Lex Plautia Papiria

The was a Roman plebiscite enacted amidst the Social War in 89 BCE. It was proposed by the plebeian tribunes Marcus Plautius Silvanus and Gaius Papirius Carbo. The law further extended Roman citizenship to Italian communities – expanding the previous '' lex Julia de civitate'' – that had previously rebelled against Rome during this war.

Background

The Social War, which was fought between 91 and 88 BCE, was a rebellion against Rome by some of her Italic socii (allies) caused by Rome's refusal to grant them Roman citizenship. However, this concession became necessary to try to stem the rebellion. The ''lex Plautia Papiria'' was not the first law that extended Roman citizenship during the Social War. In 90 BCE, the ''lex Calpurnia'' gave commanders the power to reward valor of soldiers with Roman citizenship. In the same year, the '' lex Julia de civitate'' granted civitas to Italian communities who had not participated in the rebellion against Rome to prevent them from joining the war. The law stated that communities with newly granted citizenship should be enrolled in new tribes for voting in the tribal assembly. In 89 BCE the ''lex Plautia Papiria'' followed the guidelines laid out in the ''lex Julia'' for adding new tribes for the new communities which were also granted citizenship. In the same year, the '' lex Pompeia de Transpadanis'' granted Latin rights to the communities in Transpadana, the region north of the River Po as a reward for having sided with Rome during the war.Dart, C. J.,The Social War, 91 to 88 BCE: A History of the Italian Insurgency against the Roman Republic (2014), pp. 189-212

Provisions

While the complete original text of the law does not survive, Cicero stated several of the provisions of the law in his ''Pro Archia'':

Thus, an individual had to meet three conditions to become a Roman citizen under the newly created law: he must claim citizenship in an Italian city that was a Roman ally, he must have already established residence there before the passing of this law, and he must then present himself to a praetor within sixty days to be considered for citizenship. Unlike the ''lex Julia'', which granted citizenship only to entire cities, the ''lex Papiria Plautia'' could be used to grant citizenship to individuals as well.

Effects

Demonstrating its use in granting citizenship to an individual, the law was used as justification for bestowing citizenship upon Aulus Licinius Archias. Archias, a Greek poet, was accused of assuming his citizenship illegally. However, in ''Pro Archia'', Cicero used, among other reasons, the ''lex Plautia Papiria'' to uphold the legitimacy of Archias' citizenship.

See also

*Lex Julia
*List of Roman laws

Notes

References

*Cerutti, Steven M. (1998). ''Cicero Pro Archia Poeta Oratio''. Wauconda, Ill: Bolchazy-Caarducci Publishers, 1988.
* Dart, C. J., The Social War, 91 to 88 BCE: A History of the Italian Insurgency against the Roman Republic, Routledge, 2014;
*Cicero, M. Tullius. (1856). ''The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge''. London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. OCLC: 4709897
*Gotoff, Harold C. (1979). ''Cicero’s Elegant Style: An Analysis of the Pro Archia''. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
*Keaveney, Arthur. (1987). ''Rome and the Unification of Italy''. Beckenham: Croom Helm Ltd.
*(1996). ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd Edition: “Gaius Papirius Carbo”''. New York: Oxford University Press.

External links

The Roman Law Library, incl. ''Leges''
{{Italic title

Roman law
89 BC
1st century BC in law