Notes on the imperial estates and valorisation of public land in the province of Achaia

Imperial estates represented the most important item amongst the properties possessed by the emperors. By a certain time there must have been imperial estates in most of the provinces of the Empire, yet their extension in relation to other properties is difficult to estimate due to the scarcity of direct evidence. In Greece (Province of Achaia) imperial estates seem to have been very limited, judging from the evidence at our disposal. Apart from a few literary references, of which one of the most known is the case of the lands of the Athenian Ti. Claudius Hipparchus (grandfather of the famous Herodes Atticus) whose estates were confiscated by the emperor Domitian following his condemnation due to tyrannical behaviour, indirect hints of the possible presence of imperial estates in the province of Achaia can be drawn from inscriptions mentioning functionaries who can be put in relation with imperial properties, such as procurators (procuratores/ἐπίτροποι) or (imperial) ‘bailiffs’ (οἰκονόμοι/vilici; πραγματευταί/actores). In most cases, however, the exact nature and location of these imperial domains remain uncertain. Generally speaking, the evidence at our disposal gives the impression of a substantial scarcity of imperial estates in the province of Achaia.