Aerikon

Aerikon [aerikón] or air tax was a tax levy (or fine) in the Byzantine Empire.

[1] It is estimated that initially it was an additional tax paid annually in cash (but probably in kind in the 9th/10th century), while in the 10th and 11th centuries it took the form of a tax on cattle, the payment of which was undertaken in total by each village.

[2] Procopius of Caesarea is the first to mention aerikon, reporting that it was imposed by the emperor Justinian I as an additional annual tax.

[3] According to Franz Delger, its name comes from a fine for breaking laws related to the minimum distance that had to be maintained between buildings in cities.

[4] In the "Tacticals" of Leonos V it is said that the soldiers had to pay the aerikon separately from the regular taxation.