The Romans used provincial and local governments to govern conquered territories without having to rule them directly. Although Rome ruled a vast empire, it needed strikingly few imperial officials to run it. This relatively light ruling administrative overview was made possible by the tendency to leave to local government much administrative business and to private enterprise many of the tasks associated with governments in the modern world. Especially important within this system was the city, where the magistrates, councils, and assemblies of urban centers governed themselves and areas of the countryside around them. These cities could vary enormously both in population and territory from the tiny Greek '' poleis'' of several hundred citizens to the great '' metropoleis'' such as

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. Despite these differences, these cities shared certain governmental structures and were free, in varying degrees depending on the community’s status, to manage their own affairs. There were also important differences in the statuses of communities, which were arranged in a hierarchy of prestige, with Roman '' coloniae'' at the top, followed by '' municipia'' (some of which had full citizen rights, others, the Latin rights), and cities that had no citizenship rights at all. Cities in this last group could be tribute-paying cities ('' civitates''), free cities (''civitates liberae''), and free cities with

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

(''civitates liberae et foederatae'')

Coloniae

Romans began founding ''coloniae'' in conquered territory for security, sending their own citizens out from Rome. In the earliest period, colonies fell into two classes, ''coloniae civium Romanorum'' ("colonies of Roman citizens") and ''coloniae Latinorum'' ("colonies of Latins"), depending on their respective political rights. At first, the establishment of a colony required that a law be passed in Rome in the popular assembly. During the civil discord of the late Republic and

Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created at the end of the Roman republic for Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November ...

, colonies were founded on the whim of dynasts such as

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

and

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 ...

without such a law. Colonies were modelled closely on the Roman constitution, with roles being defined for magistrates, council, and assemblies. Colonists enjoyed full Roman citizenship and were thus extensions of Rome itself. Beginning in 118 BC in Gallia Narbonensis, colonies began to be established in Rome's

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

, and from this point onwards ''coloniae'' were especially used for settling demobilized soldiers and in programs of

agrarian reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

Municipia

The second most prestigious class of cities was the ''municipium'' (plural ''municipia''). ''Municipia'' had originally been communities of non-citizens among Rome's Italic allies. Following the Social War,

Roman citizenship 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 ...

was awarded to all Italy, with the result that a ''municipium'' was effectively now a community of citizens. The category was also used in the provinces to describe cities that used Roman law but were not colonies.

Sources

*Abbott, F.F. and A.C. Johnson, ''Municipal Administration in the Roman Empire'' (Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1926). *Burton, G. P. ‘Proconsuls, Assizes, and the Administration of Justice under the Empire’, ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 65 (1975), 92-106. *Lintott, A. W. ''Imperium Romanum: Politics and Administration'' (London and New York: Routledge, 1993). *Millar, F. ‘Italy and the Roman Empire: Augustus to Constantine’, ''Phoenix'' 40 (1986), 295-318. {{Authority control Ancient Roman government