Roman citizenship

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The Roman expansion in Italy; Citizenship was collectively awarded to all Italic
tribes (socii) during and after the Social war by the Lex Julia, Lex Plautia
Papiria and Lex Pompeia;[1] All of Cisalpine Gaul received full citizenship in 49
BC by the Lex Roscia.[1]
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin civitas) was a privileged political and legal
status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance.

In the Roman Republic and later in the Roman Empire, people residing within the
Roman state could roughly be divided into several classes

A male Roman citizen enjoyed a wide range of privileges and protections defined in
detail by the Roman state. A citizen could, under certain exceptional
circumstances, be deprived of his citizenship.
Roman women had a limited form of citizenship. Though held in high regard 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.
Client state citizens and allies (socii) of Rome could receive a limited form of
Roman citizenship such as the Latin Right. Such citizens could not vote or be
elected in Roman elections.[2]
Slaves were considered property and lacked legal personhood. Over time, they
acquired a few protections under Roman law. Some slaves were freed by manumission
for services rendered, or through a testamentary provision when their master died.
Once free, they faced few barriers, beyond normal social snobbery, to participating
in Roman society. The principle that a person could become a citizen by law rather
than birth was enshrined in Roman mythology; when Romulus defeated the Sabines in
battle, he promised the war captives that were in Rome they could become citizens.
[3]
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 was a freedman.
Contents [hide]
1 Rights
2 Classes of citizenship
2.1 Cives Romani
2.2 Latini
2.3 Socii
2.4 Provinciales
2.5 Peregrini
3 Citizenship as a tool of Romanization
4 The Edict of Caracalla
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Rights[edit]
The rights available to individual citizens of Rome varied over time, according to
their place of origin, and their service to the state. They also varied under Roman
law according to the classification of the individual within the state. Various
legal classes were defined by the various combinations of legal rights that each
class enjoyed. However, the possible rights available to citizens with whom Roman
law addressed were

The toga was the characteristic garment of the Roman male citizen, and statues of
emperors (here Antoninus Pius) frequently depict them togate (togatus).
Ius suffragiorum The right to vote in the Roman assemblies.
Ius honorum The right to stand for civil or public office.
Ius commercii The right to make legal contracts and to hold property as a Roman
citizen.
Ius gentium 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 of
the time, and was based on the highly developed commercial law of the Greek city-
states and of other maritime powers.[4] The rights afforded by the ius gentium were
considered to be held by all persons; it is thus a concept of human rights rather
than rights attached to citizenship.
Ius conubii The right to have a lawful marriage with a Roman citizen according to
Roman principles,[5] to have the legal rights of the paterfamilias over the family,
and for the children of any such marriage to be counted as Roman citizens.
Ius migrationis The right to preserve one's level of citizenship upon relocation to
a polis of comparable status. For example, members of the cives Romani (see below)
maintained their full civitas when they migrated to a Roman colony 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.
The right of immunity from some taxes and other legal obligations, especially local
rules and regulations.[6]
The right to sue in the courts and the right to be sued.
The right to have a legal trial (to appear before a proper court and to defend
oneself).
The right to appeal from the decisions of magistrates and to appeal the lower court
decisions.
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 die on the cross.
Roman citizenship was required in order to enlist in the Roman legions, but this
was sometimes ignored. Citizen soldiers could be beaten by the centurions and
senior officers for reasons related to discipline. Non-citizens joined the Auxilia
and gained citizenship through service.

Classes of citizenship[edit]
The legal classes varied over time, however the following classes of legal status
existed at various times within the Roman state

The Orator, c. 100 BC, an Etrusco-Roman bronze sculpture depicting Aule Metele
(Latin Aulus Metellus), an Etruscan man wearing a Roman toga while engaged in
rhetoric; the statue features an inscription in the Etruscan alphabet
Cives Romani[edit]
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 also held these rights as well as the ius suffragiorum and ius
honorum (the additional rights to vote and to hold office).