The Latin Right (Latin ius Latii or Latinitas or Latium) was a status given to a Roman colony intermediate between full Roman citizenship and not being a citizen at all (peregrines or provincials). Some important tenets of the Latin right was the right to enter into legal contract under Roman law (commercium) and the legal right to intermarriage (conubium). Colonies in antiquity were city-states founded from a mother-city, not from a territory-at-large. ... The toga was the characteristic garment of the Roman citizen. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ...

Background

The Latin War (340-338 BC) was a conflict between the Roman Republic and the people of Latium. The war ended with a Roman victory and the dissolution of the Latin League, a confederation of about 30 villages in the province of Latium. With this victory, some city-states were fully incorporated into the Republic while others were given fewer rights. These provincial rights came to be known as the Latin right, and were then extended to other Latin colonies in the 3rd century BC. The Latin War (340-338 BC) was a conflict between the Roman Republic and its neighbors the Latin peoples of ancient Italy. ...

In 171 BC, Carteia in Spain was founded as the first Latin colony outside of Italy. Its primary members were the children of Roman soldiers and Spanish women, though their freedmen and the local inhabitants of the district were also able to enroll.

The Latin Right under the Empire

Following the great spate of colonial settlements under Caesar and Augustus, the Latin right was used as a political instrument that aimed at integration of provincial communities via local leadership. The core right imparted by Latin status was the acquisition of Roman citizenship upon the holding of municipal office (ius adipiscendae civitatis per magistratuum), which presumed a trajectory of development that would carry at least the local elites along the path to the creation of a Roman-style community. In 123 AD, the emperor Hadrian made a key modification to the Latin right. This so-called "greater" Latin right (Latium maius), made all of the councilors in communities Roman citizens. Caesar may refer to the following: Related to Ancient Roman times Caesar (title), a title used by Roman Emperors Julius Caesar (100 BC–44 BC), a famous politician and military leader He used the Caesar cipher in his military campaigns. ... For other uses, see Augustus (disambiguation). ... Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 – July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English was Roman emperor from 117 – 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher. ...

The Latin right was an acquisition that relied solely on an imperial gift. This beneficence could span the whole range from grants to individuals, to awards made to whole towns, and could even be applied to an entire population, as when the emperor Vespasian gave the Latin right to all of Spain in 74 AD. Although this decree could encompass whole cities, it is important to note that it did not necessarily entail the establishment of a municipium. Often, as in Spain, the constitution of formal municipalities might have followed some years after the initial grant. Imperator Caesar Vespasianus Augustus (November 17, 9–June 23, 79), known originally as Titus Flavius Vespasianus and usually referred to in English as Vespasian, was emperor of Rome from 69 to 79. ... A municipium was the second highest class of a Roman city, and was inferior in status to the colonia. ...

The Latin Right and Citizenship

The Latin right was an intermediate step in obtaining full-fledged Roman citizenship. In the days of the Republic, those holding the Latin right had most of the liberties of citizens except the right to vote. Furthermore, only full citizens could serve in the Roman army. For the mass of the population, though, the formal meaning of citizenship symbolized being part of the empire. This was instrumental in foreign policy for the emperor, allowing rulers to incorporate new territories into the empire under the incentive of improved standing. Citizenship was granted to Italy after the Social War (91-88 BC) and was then extended to some of its Western provinces under the leadership of Julius Caesar and Augustus. Finally in 212 AD, emperor Caracalla issued the Constitutio Antoniniana, which gave full citizenship to any free-born man in the Roman Empire. With this edict, the Latin right became more of a formality than a political standing. Template:Campaignbox Social War This article is about the conflict between Rome and her allies between 91 and 88 BC The Social War (also called the Italian War or the Marsic War, Social come from Socii meaning ¨Allies¨) was a war from 91 – 88 BC between the Roman Republic and... Gaius Julius Caesar [1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in classical antiquity. ... For other uses, see Augustus (disambiguation). ... Caracalla (April 4, 186 – April 8, 217) was Roman Emperor from 211 – 217. ... The Constitutio Antoniniana (Latin: Constitution [or Edict] of Antoninus) was an edict declared in 212 AD by the Roman Emperor Caracalla (whose real name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus). ...

External sources

"ius Latii" from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 1875.

"jus Latii" from Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007

"Latin Revolt"

Livy XLIII. 3-4. cf. Galsterer 1971, 8-9: (G 15); Humbert 1976, 225-34: (H 138).

The Cambridge Ancient History Volume XI: The High Empire A.D. 70-192, 2nd Edition. Pp. 139, 364-365