Salvete Omnes!
I would like to present to all of you my first article submission to the Societas. The topic I have chosen is one which I often wondered about: What distinguished Roman citizens from holders of latin rights and outright foreigners? If this topic interests you, please read on and feel free to post comments or questions.
-Severus
The Rights of Roman Citizens, Latins, and Foreigners in the Roman Republic
Introduction
The terms Roman citizens, Latin rights, and foreigners (cives, latini, and peregrini) are often encountered in ancient Roman historical accounts and literature. Yet, there are rarely any substantive definitions of these terms. What rights and privileges, separate these three classes of persons in the Roman world? Was it possible to change classes and if so how? What limitations were imposed upon the interactions of persons in the different classes? This essay aims to answer these questions and more as each class is defined and categorized.
Definition of Legal Rights under Roman Law
Before addressing each of the classes individually, it would be ideal to first determine what differentiates one class from another. The best way to do that is to break down and explain the different bodies of civil and political rights that a person in the Roman world possessed.
Jus Publicum (Public Law)
The right to be elected as a magistratus (called jus honorum or honores), and the right to vote in the comitia (called jus sufragii or sufragium) were parts of the jus publicum and were the highest level of rights one could possess in the Roman world. Only cives could possess jus publicum.
Jus Privatum (Private Law)
The right to be legally married under Roman law (jus connubii or connubium) and the right to quiritarian ownership, that is, the right to absolutely own something, not just possess; the right to make a will or inherit; and to make legally binding obligations (collectively called jus commercii or commercium) were called the jus privatum. Only cives could possess both connbium and commercium. However, latini could possess commercium as well. Peregrini could possess neither.
Jus Gentium (Universal Law)
The rights common to all mankind and nations were the only rights that peregrini enjoyed in the Roman world (cives and latini also possessed jus gentium). This could allow them to interact with cives (diplomatic relations, contracts, etc.) but otherwise they had no other rights under Roman law. It should be noted that slaves (servi) did not even possess jus gentium, In fact, their servitude was under the jus gentium of the servus’ master.
Comparison of the Legal Rights of Cives, Latini, and Peregrini
With the different levels of legal rights under Roman law defined, we can now proceed to distinguish one class of persons from another.
Peregrini
Based on the description of rights above, the following persons would have been considered peregrini (Before the Social War of 91–88 BC)
1. Citizens of Foreign Nations or States (including Latini, Socii, and Provinciales
2. Romans who had lost their citizenship
3. Libertini (Freedmen) who were not eligible to be latini or cives
Latini / Latin Rights
After the Social War, an additional class of person was established, the latini (holders of Latin Rights). The original latini were the citizens of old Latium and thus considered foreigners) and the Latin colonies.
After the passing of the Lex Julia de Civitate, The existing latini and socii were made cives and the new class of latini was created. Latini were defined as a hybrid between a peregrinus and a civis. They did not have connubium, but, they did have comercium. Being a Latinus was considered a necessary step for peregrini to acquire full citizenship.
Cives
Although not often referenced, there were two different classes of Roman citizen. A non optimo jure civis possessed only jus privatum, that is, connubium and comercium but could not vote or be elected to public office (suffragium and honores). An optimo jure civis held jus privatum and jus publicum and was considered a higher class of citizen .
A person could become a civis in the following manners:
1) By Birth (if born to two parents that were both cives or other similar conditions
2) Born to a Roman civis mother
2) Freeing of a slave without legal impediments and under specific circumstances
3) Conferred by a law
Loss of Citizenship
A Civis could lose citizenship by a couple of different means. Certain types of exile as a result of judicial punishment could result in loss of citizenship. Exile “denied water and fire” was one such type. If a civis voluntarily joined a Latin colony before the Lex Julia, citizenship was forfeited.
Conclusion
If you lived in the Roman world, it was obviously of great benefit to be a Roman citizen. Non-citizens enjoyed few if any political rights under Roman law which had a profound effect on their daily lives. The capacity to be legally married, or sell a possession, or legally force someone to comply with a specific requirement all depended on the level of legal rights you possessed. Perhaps the old adage “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” should be modified to “When in Rome, do as the Romans do (if you are legally entitled).”
Sources
Pliny (The Younger). Epistolarum, x.4.22
Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, xxxviii.36, ix .4
Gaius, Institutionum, i.12
Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities