Rome also had grain dispersals, one of the things to go during a siege. This is well recorded. I, too, was surprised by the article's claim that it wasn't poss

Rome also had grain dispersals, one of the things to go during a siege. This is well recorded. I, too, was surprised by the article's claim that it wasn't possible to have a mechanism for organizing taxation. If sumerian priests could keep extensive ledgers tracking debt some gajillion years ago, why would a renaissance french king have any issues?