[in-dik-shuh
n] 
| 1. | a proclamation made every 15 years in the later Roman Empire, fixing the valuation of property to be used as a basis for taxation. |
| 2. | a tax based on such valuation. |
| 3. | Also called cycle of indiction. the recurring fiscal period of 15 years in the Roman Empire, long used for dating ordinary events. Compare lustrum. |
| 4. | a specified year in this period. |
| 5. | the number indicating it. |
| in·dic·tion (ĭn-dĭk'shən) n. A 15-year cycle used as a chronological unit in ancient Rome and incorporated in some medieval systems. [Middle English indiccioun, from Late Latin indictiō, indictiōn-, proclamation, period of 15 years, from Latin indictus, past participle of indīcere, to proclaim : in-, intensive pref.; see in-2 + dīcere, to say; see deik- in Indo-European roots.] |
indiction
in ancient Rome, the fiscal year. During the inflation of the 3rd century AD the Roman government supplied court and army employees by ordering the requisition, or by compulsory purchase (indictio), of food and clothing. Such indictiones were irregular, often oppressive, and inequitable. Reform measures under Diocletian (AD 284-305) provided for the annual levy of indictio based on land and population censuses, hence the institution of indiction, or fiscal year. From AD 287 indictions were numbered in cycles of 5 years. From 312 they were reckoned in cycles of 15 years. The indiction was reckoned from September 1, unlike the civil (consular) year, which began January 1.
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