Civitas

In the Roman Empire, a civitas (Latin pronunciation: [ˈkiːwɪtaːs]; plural civitates) was both an abstract concept of citizenship and a concrete administrative unit within the Roman territorial system. Originating from the Latin word civis (citizen), the term referred to a community of citizens bound together by law and shared responsibilities.

As Rome expanded, the concept evolved from its original meaning of "citizenship" or "citizenry" to encompass various types of provincial settlements with different legal statuses and privileges. These ranged from fully autonomous allied states (civitates foederatae) to tax-paying communities (civitates stipendariae).

The civitas system became a crucial mechanism through which Rome organized conquered territories, promoted Romanization, and maintained administrative control throughout its vast empire, ultimately leaving a lasting imprint on European urban development that extended beyond the empire's fall.

Definition and Etymology

A Roman military diploma, or certificate of successful military service, granting citizenship to a retiring soldier and the dependents he had with him at the time. The key phrase is "est civitas eis data" where *civitas* means "citizenship".

In Ancient Rome, the Latin term civitas (Latin pronunciation: [ˈkiːwɪtaːs]; plural civitates), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law (concilium coetusque hominum jure sociati). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities (munera) on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other. The agreement (concilium) has a life of its own, creating a res publica or "public entity" (synonymous with civitas), into which individuals are born or accepted, and from which they die or are ejected. The civitas is not just the collective body of all the citizens, it is the contract binding them all together, because each of them is a civis.^[1]

Civitas is an abstract formed from civis. Claude Nicolet^[2] traces the first word and concept for the citizen at Rome to the first known instance resulting from the synoecism of Romans and Sabines presented in the legends of the Roman Kingdom. According to Livy,^[3] the two peoples participated in a ceremony of union after which they were named Quirites after the Sabine town of Cures. The two groups became the first curiae, subordinate assemblies, from co-viria ("fellow assemblymen", where vir is "man", as only men participated in government). The Quirites were the co-viri. The two peoples had acquired one status. The Latin for the Sabine Quirites was cives, which in one analysis came from the Indo-European *kei-, "lie down" in the sense of incumbent, member of the same house. City, civic, and civil all come from this root. Two peoples were now under the same roof, so to speak.^[4]

Evolution of the Concept

Civitas was a popular and widely used word in ancient Rome, with reflexes in modern times. Over the centuries the usage broadened into a spectrum of meanings cited by the larger Latin dictionaries:^[5] In addition to citizenship, it could mean a legal city-state, the collective population of a res publica, or even (especially under the empire) the physical town or city (urbs).

Types of Civitates

As the empire grew, inhabitants of the outlying Roman provinces would either be classed as dediticii, meaning "capitulants", or be treated as client states with some independence guaranteed through treaties.

There were three categories of autonomous native communities under Roman rule:

The highest, civitates foederatae ("allied states"), were formally independent and equal cities with a common treaty (foedus)
Next came the civitates liberae ("free cities"), which enjoyed certain privileges, often including tax immunity
The final, and most common group, were the civitates stipendariae ("tributary states"), which retained legal autonomy but were obligated to pay taxes

Examples and Development

Prestigious and economically important settlements such as Massilia and Messana are examples of occupied regions granted semi-autonomy during the Roman Republic. The island of Malta received this status as a reward for loyalty to Rome during the Second Punic War.

The new Romanised urban settlements of these client tribes were also designated as civitates and were usually re-founded near pre-Roman tribal centers. At Cirencester, for example, the Romans developed a civitas on the site of a former military base near a native oppidum.

Administrative Function

During the later empire, the term was applied to both native communities and civil administrative districts in peaceful provinces. Land designated for a civitas was divided between locals and the civil government. While Rome sometimes provided funds for public buildings, development was typically left to local initiative.

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Comparison with Other Roman Settlements

The civitates differed from:

The loosely organized vici that grew around military forts
coloniae founded for veteran settlement with full Roman rights
municipia, legally incorporated towns with varying degrees of Roman citizenship

Structure and Purpose

Civitates served as local economic and administrative hubs. They typically featured a forum, basilica, and public buildings, and were governed by a local council (ordo or curia) composed of elite males eligible for office.

Defense and Later Development

Defensive measures at civitates were minimal, often limited to earthworks. In late antiquity, local militias led by decurions served as defense in frontier regions. Some civitates retained urban continuity and Roman identity even after the formal collapse of imperial control, particularly in Britain and northern Spain.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Smith, William (1875). "CIVITAS (ROMAN)". A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: John Murray. pp. 291–293.
^ Nicolet, Claude (1980) [1976]. The world of the citizen in republican Rome. P.S. Falla (trans.). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 21–23.
^ History of Rome I.13.4.
^ Partridge, Eric (1983). "city". Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. New York: Greenwich House.
^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (2007) [1879]. "Civitas". A Latin Dictionary. Oxford; Medford: Clarendon Press; Perseus Digital Library.
^ Woolf, Greg. Becoming Roman: The Origins of Provincial Civilization in Gaul. Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 73–78.

[1] Smith, William (1875). "CIVITAS (ROMAN)". A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: John Murray. pp. 291–293.

[2] Nicolet, Claude (1980) [1976]. The world of the citizen in republican Rome. P.S. Falla (trans.). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 21–23.

[3] History of Rome I.13.4.

[4] Partridge, Eric (1983). "city". Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. New York: Greenwich House.

[5] Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (2007) [1879]. "Civitas". A Latin Dictionary. Oxford; Medford: Clarendon Press; Perseus Digital Library.

[6] Woolf, Greg. Becoming Roman: The Origins of Provincial Civilization in Gaul. Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 73–78.

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