【简译】罗马世界中的银行业

2022-08-24 18:34 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

Just as in other ancient civilizations, the first banks in Rome began in the temples consecrated to the ancient Gods. Many temples held in their basements the Romans' money and treasure, and were involved in banking activities such as lending. Because they were always occupied by devout workers and priests and regularly patrolled by soldiers, wealthy Romans felt they were safe places to deposit money. Money was commonly stored in various different temples for both practical and security reasons as a temple could catch fire or be ransacked. Priests kept track of deposits and loans. Temples did not pay interest on deposits but charged interest on loans and were involved in currency exchange and validation. There were literally thousands of temples throughout the Roman territories that were also repositories noting that during the Empire public deposits gradually started to be held in private repositories. The Temple of Saturn in Rome housed the Aerarium which was Rome's public treasury. Some temples such as the Juno Moneta temple were also mints.

正如在其他古代文明中一样，罗马的第一家银行始于供奉古代神灵的神庙中。许多神庙在其地下室存放着罗马人的钱财，并参与借贷等银行活动。由于它们总是由虔诚的工人和祭司占据，并定期有士兵巡逻，富有的罗马人认为它们是存放金钱的安全场所。出于实用和安全的考虑，钱通常被存放在不同的寺庙中，因为寺庙可能会起火或被洗劫。祭司们对存款和贷款进行跟踪。寺庙不对存款支付利息，但对贷款收取利息，并参与货币兑换和验证工作。在整个罗马领土上有数以千计的寺庙，这些寺庙也是贮藏室。后来，公共存款逐渐开始被存放在私人贮藏室。罗马的土星庙里有一个Aerarium（古罗马给公共金库的名称），这是罗马的公共财政。一些寺庙，如朱诺-莫内塔寺，也是铸币厂。

罗马货币兑换商：THE ARGENTARII

The development of commerce throughout the Mediterranean and the expansion of trade to new foreign markets between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE, led to the growth of banking in the Roman world. Aside from temples, money changers located at shops and stalls in the Forum also dealt with banking activities and their role gained greater importance with the development of commerce. Money-changers were preceded by the trapezites (from the Greek word trapeza which means counter), who dealt with bank transactions in counting houses around the Forum. The Greek term was later replaced by the Latin terms argentarii and mensarii (from the word mensa or 'bank' in Latin).

公元前3世纪至公元3世纪期间，整个地中海地区商业的发展以及贸易向新的外国市场的扩张，促使了银行业在罗马世界的发展。除了神庙之外，位于论坛的商店和摊位上的货币兑换商也会进行银行活动，他们的作用随着商业的发展而变得更加重要。在货币兑换商之前，Trapezites（来自希腊语trapeza，意思是计数器）在论坛周围的计数室处理银行交易。这个希腊术语后来被拉丁语中的argentarii和mensarii（来自拉丁语中的mensa或'银行'一词）取代。

Three types of persons conducted banking activities in Rome: the argentarii, the mensarii and the nummularii. The argentarii, also called argenteae mensae exercitores, argenti distractores or negotiatores stipis argentariae, were private persons, free citizens, independent from the State. They belonged to a guild which accepted only a limited number of new members. The argentarii's main function was to exchange foreign currency for Roman currency (permutatio). They had shops or stalls around the Forum (owned by the state and built by the censors) and their role expanded over time to include almost every money transaction including holding money, lending money, participating in auctions, determining the value of coins (and detecting forged coins), and circulating newly minted money. Their job greatly resembled that of modern-day banks. There were argentarii of all kinds. Some were highly respected and from the upper class, usually the ones carrying out business on a large scale and for very wealthy people while some were looked down upon, usually the ones charging high rates and doing business on a small scale.

在罗马，有三种人从事银行活动：argentarii、mensarii和nummularii。argentarii，也被称为argenteae mensae exercitores、argenti distractores或negotiiatores stipis argentariae，是独立于国家的私人、自由公民。他们属于一个只接受有限数量的新成员的行会。argentarii的主要职能是将外国货币兑换成罗马货币（permutatio）。他们在论坛（由国家所有，由检查员建造）周围有商店或摊位，随着时间的推移，他们的作用扩大到几乎所有的货币交易，包括持有货币，借出货币，参与拍卖，确定硬币的价值（和检测伪造的硬币），和流通新造的货币。他们的工作与现代的银行非常相似。有各式各样身份的argentarii。有些人备受尊敬，来自上层社会，通常是为非常富有的人开展大规模的业务，而有些人则被人看不起，通常是收取高额费用和做小规模业务的人。

Permutatio or currency exchange was done for a small fee (collybus). The argentarii also became involved in bills of exchange (already common in Greece): they received a sum of money, for example, to be paid in Athens and they drew a bill payable in Athens by another banker in the Greek city. They had to know the exact value of a foreign coin in different places and at different times. The argentarii also kept money deposited by other persons (depositum), which could sometimes amount to very large sums of money, and made payments on behalf of other persons, just as modern banks do. Payments were made when the owner of the money told the argentarius or when the owner used a cheque (perscriptio) to make a payment. If two persons involved in a transaction used the same argentarius, the argentarius would record (scribere) in his books called codices (or tabulae, rationes) the transfer of money from one account to the other. The codices were very accurate; they recorded dates and every transaction. These records were looked upon as documents of high authority and used in courts of justice as unquestionable evidence. When the money was merely deposited, the argentarius paid no interest and the money was called vacua pecunia. When the money was deposited for an interest paid by the argentarius, the argentarius could use the money in other lucrative transactions (for example, loaning money to other persons).

Permutatio或货币兑换是以小额费用（collybus）进行的。精算师还参与汇票（在希腊已经很常见）：例如，他们收到一笔要在雅典支付的钱，他们在雅典开出一张由希腊城市的另一个银行家支付的票据。他们必须知道一种外国硬币在不同地方和不同时间的确切价值。银行里还保管其他人存入的钱（depositum），这些钱有时可能达到非常大的数额，并代表其他人进行支付，就像现代银行所做的那样。当钱的主人告诉argentarius时，或者当钱的主人使用支票（perscriptio）付款时，就会进行付款。如果参与交易的两个人使用同一个精算师，精算师会在他的账本上记录（scribere），称为codices（或tabulae，rationes），将钱从一个账户转到另一个账户。这些账簿非常准确；它们记录了日期和每笔交易。这些记录被视为具有高度权威性的文件，在法庭上被用作不容置疑的证据。当钱只是被存入时，精算师不支付利息，这些钱被称为vacua pecunia。当钱被存入后，由精算师支付利息，精算师可以将钱用于其他有利可图的交易（例如，将钱借给其他人）。

The argentarii were involved in public auctions and in commercial transactions. They were almost always present in public auctions acting on behalf of other persons, receiving payments and registering the parties involved, the transactions, the articles sold and their price. In commercial transactions, they acted as agents for either party (the seller or the purchaser) and could be involved in selling the entire estate of a person. When large payments were involved, the argentarii were almost always present. They also determined the value of foreign coins and tested the genuineness of coins (probatio nummorum). During the empire, the argentarii were also obligated to purchase newly coined money (solidorum venditio) from the mints and to circulate it among the people.

argentarii参与了公开拍卖和商业交易。他们几乎总是出现在公开拍卖会上，代表其他人接受付款，并登记有关各方、交易、出售的物品及其价格。在商业交易中，他们作为任何一方（卖方或买方）的代理人，可能参与出售一个人的全部财产。当涉及大额付款时，argentarii几乎总是在场。他们还确定外国钱币的价值，并检验钱币的真实性（probatio nummorum）。在帝国时期，argentarii还有义务从铸币厂购买新铸的货币（solidorum venditio）并在民众中流通。

罗马的公共银行家：THE MENSARII

The mensarii (from the word mensa or 'bank' in Latin) were highly respected public bankers appointed by the state in special circumstances, usually in periods of general poverty, especially during periods of war, their goal being to help plebeians overcome economic difficulties and avert social unrest. We note that in ancient Rome plebeians carrying debt (nexum) could be exposed to slavery when they were unable to fulfil their debt obligations. The mensarii first appeared in 352 BCE. Quinqueviri mensarii, forming a five-man commission, were appointed and a public bank was created to address the problem of citizens' indebtedness. The citizens who could provide security were covered from public resources by the quinqueviri mensarii. The citizens who could not do so, transmitted their property to creditors after a reliable valuation was done by public officials. Later, the Lex Minucia De Triumviris Mensariis was passed in 216 BCE which appointed a commission of three people that operated continually until 210 BCE. Its function was the same as the quinqueviri mensarii and even wider.

Mensarii（来自拉丁语中的mensa或'银行'一词）是国家在特殊情况下任命的备受尊敬的公共银行家，通常是在普遍贫困的时期，尤其是在战争时期，他们的目标是帮助平民克服经济困难，避免社会动荡。我们注意到，在古罗马，背负债务（nexum）的平民在无法履行其债务义务时可能会面临被奴役的命运。Mensarii首次出现在公元前352年。政府任命了由五人组成的Quinqueviri mensarii委员会，并建立了一个公共银行来解决公民的债务问题。能够提供担保的公民由quinqueviri mensarii用公共资源支付。不能提供担保的公民，在政府官员进行可靠的估价后，将其财产转给债权人。后来，公元前216年通过了Lex Minucia De Triumviris Mensariis，任命了一个由三人组成的委员会，一直运作到公元前210年。其职能与quinqueviri mensarii相同，甚至更广泛。

Some of the functions of the mensarii were actually the same as the argentarii and even during ancient times people confused the two. For example, the mensarii held deposits (e.g. soldiers' pay), and they determined the value of coins and their genuineness. The mensarii's role was considered to be positive overall as they were able to address the problem of excess debt in the Roman economy. The names of some mensarii such as Gaius Duilius, Publius Decius Mus, Marcus Papirius, Quintus Publius and Titus Emilius were widely known in the Roman world.

Mensarii的一些功能实际上与argentarii相同，甚至在古代，人们也将这两者混淆。例如，mensarii持有存款（如士兵的工资），他们决定货币的价值和真实性。mensarii的作用总体上被认为是积极的，因为他们能够解决罗马经济中的过度债务问题。

造币厂的官员：Nummularii

The nummularii were officers of the mint and their main role was to test the quality of new coins. They held a bank that put new coins into circulation and took old or foreign coins in exchange for new coins. Just like the argentarii and the mensarii, they tested the genuineness of coins especially when large sums were involved in transactions. Many of their functions were the same as the argentarii: they exchanged money for their own account, held deposits, lent money, made payments on behalf of their clients, executed sales – especially auctions of property according to a deceased's will, executed payments at foreign places through local bankers, and they kept books (codex) which could be used as proof in courts.

铸币师是铸币厂的官员，他们的主要作用是测试新硬币的质量。他们持有银行，将新币投入流通，并接受旧币或外国硬币以换取新币。就像argentarii和mensarii一样，他们检验硬币的真实性，特别是当交易中涉及到大笔资金时。他们的许多职能与argentarii相同：为账户换钱，持有存款，借钱，代表客户付款，执行销售——特别是根据死者的遗嘱拍卖财产，通过当地银行家在国外执行付款，他们保存账簿（codex），可以在法庭上作为证据使用。

结论

Besides being places of worship, many temples were initially repositories where money was deposited and where most banking transactions were conducted. The Roman money-changers, the argentarii, took a more important role in banking activities as trade in the Roman world grew. Their role was very similar to that of modern-day bankers as they were involved in a wide variety of banking functions. The mensarii were public bankers appointed by the state in periods of general poverty in charge of solving the problem of citizens' indebtedness. They were in a way similar to the "bad banks" set up nowadays, often with public funds to address the problem of non-performing loans in the economy. The nummularii were officers of the mint and their main role was the circulation of new coins, a function also done by modern-day banks. In conclusion, it is quite remarkable how widespread the use of credit was and how developed and complex banking activities were in the Roman world. Banking greatly contributed to the development of commerce and trade, and to the creation of wealth in ancient Rome.

除了作为礼拜场所，许多神庙最初都是存放钱财的地方，大多数银行交易都在这里进行。随着罗马世界贸易的增长，罗马货币兑换商，即argentarii，在银行活动中发挥了更重要的作用。他们的角色与现代的银行家非常相似，因为他们参与了各种各样的银行交易活动。Mensarii是国家在普遍贫困时期任命的公共银行家，负责解决公民的债务问题。他们在某种程度上类似于今天设立的 "救济银行"，通常用公共资金来解决经济中的不良贷款问题。Nummularii是造币厂的官员，他们的主要作用是流通新的硬币，这一职能也由现代银行完成。总之，在罗马世界，信贷的使用很广泛，银行活动是发达与复杂的，这是相当了不起的事情。银行业极大地促进了商业和贸易的发展，并为古罗马带来了许多财富。