frustratingly, ancient sources did not always differentiate between quaestors and their proquaestorian counterparts, regularly calling both quaestors.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=130}}

Quaestors in the provinces generally remained in the same province as their superiors for the duration of the superior's term,{{sfn|Badian|1983|p=158}} but this was not obligatory, as the quaestorian careers of [[Gaius Gracchus]], [[Julius Caesar]], and the rotating names of quaestors serving under [[Gaius Verres]] attest.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=138}} Terms in the provinces usually lasted one or two years.{{sfn|Badian|1983|pp=158, 160}} Quaestors acted militarily solely under the auspices and ''[[imperium]]'' of their commanders, except under exceptional circumstances such as the death of that commander.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=139}}

The relationship between a governor and his quaestor was similar to that between a [[Patronage|patron]] and a client, but was entirely official. While in office together, a quaestor was expected to show "reverence, courtesy, and loyalty" to his governor; the governor was likewise obliged to respect his subordinates. This relationship often continued past the designated terms of either individual, and the quaestor could be called upon for assistance or other needs by the consul.<ref name="relationship">{{Cite journal |last=Thompson |first=LA |date=1962 |title=The Relationship between Provincial Quaestors and Their Commanders-in-Chief |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434751 |journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=339–355 |jstor=4434751 |issn=0018-2311}}</ref> Also related were the need to maintain a working relationship to avoid tensions that could endanger the province, as well as a "certain degree of complicity [needed...] to conceal anything that could compromise the magistrates' reputations".{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=194}}

==== Domestic duties ====
{{Anchor|Urban quaestor|Urban quaestors|quaestor urbanis|quaestores urbani}}
[[File:Temple of Saturn, Roman Forum, Rome (39026371221).jpg|alt=Image of the ruins of the Temple of Saturn, from front.|thumb|right|Ruins of the [[Temple of Saturn]], the location of the ''[[aerarium]]'', in the [[Roman Forum|Forum]] at the foot of the [[Capitoline Hill]] in Rome.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Burton |first=Graham |title=aerarium |encyclopedia=The Oxford classical dictionary |year=2012 |editor-first1=Simon |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-first2=Antony |editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-first3=Esther |editor-last3=Eidinow |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |edition=4th |location=Oxford |oclc=959667246 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=24 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.141 |url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-141 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> ]]
[[File:Tabularium-and-temple.jpg|thumb|right|The repurposed ruins of the [[Tabularium]] (behind the fragmentary ruins of the [[Temple of Vespasian and Titus]] at right) constructed in 78&nbsp;BC near the ''aerarium'' as the state record office.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=DeLaine |first=Janet |title=tabularium |encyclopedia=The Oxford classical dictionary |year=2012 |editor-first1=Simon |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-first2=Antony |editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-first3=Esther |editor-last3=Eidinow |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |edition=4th |location=Oxford |oclc=959667246 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=1425 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-6202 }}</ref> ]]
[[File:Catón (52340687524).jpg|thumb|[[Cato the Younger]] served as one of the urban quaestors in 64&nbsp;BC, during which he acquired a reputation for stern honesty.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=82, 120–22}} ]]

There were usually two quaestors assigned to the city of Rome (termed urban quaestors), with both simultaneously responsible for the treasury.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=80, 82}} While some older scholars believed that the urban quaestors were forbidden from leaving the city, this is now rejected.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=82}}

The normal main duty of the urban quaestors was to handle the ''[[aerarium]]'' (the public treasury). This involved control and management of the gold and coins stored there, safekeeping of the keys to the treasury, supervision of all public expenses and tax receipts, validation of official documents, and archival of the same.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=84–85, 112 (public notaries)}} The quaestors were aided by assistants called ''apparitores'', who likely served multi-year terms to familiarise themselves with the job; their number multiplied during the later Republic to meet administrative needs.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=84}} As part of administering the treasury, they also handled the receipt and auditing of war reparations and tribute from polities defeated by Rome.<ref>{{harvnb|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=95|ps=, citing a passage in Livy 32.2.1 et seq where Carthaginian war reparations are rejected on grounds that the provided silver is impure alloy.}}</ref> Collections of taxes were also handled by the urban quaestors and their staff, with overpayments reimbursed when funds became available.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=96}} They also made the appropriate withdrawals from the treasury to cover various expenses – including building, army pay, temple maintenance, state visits, state funerals, road maintenance, minting of coins, etc – as directed by the Senate.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=96–97, 102 (state visits), 103 (state funerals), 105 (road maintenance), 107 (minting of coins)}}

They were also in charge of auctions for public land (''[[ager publicus]]''). Such land was acquired by conquest and became the property of the Roman people.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=93}} Land sales could be directed by the Senate to meet funding shortfalls, as during the [[Second Punic War]], when the urban quaestors auctioned lands around Capua to raise funds.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=94}} These quaestors were also responsible for handling public auction of war booty returned to the public treasury by victorious generals. This included objects as well as slaves, with the proceeds to be deposited in the public treasury.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=91}} They were also responsible for public auction of property seized from citizens who had debts or fines owed to the state if they were unable to pay.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=92}} These responsibilities over public debts also included the collection of fines in general, where a convict ordered to pay a fine would be required to make a surety to the urban quaestors and deposit the money in the ''aerarium''.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=92}}

Returning magistrates and governors also had to produce detailed account books for their handling of public money, which would then be deposited in the treasury, where the urban quaestors and their staff would audit them.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=86–87}} These records were supposed to total a running ledger of starting balances, a line-by-line itemised accounting of all inflows and outflows, and ending balances for the province.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=87}} They also included, for generals, detailed lists of all the money, gold, silver, spoils, and other assets acquired during a governorship.<ref>{{harvnb|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=88–89}}, citing Cic. ''Verr.'', 2.1.57: "You see not only the number of the statues, but the size, form, and the state of each one accurately put down in writing".</ref> The scribes checked the account books, looking for transactional documentation and arithmetic errors, the results were then approved or disapproved by the quaestors.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=87}} A negative audit could provide fodder for corruption charges, which was regular in the last two centuries of the Republic.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=87}}

After the formation of the permanent courts ({{lang|la|quaestiones perpetuae}}), the urban quaestors were also responsible for assembling the jury pools and allocation of portions of those pools to the various courts.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=116–17}} These quaestors also handled various tasks assigned ad hoc by the Senate, such as meeting and accompanying foreign dignitaries on state visits{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=80–81, 102}} or leaving Rome to the provinces on special assignments.<ref>{{harvnb|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=81}} (describing an urban quaestor leaving the city to bring money to [[Gaius Marius]] during the [[Jugurthine War]]).</ref>

In earlier Republic, the quaestors also controlled the distribution of the [[Aquila (Roman)|legionary ''aquilae'']] (eagle standards), which were kept in the treasury before distribution to generals before they were returned on the conclusion of a campaign. This likely, however, fell into disuse as Rome expanded across the Mediterranean.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=85–86}}

==== Provincial administration ====
[[File:Roman Republic 44 bC.svg|thumb|right|300px|The extent of the Roman Republic and its provinces on the eve of Caesar's assassination in 44&nbsp;BC.]]

Because consuls, praetors, and their promagisterial counterparts were "practically... plenipotentiary agent[s] upon [which all] aspect[s] of government associated with that ''provincia'' depended", the quaestor's responsibilities could vary widely, including not only financial and administrative matters but also sometimes encompassing military command and judicial functions.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=164}} In general, however, the core administrative duty of the quaestor was to "[extract] whatever material assets the Roman military apparatus might need".{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=164}} When quaestors were sometimes assigned to a province alone (without attachment to a superior) in the late republic, quaestorian responsibilities increased dramatically as the only Roman magistrate present.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=164}} At times, quaestors were sent without superiors to peaceful acquisitions to inventory property, auction them if necessary, and transport proceeds to Rome.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=178}}

During normal times under a governor, the quaestor would handle administrative tasks related to supply of the armies. He would oversee the transport of public money assigned by the Senate to the province, record its uses, and use it to pay soldiers' wages or purchase supplies.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=165}} He also helped manage the taxation of the province in terms of collecting food, supplies, and money from local leaders.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=165–66}} In terms of taxation, quaestors also handled the local auction of raw goods to [[public contractor]]s ([[Publican|''publicani'']]) or merchants; at times, they also made requisitions from local provincials on orders of their superior or at times on their own accord.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=166–67}} This remit also extended to minting coinage – usually to pay soldiers serving in the provinces – from precious metal stocks on hand.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=167}}

The provincial quaestor also had to carefully record all the money that fell into the provincial government's hands.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=168}} Other assets acquired by conquest or otherwise classed as war spoils – from gold to grain, arms, and ships – also had to be inventoried, recorded, and deposited in the public treasury at Rome.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=176–77}} Captives captured in war were usually sold into slavery in that province, which was managed by the quaestor for funds also to be noted in the account books.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=177}} They also were expected to register those provincial records in Rome upon conclusion of their terms for review by the urban quaestors, which were supposed to record all movements of funds. Loss of those records could give rise to damaging charges of corruption.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=170–71}} After [[Julius Caesar]]'s ''lex Julia'', these records had to be made in triplicate, with two copies lodged in provincial cities (not always the same cities from governor to governor) and the remaining copy returned to Rome for presentation.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=171}} Then, at least according to custom, both the quaestor and the governor would return to Rome to present the provincial accounts.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=172}} Upon the close of the term, the quaestor would coordinate to divide the remaining money between the incoming provincial administration and the treasury in Rome.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=173}}

These great responsibilities with little immediate oversight gave both provincial quaestors and their governors many opportunities for corruption by misappropriating funds, demanding exorbitant taxes, getting involved in various business schemes, or taking bribes outright.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=174–75}} Quaestors' behaviour did not always comport with their administrative and legal responsibilities.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=175}}

==== On campaign ====

On campaign, provincial quaestors acted as subordinate military officers to their attached superior, taking a role "analogous to... that [of] other members of the governor's entourage, such as his legates".{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=181}} At times, the quaestor could get into tension with the governor's legates over respective spheres of responsibility or accountability; officially, however, the quaestor was "higher up the chain of command... [as], besides the governor, he was the only magistrate [and] representative of the Senate and the Roman people", giving him "greater authority than legates in all areas of provincial command".<ref>{{harvnb|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=181–82|ps=, also noting that a quaestor's tent received three guards when those of legates received only two.}}</ref>

Quaestors are documented at various times leading and raising troops and fleets under the command of their governors.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=182–83}} Some quaestors were delegated significant open-ended responsibilities far exceeding administrative tasks: [[Lucullus]], for example, during the [[First Mithridatic War]] as [[Sulla]]'s proquaestor, led troops, assembled fleets, travelled the eastern Mediterranean as a diplomat, intervened to overthrow governments, commanded naval battles, captured prisoners, and levied taxes and indemnities.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|pp=183–84}}

When a governor left the province, he normally left it to his quaestor's command (though this was at times given instead to one of his high-ranking legates).{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=186}} If a governor died, however, the quaestor generally assumed command of the forces until replacement, possibly with ''imperium pro praetore''.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=187–88}} The specifics of how this ''imperium'' was delegated after the death of its actual possessor are unclear: some scholars believe that this was automatic, whereas others believed that a proconsul had to first endow his quaestor with propraetorian ''imperium''.{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=190 (n.&nbsp;295)}}

A provincial quaestor also could be sent as a diplomatic representative. Two famous examples thereof are those of [[Tiberius Gracchus]] and [[Sulla]]: Gracchus negotiated a peace treaty on behalf of his proconsul allowing some twenty thousand soldiers to leave with their lives (though the treaty was later invalidated by the Senate) and Sulla negotiated the capture of [[Jugurtha]] at the end of the [[Jugurthine War]].{{sfn|Pina|Díaz|2019|p=192}}