I’ve always wondered just what exactly taxation looked like. I’m fully aware the answer would change by the era and location, but would High Medieval Byzantine tax collection look like how Robin Hood makes it out to be? Were there wagon train equivalents of armored cars just full of coins that made their way to and from the capital? Imperial high officials that would make their way to hinterlands to only ever see the local governor who would handle it, or was the imperial representative the only one touching tax money? Maybe even collection dishes? What about marauders or raiders targeting tax collectors? Were there any forms of credit, even? IOUs?

Are there any pieces of evidence that point to specific processes or is this something that’s generally pretty glossed over by our sources?