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''Romanitas'' is the collection of political and cultural concepts and practices by which the Romans defined themselves. It is a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word, first coined in the third century AD, meaning "Roman-ness" and has been used by modern historians as shorthand to refer to Roman identity and
self-image Self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to an objective investigation by others (height, weight, hair color, etc.), but also items that ...
.


Literal meaning and origin

''Romanitas'' means, as a rough approximation, ''Roman-ness'' in Latin, although it has also been translated as "Romanism, the Roman way or manner". The term, not common in Roman sources, was first coined by the 3rd century Roman writer
Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...
, an
early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
from
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, in his wor
''de Pallio'' (IV,1)
Tertullian used the term pejoratively to refer to those in his native
Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...
who aped Roman culture.


Concepts behind literal meaning

''Romanitas'' is used to refer to the collection of political and cultural concepts and practices defining what it is to be a Roman. A notable part of Roman cultural identity was based on being part of a political and religious community with common values, customs, morality and way of life. That made historians seek to define ''romanitas'' using a number of approaches: one way is to consider the general ideals Romans attributed to themselves; another approach, which has achieved consensus among scholars, is to consider the construction of Roman identity during the process of colonisation. However, not all scholars accept that the notion of identity, which is inherited from social sciences, is adequate to understand what is to be Roman.SILVA, A. J. M. 2012, From lost Roman pottery to broken identities in Post-modern times: on the use of the concept of identity in Roman Archaeology, 28th Congress of the Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores, Catania. https://www.academia.edu/1994803/From_lost_Roman_pottery_to_broken_identities_in_Post-modern_times_on_the_use_of_the_concept_of_identity_in_Roman_Archaeology It was not a word often used in ancient times, but it is used by modern writers to express the ideals which inspired the Roman State. It meant a great many things, but in short it meant what it was to be Roman (that is, Roman-ness). The Roman ideal was the
citizen 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 nationality ...
/
soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...
/
farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...
. The farmer was a hard working, frugal, practical man who worked the land with his own hands. The soldier was a courageous, strong man who obeyed orders and risked his own life in the name of Rome. Prior to the formation, under
Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbrian War, Cimbric and Jugurthine War, Jugurthine wars, he held the office of Roman consul, consul an unprecedented seven times. Rising from a fami ...
, of the standing Roman Army, Rome had a
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
-type defence-force which could be called up in time of war and then disbanded during
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
time. The ideal of the homo militaris – embodying the functions of the citizen, soldier and farmer – was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. According to Roman legend, Cincinnatus was tending his farm when a messenger arrived, telling him that Rome was under attack and that he had been elected
dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...
. He was at first reluctant to go, but the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
pleaded with him. He defeated the enemy tribe within a matter of weeks and, despite there remaining most of his six-month term as dictator with absolute power, returned to his farm. The attainment and possession of the virtue of ''
gravitas () was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment to the task ...
'' was highly valued by Romans of the early Republic and by Roman intellectuals. Indeed, ''gravitas'' was the single most clarifying characteristic of early republican Roman society.
Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...
remarks:Polibius, Histories 6.56 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44125/44125-h/44125-h.htm#b6_56 The virtuous character of the Romans, their honesty and trustworthiness, is shown in the way they handled their finances.
Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...
remarks: "Greek statesmen, if entrusted with a single talent, though protected by ten checking-clerks, as many seals and twice as many witnesses, yet cannot be induced to keep faith; whereas among the Romans, in their magistracies and embassies, men have the handling of a great amount of money, and yet from pure respect for their oath keep their faith intact." Their cultural characteristics led to their development of "self government" by adopting a
classical republic Classical republicanism, also known as civic republicanism or civic humanism, is a form of republicanism developed in the Renaissance inspired by the governmental forms and writings of classical antiquity, especially such classical writers as Ar ...
and thus this class formed the backbone of 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 ...
. Because of the widespread influence of Roman
classical literature Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...
, the idea of the homo militaris also took root in colonial and early
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.


Notes


References


Bibliography

*
Charles Norris Cochrane Charles Norris Cochrane (August 21, 1889 – November 23, 1945) was a Canadian historian and philosopher who taught at the University of Toronto. He is known for his writings about the interaction between ancient Rome and emerging Christianity. E ...
, '' Christianity and Classical Culture; A Study of Thought and Action From Augustus to Augustine'',
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, NY (1st pub.
Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1940) 1980. p. 62 * M. I. Finley (ed.), ''The Portable Greek Historians: The Essence of
Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
,
Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...
,
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...
,
Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...
'', The Viking Press, NY, NY, 1959. Bk VI, sec 56; p. 499 * Erich S. Gruen, ''Culture and National Identity in Republican Rome'',
Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...
, 1992. * Edith Hamilton, ''The Roman Way'', W.W. Norton & Co., NY. 1st print 1932, Norton 1964,1993.


Further reading

* Carl J. Richard, ''The Founders and the Classics: Greece, Rome and the American Enlightenment'',
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...
. {{ISBN, 0-674-31425-5 ** David H. Kelly, Chapter of ''The Founders and the Classics''
Mixed Government and Classical Pastoralism
Ancient Rome