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Resident for citizenship rights graphic.jpg

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Does citizenship matter today graphic.jpg

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Although by the Imperial period Rome controlled around 40 provinces, citizenship was not granted automatically to all freeborn people until AD 212, when the Emperor Caracalla issued the Constitutio Antoniniana.

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It was possible to gain Roman citizenship after serving in the military for 25 or more years.

This is a fragment of a military diploma that once belonged to a much larger set of bronze tablets. On it is recorded the privileges granted to men who served in three cavalry regiments and five cohorts in the provinces of Pannonia, Moesia, and Dacia.

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During the 2nd Century AD, members of the local elite in Palmyra, Syria, began to incorporate symbols of Roman citizenship into local expressions of status.

The man depicted in this limestone funerary bust wears a toga, the dress of a male Roman citizen. However, he also wanted to be recognised as Palmyrene, thus the distinctive positioning of a piece of his toga in his left hand, and his commemorative inscription in Aramaic. This inscription gives his name in indigenous form.

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For the majority of lower class Roman citizens, the legal ramifications of working as an actor or gladiator, or even as a prostitute, would not have affected their day-to-day lives; simply, the law did not impose any economic or financial penalties on them.

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If members of the senatorial or equestrian classes engaged in acting or gladiator fighting, they could not hold public or military office.

Engaging in professions which resulted in payment, especially those that also undermined traditional Roman values such as fighting in the arena or performing on stage, not only drew moral and social censure, but deemed one legally unfit to represent the state and its citizens.

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Roman, probably from Britain (AD 100 - 103)

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Palmyrene, from Roman Syria (AD 175 - 225)

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Roman from Alexandria (AD 100 - 200)

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The Roman citizen who caused the most embarrassment and shame as a gladiator was the Emperor Commodus. He was assassinated after planning the unthinkable: to kill the reigning consuls of AD 192 then parade dressed as a secutor (light-armed gladiator) from the gladiators' quarters in Rome to the senate house to take up the consulship for AD 193.

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Coin 2 depicts Gaius and Lucius Caesar, the grandsons and adopted sons of Augustus, as consuls after their assumption of the toga virilis (adult toga). It also marks the occassions on which they were awarded the title princeps iuventutis (leader of the youth of Rome). The title was voted to them by the Equestrian order, after Augustus reorganised the order to confirm their elite citizen status.

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Roman (AD 1 - 100)

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Coins often contained multiple messages, which would be linked to the Emperor in order to advertise his success as a leader.

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Pax, peace achieved through military victory over foreign enemies on behalf of the citizens of Rome, was a glorious achievement.

These coins highlight the emperor's achievements in bringing prosperity to Rome through military success. Coin 1 depicts the goddess Pax holding an olive branch and a cornucopia. Coin 2 celebrates the emperor Trajan's victory in the Second Dacian War (AD 106), and advertises the benefits of this war for the poorer citizens of Rome, through handouts of cash and food.

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Sometimes it was difficult to tell who was and was not a Roman citizen. Often it did not matter, unless a person wanted to take advantage of the legal rights and privileges of Roman citizenship.

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Ephesians were extremely proud of their heritage and their patron goddess, Artemis.

Ephesians promoted their position in the Greek East by linking the Roman Imperial cult to Artemis. Many coins placed Ephesian Artemis on par with the Roman Imperial family; this tetradrachm pairs the Emperor Claudius and his wife Agrippina with the distinctive cult image of Ephesian Artemis alone, despite being named in the Latin legend as Diana Ephesia.

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Roman, minted in Ephesus, Turkey (AD 50 - 51)

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I(ovi) O(ptimo) M(aximo) |
Sacrum | Valeri | Maxim(i) |
V(otum) S(olvi) L(ibens) L(aetus) M(erito)

Sacred to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Valerius Maximus paid his vow, galdly, willingly, deservedly

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Roman, from Carnuntum, Austria (AD 100 - 200)

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These coins display Augustus' public image and honors, as advertised to the people of Rome.

Coin 1 depicts the corona civica (civic crown), an honour awarded to Augustus for saving the lives of Roman citizens. Augustus represented himself publicly as the model Roman citizen wherever possible.

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Roman (AD 80 - 111)

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Roman (27 BC - AD 14)

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Roman citizenship was not granted automatically to the provincial elite, but was offered as a privilege. They often also needed a Roman patron. For example, Pliny applied to the Emperor Trajan on behalf of his doctor, Arpocras (Letters 10.5-6).

In the East, it was possible to hold citizenship rights in multiple Greek cities without holding Roman citizenship.

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Under Roman law, Roman citizens could be excluded from certain roles on the basis of their birth, gender or state of dependence. Occupations, such as working for payment as a gladiator or actor, attracted both infamia (public disgrace) and legal penalties.

Citizen gladiators and actors could be disbarred from holding public office, undertaking military service, and from acting in a legal capacity on behalf of someone else. These professions were considered turpitudo notabilis (shameful).

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A person did not have to be a Roman citizen to enjoy Roman style amenities such as baths, theatres, or amphitheatres, or to participate in the civic, social, or religious life of a Roman provincial city.

Sometimes, it was difficult to tell who was and was not a Roman citizen. Often it did not matter, unless a person wanted to take advantage of the legal rights and privileges of Roman citizenship

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In the imperial period, it was important for Roman emperors to establish good relationships with three main bodies of citizens: the Roman elite, the Roman army, and the people of Rome.

Emperors often represented their relationships with these groups through coinage. Coins contained messages that reminded the citizens that the emperor was the embodiment of the ideal Roman citizen, who was on good terms with the gods, upheld traditional morals, and shared the glory and spoils of military victory with the people.

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Roman law favoured free people over slaves, freeborn citizens over freed citizens, and Roman citizens over free non-citizens.

Slaves were the property of their masters, and had very limited social and legal protections. Libertini (those freed from slavery) were not full Roman citizens, and remained legally tied to their masters. In contrast, all freeborn people who were Roman citizens were protected against iniuriae (physical acts against their bodies and property), and had many more legal rights.

However, in reality, Roman citizenship was not so straightforward. One's experience also depended on factors such as wealth, status, gender, type of freedom, place of residence, period in time, and even occupation.