Birth Registration In Ancient Rome
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Birth certificates for Roman citizens were introduced during the reign of
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
(27 BC–14 AD). Until the time of
Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain co ...
(222–235 AD), it was required that these documents be written in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
as a marker of "Romanness" ''(Romanitas)''. There are 21 extant birth registration documents of Roman citizens. A standard birth registration included the date of birth.


Legality

Ancient Roman birth certificates were introduced in 4 AD due to the '' lex Aelia Sentia'' and the ''
lex Papia Poppaea The ''Lex Papia et Poppaea'', also referred to as the ''Lex Iulia et Papia'', was a Roman law introduced in 9 AD to encourage and strengthen marriage. It included provisions against adultery and against celibacy after a certain age and compleme ...
'', which were pieces of legislation passed by Emperor Augustus. Within 30 days of a child's birth their parents, grandparents, or a representative of the family would legally declare their birth at the
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. This process was known as ''professio.'' Children born illegitimately were prohibited from being registered by Augustus, although
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...
may have removed this restriction. It is unknown why the process of birth registration was established by the ''lex Aelia Sentia''. One possibility is that it was used to determine if a master was at least 20 or younger when freeing a slave. Birth registrations were also used to determine if a family had at least 3 children, and was therefore eligible for privileges under the ''lex Papia Poppaea.'' This law was designed to encourage families to procreate and increase birth rates. Completing birth registrations in Roman society were not compulsory. Whereas penalties for failure to register in the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
existed, no known penalties existed in regard to birth registrations. In terms of
Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...
, individuals who did not register their birth were neither penalized nor disadvantaged: there are imperial rescripts (a written answer of a Roman emperor to a query or petition in writing) that state that the failure to register children should not deprive them or their right to legitimacy, and there are recorded statements of Roman Emperors
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
and
Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...
that inform an individual that “It is a well-established rule of law that though a declaration of birth has been lost, your status is not adversely affected.” Birth registrations could be used as proof of age; however, from historical evidence, it is clear that they were not regarded as sufficient proof in themselves. Oral and written evidence could be used as proof of age. For instance, the emperor
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
stated in a rescript that when the age of an individual was at issue, all proofs of age should be furnished and a decision reached based on the most credible evidence. In another case, the Roman jurist Modestinus concluded that in order to prove one’s age for exemption of certain responsibilities, “age is proved either by notices of birth or by other customary (lawful) evidence.”


Illegitimacy

Roman society did not stigmatize illegitimacy to the extent of later Western societies. A freeborn person who was illegitimate enjoyed higher social status than a freedman. Illegitimate children did have some disadvantages under the law. Their birth could not be officially registered during the first 150 years when birth certificates existed. A law passed in 178 AD, however, gave illegitimate children the same right as legitimate children to share in their mother's property if she died without leaving a will. After the Empire had come under Christian rule, this right was taken away from those born outside wedlock. For illegitimate children, the date of birth was more complex and less authoritative since it was either as originally recorded or as copied from the public register.


Roman Egypt

Two separate processes of birth registrations existed in Roman
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
: one process for Roman citizens that was conducted in Latin, and another process for Greco-Egyptians that was conducted in Greek. These two processes were, in legal terms, totally unrelated. There are 34 available birth registration documents of Greco-Egyptian citizens that span some 270 years. With the initiative of the father or another close relative, standard birth registrations included the name and current age of the individual concerned and was addressed to an official. Greco-Egyptian birth registrations were not compulsory and were more of a certification of status than proof of birth. The census eliminated the need of birth registrations because the information gathered from birth registrations merely supplemented the information from the census. Age was particularly important for determining who was liable to pay the
poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
at the age of 14 years. Birth registrations could provide the age of the individual; however, the census was held every 14 years to ensure that no one escaped the tax and also provided this information. The census was more efficient and thorough than the system of birth registrations in Greco-Egyptian society, and
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
officials relied on the information from the census far more than birth registrations.


See also

* List of Roman birth and childhood deities


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birth Registration In Ancient Rome Family law in ancient Rome
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
Childhood in ancient Rome