Sidonio e il tributo

By focusing on Sidonius’ poems 3, 4, 5 (vv. 574-586), and 13, related to Majorian’s presence in Lyon, we try to reconstruct the relations between the imperial government and the city at the end of 458. The conclusions reached can be summarised as follows: after the imperial army intervened to restore Roman authority, the community of Lyon sent petitions to the emperor for tax relief; it was not a question of obtaining the removal of a war tax, but rather of reducing of the ordinary, yearly contribution (and probably the cancellation of debts). A few weeks later, Sidonius had the opportunity to reiterate the objects of these petitions before the emperor on the occasion of his aduentus. The political line chosen by the government in Gaul was one of pacification: Majorian granted an amnesty for the nobles implicated in anti-imperial plots (possibly referred to in carmen 4); he bestowed important honours on representatives of the Gallic aristocracy and favoured Sidonius’ rapprochement with the imperial court (carmen 3); and he probably promulgated a decree granting petitions and fiscal benefits to the city.