The ''Lex Roscia'' was introduced in 49 BC by the praetor
Lucius Roscius Fabatus on behalf of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
. It granted
Roman citizenship to the populations in Transpadana, the area of
Cisalpine Gaul north of the River
Po. In 89 BC, these peoples had already been granted
Latin Rights with the ''
Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis''.
[Asconius Pedianus, In Pisonem, 3C]
With this law Julius Caesar sought to secure the support of the population of Transpadana in the run up to
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
against
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...
. One of Caesar's most loyal legions was the
Legio X ''Equestris'', which was largely recruited from among the population of Cisalpine Gaul. The area had been undergoing decades of
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...
since the subjugation of the
Insubrians in 222 BC. A result of the ''Lex Roscia'' the Roman and Latin
colonies (such as
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy.
The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...
and
Ticinum) became Roman ''
municipia''. This gave a significant impetus to the urbanization of this region.
Quotes
Sources
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Roman law
49 BC
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