Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance.

Citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cultural practices. There existed several different types of citizenship, determined by one's gender, class, and political affiliations, and the exact duties or expectations of a citizen varied throughout the

history of the Roman Empire The history of the Roman Empire covers the history of ancient Rome from the traditional end of the Roman Republic in 27 BC until the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in AD 476 in the West, and the Fall of Constantinople in the East in ...

History

The oldest document currently available that details the rights of citizenship is the

Twelve Tables The Laws of the Twelve Tables () was the legislation that stood at the foundation of Roman law. Formally promulgated in 449 BC, the Tables consolidated earlier traditions into an enduring set of laws.Crawford, M.H. 'Twelve Tables' in Simon Hornbl ...

, ratified 449 BC. Much of the text of the Tables only exists in fragments, but during the time of Ancient Rome the Tables would be displayed in full in the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

for all to see. The Tables detail the rights of citizens in dealing with court proceedings, property, inheritance, death, and (in the case of women) public behavior. Under the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, the government conducted a census every five years in Rome to keep a record of citizens and their households. As the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

spread so did the practice of conducting a census. Roman citizens were expected to perform some duties (''munera publica'') to the state in order to retain their rights as citizens. Failure to perform citizenship duties could result in the loss of privileges, as seen during the Second Punic War when men who refused military service lost their right to vote and were forced out of their voting tribes. Women were exempt from direct taxation and military service. Anyone living in any province of Rome was required to register with the census. The exact extent of civic duties varied throughout the centuries. Much of Roman law involving the rights and functions of citizenship revolved around legal precedents. Documents from Roman writer Valerius Maximus indicate that Roman women were in later centuries able to mingle freely about the Forum and to bring in concerns on their own volition, providing they acted in a manner that was becoming of their family and station. Much of our basis for understanding Roman law comes from the '' Digest'' of Emperor

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

. The ''Digest'' contained court rulings by juries and their interpretations of Roman law and preserved the writings of Roman legal authors.

The Edict of Caracalla

The Edict of Caracalla (officially the Constitutio Antoniniana in Latin: "Constitution r Edictof Antoninus") was an edict issued in AD 212 by the Roman Emperor

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

, which declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be given full Roman citizenship and all free women in the Empire were given the same rights as Roman women, with the exception of the '' dediticii'', people who had become subject to Rome through surrender in war, and freed slaves. By the century previous to Caracalla, Roman citizenship had already lost much of its exclusiveness and become more available between the inhabitants throughout the different provinces of the Roman Empire and between nobles such as kings of client countries. Before the Edict, however, a significant number of provincials were non-Roman citizens and held instead the Latin rights. The Bible's

Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...

indicates that

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

was a Roman citizen by birth – though not clearly specifying which class of citizenship – a fact which had considerable bearing on Paul's career and on the religion of Christianity.

Types of citizenship

Citizenship in Rome could be acquired through various means. To be born as a citizen required that both parents be free citizens of Rome. Another method was via the completion of a public service, such as serving in the non-Roman auxiliary forces. Cities could acquire citizenship through the implementation of the

Latin law Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion o ...

, wherein people of a provincial city of the empire could elect people to public office and therefore give the elected official citizenship. There were classes of citizenship, which varied over time. The following classes existed at various times.

Cives Romani

The ''cives Romani'' were full Roman citizens, who enjoyed full legal protection under Roman law. ''Cives Romani'' were sub-divided into two classes: * The ''non optimo iure'' who held the '' ius commercii'' and '' ius conubii'' (rights of property and marriage). * The ''optimo iure'', who held these rights as well as the ''ius suffragii'' and ''ius honorum'' (the additional rights to vote and to hold office).

Latini

The ''Latini'' were a class of citizens who held the Latin rights (''ius Latii''), or the rights of ''ius commercii'' and ''ius migrationis'' (the right to migrate), but not the ''ius conubii''. The term ''Latini'' originally referred to the Latins, citizens of the Latin League who came under Roman control at the close of the Latin War, but eventually became a legal description rather than a national or ethnic one. The Latin rights status could be assigned to different classes of citizens, such as freedmen, ''cives Romani'' convicted of crime, or colonial settlers.

Socii

Under Roman law, citizens of another state that was allied to Rome via treaty were assigned the status of ''socii''. ''Socii'' (also known as ''foederati'') could obtain certain legal rights of under Roman law in exchange for agreed upon levels of military service, i.e., the Roman magistrates had the right to levy soldier from such states into the

Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...

s. However, ''foederati'' states that had at one time been conquered by Rome were exempt from payment of tribute to Rome due to their treaty status. Growing dissatisfaction with the rights afforded to the ''socii'' and with the growing manpower demands of the legions (due to the protracted Jugurthine War and the

Cimbrian War The Cimbrian or Cimbric War (113–101 BC) was fought between the Roman Republic and the Germanic peoples, Germanic and Celts, Celtic tribes of the Cimbri and the Teutons, Ambrones and Tigurini, who migrated from the Jutland peninsula into Roma ...

) led eventually to the Social War of 91–87 BC in which the Italian allies revolted against Rome. The

Lex Julia A ''lex Julia'' (plural: ''leges Juliae'') was an ancient Roman law that was introduced by any member of the gens Julia. Most often, "Julian laws", ''lex Julia'' or ''leges Juliae'' refer to moral legislation introduced by Augustus in 23 BC, ...

(in full the ''Lex Iulia de Civitate Latinis Danda''), passed in 90 BC, granted the rights of the ''cives Romani'' to all ''Latini'' and ''socii'' states that had not participated in the Social War, or who were willing to cease hostilities immediately. This was extended to all the Italian ''socii'' states when the war ended (except for Gallia Cisalpina), effectively eliminating ''socii'' and ''Latini'' as legal and citizenship definitions.

Provinciales

''Provinciales'' were those people who fell under Roman influence, or control, but who lacked even the rights of the ''

foederati ''Foederati'' ( ; singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the '' socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign ...

'', essentially having only the rights of the ''ius gentium'' (rules and laws common to nations under Rome's rule).

Peregrini

A '' peregrinus'' (plural ''peregrini'') was originally any person who was not a full Roman citizen, that is someone who was not a member of the ''cives Romani''. With the expansion of Roman law to include more gradations of legal status, this term became less used, but the term ''peregrini'' included those of the ''Latini'', ''socii'', and ''provinciales'', as well as those subjects of foreign states.

Citizenship for different social classes

Individuals belonging to a specific social class in Rome had modified versions of citizenship. * Roman women had a limited form of citizenship. They were not allowed to vote or stand for civil or public office. The rich might participate in public life by funding building projects or sponsoring religious ceremonies and other events. Women had the right to own property, to engage in business, and to obtain a divorce, but their legal rights varied over time. Marriages were an important form of political alliance during the Republic. Roman women mostly remained under the guardianship of their father ('' pater familias'') or their closest male relative on the father’s side (agnate). *

Client state A client state in the context of international relations is a State (polity), state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, ...

citizens and allies ''(socii)'' of Rome could receive a limited form of Roman citizenship such as the Latin rights. Such citizens could not vote or be elected in Roman elections. * Freedmen were former slaves who had gained their freedom. They were not automatically given citizenship and lacked some privileges such as running for executive magistracies. The children of freedmen and women were born as free citizens; for example, the father of the poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

was a freedman. *

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 ...

were considered property and lacked legal personhood. Over time, they acquired a few protections under Roman law. Some slaves were freed by

manumission Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that the most wi ...

for services rendered, or through a testamentary provision when their master died. Once free, they faced few barriers, beyond normal social stigma, to participating in Roman society. The principle that a person could become a citizen by law rather than birth was enshrined in

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

; when

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

defeated the Sabines in battle, he promised the war captives that were in Rome they could become citizens.

Rights

Roman citizens enjoyed a variety of specific privileges within Roman society. Male citizens had the rights to vote (''ius suffragi'') and hold civic office (''ius honorum,'' only available to the aristocracy). They also possessed ''ius vitae necisque,'' "the right of life and death." The male head of a Roman family ('' pater familias'') had the right to legally execute any of his children at any age, although it appears that this was mostly reserved in deciding to raise newborn children. More general rights included: the rights to property (''ius census''), to enter into contracts (''ius commercii''), ''ius provocationis,'' the right to appeal court decisions, the right to sue and to be sued, to have a legal trial, and the right of immunity from some taxes and other legal obligations, especially local rules and regulations. El-matrimonio-romano

With regards to the Roman family, Roman citizens possessed the right of ''ius conubii,'' defined as the right to a lawful marriage in which children from the union would also be Roman citizens. Earlier Roman sources indicate that Roman women could forfeit their individual rights as citizens when entering into a ''manus'' marriage. In a ''manus'' marriage, a woman would lose any properties or possessions she owned herself and they would be given to her husband, or his '' pater familias''. ''Manus'' marriages had largely stopped by the time 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 ...

and women instead remained under the protection of their ''pater familias.'' Upon his death, both the men and women under the protection of the ''pater familias'' would be considered '' sui iuris'' and be legally independent, able to inherit and own property without the approval of their ''pater familias.'' Roman woman however would enter into a ''tutela'', or guardianship. A woman's tutor functioned similarly to a ''pater familias'', but he did not control the property or possessions of a woman and was generally only needed to give his permission when a woman wanted to perform certain legal actions, such as freeing her slaves. Officially, one required Roman citizenship status to enroll in the Roman legions, but this requirement was sometimes overlooked and exceptions could be made. Citizen soldiers could be beaten by the centurions and senior officers for reasons related to discipline. Non-citizens joined the and gained citizenship through service. Following the early 2nd-century BC Porcian Laws, a Roman citizen could not be tortured or whipped and could commute sentences of death to voluntary exile, unless he was found guilty of treason. If accused of treason, a Roman citizen had the right to be tried in Rome, and even if sentenced to death, no Roman citizen could be sentenced to crucifixion. ''Ius gentium'' was the legal recognition, developed in the 3rd century BC, of the growing international scope of Roman affairs, and the need for Roman law to deal with situations between Roman citizens and foreign persons. The ''ius gentium'' was therefore a Roman legal codification of the widely accepted

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

of the time, and was based on the highly developed commercial law of the Greek city-states and of other maritime powers. The rights afforded by the ''ius gentium'' were considered to be held by all persons; it is thus a concept of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

rather than rights attached to citizenship. ''Ius migrationis'' was the right to preserve one's level of citizenship upon relocation to a

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

of comparable status. For example, members of the ''cives Romani'' maintained their full ''civitas'' when they migrated to a

Roman colony A Roman (: ) was originally a settlement of Roman citizens, establishing a Roman outpost in federated or conquered territory, for the purpose of securing it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It ...

with full rights under the law: a ''colonia civium Romanorum''. ''Latins'' also had this right, and maintained their ''ius Latii'' if they relocated to a different Latin state or Latin colony (''Latina colonia''). This right did ''not'' preserve one's level of citizenship should one relocate to a colony of ''lesser'' legal status; full Roman citizens relocating to a ''Latina colonia'' were reduced to the level of the ''ius Latii'', and such a migration and reduction in status had to be a voluntary act.

Romanization and citizenship

Roman citizenship was also used as a tool of foreign policy and control. Colonies and political allies would be granted a "minor" form of Roman citizenship, there being several graduated levels of citizenship and legal rights (the Latin rights was one of them). The promise of improved status within the Roman "sphere of influence" and the rivalry with one's neighbours for status, kept the focus of many of Rome's neighbours and allies centered on the ''status quo'' of Roman culture, rather than trying to subvert or overthrow Rome's influence. The granting of citizenship to allies and the conquered was a vital step in the process 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 ...

. This step was one of the most effective political tools and (at that point in history) original political ideas. Previously,

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

had tried to "mingle" his Greeks with the Persians, Egyptians, Syrians, etc. in order to assimilate the people of the conquered

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

, but after his death this policy was largely ignored by his successors. The idea was not to assimilate, but to turn a defeated and potentially rebellious enemy (or their sons) into Roman citizens. Instead of having to wait for the unavoidable revolt of a conquered people (a tribe or a city-state) like

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and the conquered Helots, Rome tried to make those under its rule feel that they had a stake in the system. The ability of non-Roman born individuals to gain Roman citizenship also provided increased stability for those under Roman rule, and the system of sub-division within the different types of citizenship allowed for Roman rulers to work cooperatively with local elites in the provinces.

''Romanitas'', Roman nationalism, and its extinction

With the settlement of

and the passing of generations, a new unifying feeling began to emerge within Roman territory, the '' Romanitas'' or "Roman way of life", the once tribal feeling that had divided Europe began to disappear (although never completely) and blend in with the new wedge patriotism imported from Rome with which to be able to ascend at all levels. The ''Romanitas'', ''Romanity'' or ''Romanism'' would last until the last years of unity of the '' pars occidentalis'', a moment in which the old tribalisms and the proto-feudalism of Celtic origins, until then dormant, would re-emerge, mixing with the new ethnic groups of Germanic origin. This being observed in the writings of

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

, who does not use the dichotomy

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

- Frankish, but uses the name of each of the

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

of that time existing in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

(arverni, turoni, lemovici, turnacenses, bituriges, franci, etc.), considering himself a Arverni and not a Gallo-Roman; being the relations between the natives and the Franks seen not as Romans against barbarians, as is popularly believed, but as in the case of Gregory, a relationship of coexistence between Arverni and Franks (Franci) as equals. It must also be remembered that

Clovis I Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...

was born in Gaul, so according to the Edict of Caracalla that made him a Roman citizen by birth, in addition to being recognized by the emperor Anastasius I Dicorus as consul of Gaul, so his position of power was reinforced, in addition to being considered by his Gallo-Roman subjects as a legitimate viceroy of Rome; understanding that the ''Romanitas'' did not disappear in such an abrupt way, observed its effects centuries later with

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...