Emperor Vespasian and the Urine Tax
Who would have thought thousands of years ago that people were taxed on their pee?
The Roman Empire was home to many interesting things. Many traditions were passed down from the Romans to today’s society in antiquity, but the Romans undoubtedly had a different perspective on urine.
It was thought that urine was much more beneficial than today. So much so that the Romans used urine as a cleaning agent while washing their clothes, brushing their teeth, and even tanning their skin. Laundry owners placed enormous clay pots for people to pee in in public places to collect their urine.
Ultimately, so much urine was used and collected that urine was taxed by the Roman emperor. The word “Pecunia non olet”, which means “does not smell of money”, is a famous saying that emerged as a result of the emperors Nero and Vespasian’s urine tax in the 1st Century.
Titus Flavius Vespasianus
Vespasianus is also known as Titus, was a Roman Emperor from the Flavius Dynasty.
Titus was a successful general who also suppressed the Jewish uprising of 70 AD. He is regarded as a good emperor according to Tacitus and his contemporaries.
