THE ROMANS WERE THE CULPRITS!
--by Robin Mitchell
Almost every weekend in America, hundreds--if not thousands--of hammers slam down on auction tables across the country, followed by the auctioneer’s shouting “Sold” into their microphones. At that moment, one happy auction goer feels like one in a million. Especially if he or she is among those lucky individuals who were able to buy “something” for literally “nothing.” James Sullivan did it when he purchased a $75,000 boat for only $25 at a U.S. Marshal’s auction. An anonymous man danced with glee when he bought over $100,000 work of land at a government tax sale in Florida for only $150. Government auctions can be filled with lots of surprises as well as lots of bargains. It simply takes knowing when they are, knowing the value of whatever it is you are seeking and a few dollars in your pocket to pounce with. Locally, Police auctions often place bicycles, electronics and other items on the auction block which they have acquired from the estates of drug dealers or local thugs. Cars also appear here and many are in superb shape. The Public Administrator’s Auction, held in Kearny Mesa twice monthly, is a treasure trove chock full of books, jewelry, furniture, outdoor equipment, automobiles and more. Sometimes homes and land will be auctioned off here as well.
Where did all this madness begin? Blame the Romans. While government auctions go as far back as over 2000 years ago, the Romans expanded slave auctions during Babylonian and Greek times to include property. The word auction comes from a Latin word, augere, which means “to increase.” An auction is simply “a sale culminated by an increase in bids.” An auction-goer and others have made a series of increasing offers for that property or merchandise and the item is finally sold to the highest bidder. Auctions, in olden times, were generally used to raise money quickly. During that era, auctioneers sold off slaves, furniture, artwork, pottery and other household items. Once again, the Romans led the way as the first to popularize military auctions. They were held throughout the Roman Empire which stretched from England to Morocco and across the Danube and Europe into Iran and Saudi Arabia. Rome, of course, busy in the world with their conquests encountered a unique problem: what to do with the spoils of battle, which included men, women and children. While slaves were auctioned on a regular basis, gold and silver was hard to come by and soldiers, out of necessity, were paid in whatever booty they managed to acquire, much of which hit the auction block. Remember that way back then, soldiers weren’t paid until around the 4th Century BC. It paid to do battle with your Roman legion, remain loyal with the generals and then perhaps you’d earn some land and a good pension. Many soldiers held on-the-spot auctions by their dead foes. The best warriors would thrust a spear into the ground next to their victims and auction off their possessions. Similar, in a way, to today’s police auctions.
Rome’s citizens heard about these great deals and sure enough, enterprising business agents would tag along with the legions and attend these auctions. Sponging off the spoils of war not only occurred during this era but in the Civl War as well. As the Union Army captured territories in the deep South, auctioneers would conduct auctions right on the plantation site, selling off the landowner’s personal property. The early tradition of throwing a spear into the ground to start an auction was given the Latin name of sub hasta meaning “under the spear,” which evolved into the words “at auction.” Anyone looking for an auction in Rome simply had to find a spear in the ground. Early on, slaves and captives were placed on a large rock along with their possessions and auctioned off. This is where we got the words “auction block.” But once again, the Romans improved upon all of this and used a raised platform for their auctions. Today the auction block is just a term even though it once sent shivers down the spines of those afraid of losing eveything they owned.
The Romans were always very ceremonial and very involved in formality, as the Europeans and English are today. Until the Romans changed everything, the only things auctioned off were food and slaves. As auctions became more sophisticated and grew in size, auctions became less spontaneous. Finding the “spear in the ground to announce an auction” disappeared. And along with larger auctions, came the financier and moneylender as well as the Roman’s marketing person, called the praeco. This fellow ran through the streets telling everyone about a forthcoming auction and along the way, he’d officiate at the smaller auctions as well.
Just as America has dominant trading sites for commodities trading, the Greeks and Romans managed a central trading site for slave auctions. These auctions were held on the Greek Island ofDelos, located in the south Aegean sea near Athens. The Greeks were also famous for hosting corn auctions, with festivals worshipping Apollo. But the Romans specialized on the misfortune of others, often created at their own hand. Conquered nations or incompetent businesses ended up on the auction block enroute to slavery. Eventually, as Rome became more civilized, the Roman justice system used auctions to resolve financial misfortunes. Caligula used auctions to raise money for the treasury when he abolished certain forms of taxation. The Emperor before Caligula, Tibertus, had already reduced taxes but Caligula went further: he resorted to auctioning surplus government property which included gladiators, furniture, jewelry and art.
Finally, Marcus Ulpius Trainus, also known as Emperor Trajan, found a higher purpose for auctions fifty years later. His armies drove into Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Ukraine as well as east to Persia and the southwestern USSR. Undoubtedly aware of the auction process during his military campaigns, Emperor Trajan used auctions to balance the budget. Then along came Nero who suffered through Rome’s burning. And who rebuilt much of Rome? Emperor Trajan. He used the auction process to build new buildings, giving Romans a city to be proud of. Due to his programs and his tenure as a superb administrator, Rome endured quite well for the next 100 years. He became so widely admired that a column remains in his own forum in present-day Rome.
Where did the first auction occur? Before the Romans, village tribes in ancient Babylonia (now called Iraq) conducted annual bridal auctions, while the earliest recorded auctions (around the 5th century BC) appeared in the first book of Herodotus’ histories. By the time the Roman empire fell in the 5th Century AD, only slave auctions remained. Possessions were seized by brigands and their victims were murdered. Only slave trading remained with the Arabs operating a thriving slave auction business in Spain. In the 9th Century, slaves were imported from Africa and ended up in the fields of Southern Iraq. Without civilized laws, commerical auctions disappeared until around 1100 AD when Jewish merchants in Cairo and throughout the western Mediterranean traded with merchants in India. Captains of ships carrying gemstones, spices, silk and other goods began auctioning off these items at sea or at various ports of call. Such auctions were part of commerce throughout the Renaissance as they provided a quick method of raising vital cash to repay impatient moneylenders. Trade, banking and the exploration of new lands might never have occured without the assistance of auctions. As trade routes opened and commerce increased, auctions became more commonplace. Even Christopher Columbus visited an English public auction on his way to the new world. Almost all countries experiencing a surge in growth can point to auctions as a major point in that growth. Without auctions, all of us might still indeed be in the Dark Ages.
