The Ultimate Goal: Citizenship

Civis Romanus sum, “I am a Roman citizen”, was one of the most influential phrases in the Roman Empire. Coined by Cicero, this phrase demonstrated the influence citizenship to the Roman Empire had on the people of the classical world. Different methods of attaining Roman citizenship existed and were employed by the diverse people of Rome and neighboring regions. The people of the Roman Empire were strictly classified based on a hierarchal social class structure, with full Roman citizenship as the desired state. These citizens held specific, graduated rights and responsibilities based on the level of citizenship with increasing power and prestige at higher levels. Roman citizenship meant being a member of the most powerful Empire in the Classical age and was avidly sought by the people of the time.

Roman citizenship was coveted and there were a variety of paths towards attaining this goal. The first and most common was to be born to a Roman father who was a citizen, joined in connubium, official Roman marriage, with the mother. This child automatically gained the social class of his or her father and attained full Roman citizenship. If the child, however, was born outside of connubium, the social standing of the mother was granted. The mother was typically a peregrinus, a foreigner, or a slave and the child most likely was not granted citizenship. This was a common occurrence for the children of Roman legionaries, as it was illegal to wed in connubium during the twenty-year military service. Illegitimate children of Roman legionaries were rarely granted citizenship. Alternatively, some people were able to gain citizenship as a reward for service to the state, given by the people during the republic and later by generals and emperors during the Empire. Latini, people who originally lived in the Latin states, who moved to Rome, were granted partial citizenship with restricted rights. Foreigners, living in lands conquered by the Romans, could also be granted citizenship, however this was typically only for upper class officials as a method of maintaining peace in foreign lands.

Less common methods of attaining citizenship included purchasing citizenship or being freed as a slave, which granted citizenship to the freeman. Through a myriad of pathways, attainment of Roman citizenship was highly valued and pursued with great effort.

The people of the Roman Empire, whether citizens or non-citizens, were categorized into distinct subgroups of social classes. The people of Rome were divided into three categories; full citizens, those eligible for partial citizenship, and non-citizens.

The elite social class was the cives Romani or citizens of Rome. This class consisted of full citizens who were drastically superior to the non-citizens in the social hierarchy and was further divided by inter-class social divisions. The peregrini, or foreigners, accounted for the largest majority of Rome’s inhabitants. This social class contained many different groups of people and, while the majority, did not exert significant power in the Empire. Peregrini ranged from non-citizen to partial Roman citizen, however were never considered members of the cives Romani, citizens of Rome. The Latini, freeborn residents of Italy, were a major group within the peregrini, and were granted citizenship with limited rights known as Latin Rights after the Latin War in 338BC. Former slaves that had been freed were also considered peregrini as well as socii, members of non-

Roman states with treaty obligations to Rome. The lowest, least powerful social class in

Rome was that of the slaves, or servi. Roman slaves were either born into slavery or sold as a slave after being captured in battle. Slaves held no official rights unless freedom was

2 purchased or granted by their master. The overarching social structure in the Roman

Empire, with three distinct and separated classes, established the rigid social hierarchy of the Rome Empire.

Those fortunate enough to be legitimate Roman citizens were further subcategorized into smaller social groups with differing rights and responsibilities. In the

Roman Empire there were two major social classes of cives Romani and depending on social class, citizens were granted different rights. The optimo jure cives were citizens who had a voice in the sovereign power and were referred to as patricians. These upper class Romans were distinguished by the rights of jus suffagium, the right to vote, and jus honores, eligibility for public office. Together, these two rights were given the name jus publicum or public rights. The other social group within the cives Romani were the non optimo jure cives, also known as the plebeians, and represented the majority of the cives

Romani. These citizens were denied the jus publicum however along with the optimo jure cives were granted the jus privatum, or private rights. These rights consisted of the rights of connubium, Roman marriage, commercii, the right to make legal contracts and hold property, and the right to a proper Roman trial. Along with these rights came responsibilities for all Roman citizens. Roman citizens were expected to pay taxes to the empire and all Roman men were required to complete military service during their lifetime. The benefits of Roman citizenship, clearly sought by the people of Rome and foreign lands, were divided based on social class within the cives Romani.

In the most powerful empire of the Classical age climbing the social ladder to reach to top, optimo jure cives, full Roman citizenship, was coveted. Whether attained through birth, wealth, or service, Roman citizenship was highly desired. Citizen,

3 foreigner, or slave, Rome was defined by a rigid social class structure in which Roman citizenship was elevated. Specifically, possessing all of the potential rights of optimo jure cives with the highest level of authority and power, was the ultimate goal. The proudest words spoken by a Roman in the Roman Empire were, “civis Romanus sum.”

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Grant, Michael. A Social History of Greece and Rome. New York: Charles Scribner's

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Jahnige, Joan. "Roman Citizenship." KET DL. N.p., 2002 May 2002. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.

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