In ancient

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 ...

, ''commercium'' or ''ius commercii'' was a privilege granted to a non-citizen ''( peregrinus)'' or a holder of

Latin rights Latin rights or Latin citizenship ( or ) were a set of legal rights that were originally granted to the Latins and therefore in their colonies ( Latium adiectum). ''Latinitas'' was commonly used by Roman jurists to denote this status. With the ...

to acquire property, make contracts, and trade in the same ways as a

Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...

. The jurist

Ulpian Ulpian (; ; 223 or 228) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre in Roman Syria (modern Lebanon). He moved to Rome and rose to become considered one of the great legal authorities of his time. He was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to ...

explained ''commercium'' as "the right of buying and selling reciprocally" '' (commercium est emendi vendendique invicem ius)''. The exclusive right to own certain forms of property and to convey ownership of that property ''(

mancipatio In Roman law, ''mancipatio'' (f. Latin ''manus'', "hand"; and ''capere'', "to take hold of") was a solemn verbal contract by which the ownership of certain types of goods ('' res mancipi'') was transferred. ''Mancipatio'' was also the legal proced ...

)'' was one of the defining aspects of early Roman citizenship. But as early as 493 BC, a right of commerce was recognized with the twenty-nine members of the

Latin League The Latin League ( – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001). ''The Encyclopedia of World History''. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient city of Rome, o ...

, neighboring communities in

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

. A grant of ''commercium'' allowed Latins and certain ''peregrini'' to trade in ''res mancipi'', forms of property privileged in the rural economy of early Rome that included agricultural

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, certain farmland within the Italian peninsula, and farm animals. No special grant of commercial rights was needed for regular trade ''(traditio)'' that did not involve ''res mancipi''.Saskia T. Roselaar, "The Concept of ''Commercium'' in the Roman Republic," ''Phoenix'' 66:3/4 (2012), pp. 381-413, noting (p. 382) that "farmland" may have been defined more narrowly as land designated as ''

ager Romanus The ''Ager Romanus'' (literally, "the field of Rome"') is the geographical rural area (part plains, part hilly) that surrounds the city of Rome. Politically and historically, it has represented the area of influence of Rome's municipal government ...

''.

References

{{Reflist Roman law Economy of ancient Rome

See also

References