DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND THE LAW

| 180 Livius, Ab urbecondita XXIIL31.10 (215 B.C.)

And concerning the three hundred horsemen from Campania who had come to Rome after loyal service in Sicily, it was proposed to the people that they be made Roman citizens (cives), and further, that they be made townsmen (muni­cipes) of Cumae, (dated} from the day before the Campanian people defected from the Roman people.

Cicero, Pro L. Cornelia Balbo oratio XI.28 (56 B.C.) By the ius civile no one our citizen can be citizen of two states.

Edictum octaviani de seleuco nauarcha9-31 (FIRA I No. 55) (36/30 B.C.)

Caesar (Octavian}, Imperator, triumvir for constituting the republic, by virtue of the Munatio-A emilian la w, has granted citizenship and immunity (from taxa­tion} upon ail his property in these words:

Whereas Seleucus, son ofTheodotus, ofRhosos, hasfought with us in wars.... has exhibited complete support and loyalty to the republic,... and has endured every sacrifice for the Roman people, and has served our interest both in our absence and in our presence, we grant to him. his parents, his descendants and his wife, whoever shall so become, citizenship and immunity of his property (from taxation), just as those citizens by the most privileged law and by the most privileged status are immune; and let them be exempt (vacatio}from mili­tary duty and every public service.

• · *

As far as the aforesaid person and his wife and parents, children and de­scendants were immune before becoming Roman citizens [ with freedom from? ], even after they become Roman citizens they have been made immune, if they wish to do so they are permitted to legally enjoy their (former} priesthoods, [magistracies], honors, emoluments and to hold and enjoy property as one holds and enjoys by the most privileged law and the mast privileged status.

Edictum OCTAVIAN! de privileojis veteranorum 2-7 (Bruns 239, FIRA I

No.

Imperator Caesar (Octavian}, son of the deified (Caesar}, triumvir for the con­stituting of the republic the second time, proclaims:

It seems fitting to me that it be proclaimed that < freedom from > tribute be given to all veterans to themselves, theirparentsandchildrenandtheir

wives who shall so become, to give immunity from all things as Roman citizens are in the most privileged status and by the most privileged law, let them be immune, their children, from military service, and exempt from performing compulsory public service.

Edictum augusti de cyrenaejs (III) 55-62 (FIRA I No. 68) (6 B.C.)

[Set forth supra, $ 164]

Edictum claudii de civitate volubilitanorum (FIRA I No. 70) (44 A.D.) M. Valerius Severus, son of Bostar, of the Galerian (tribe}, edile, supreme magistrate, councilman, first priest in his city, praefect of the auxiliary troops against Aedemonis, who was overthrown in war. The council of the city of Volubilis. on account of the services well rendered the state ami the command, for which dims Claudius granted Roman citizenship and conubium (right of legal marriage} with foreign women, plus immunity (from taxation} for ten years to the settlers (in Volubilis}, with the property of citizens killed in war, where there were no heirs, to them (also}.

Fabia Bira, daughter of Izelta, his wife, to the most considerate husband, for the sake of praise, remitted the expense and gave and dedicated (this monu­ment} of her own funds.

Diploma militis peregrini (Bruns 274; FIRA I No. 27) (71 A.D.)

Emperor Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, chief pontiff, with tribunician power for the second time, imperator for the sixth, father of the fatherland, consul for the third time, consul designate for the fourth, to the veterans who served in the fleet at Ravenna under Sex. Ludlius Bassus, who were on duty for twenty-six or more years and who were established as colonists in Pannonia whose names are written below, to them, their children and descendants, he has granted citizenship, and conubium (right of lawful marriage) with the wives whom they have at the time when citizenship is granted or if they be unmarried, with those whom they thereafter should take in marriage, provided but one marriage for each (veteran).

April 5 th, in the consulship of Caesar Domitian, son of Augustus, and Gnaeus Pedius Cascus, for the centurion, Plator, son of Venet us. a Maezeian.

Copied and certified from the bronze tablet affixed to the Capitolium at Rome, at the altar of the Gens Itdia on the outer left-hand side of the platform, tablet I, page II, entry XLIV.

Titus lulius Rufus of Salona, Roman knight (and six others, all from cities along the Illyrian coast, witnessed).

Plinius, Epistulae X.106-07 (c. 113 A.D.) Pliny to the emperor Trajan.

Being requested, my lord, by P. Acdus Aquila, centurion of the sixth cavalry cohort, to send you a petition begging your interest in the status of his daughter, I thought it was difficult to refuse, for I know how readily you give a sympathe­tic hearing to the requests of soldiers.

Trajan to Pliny.

I have read the petition of P. Acdus Aquila, centurion of the sixth cavalry cohort, which you have sent me. Moved by his request, I have granted Roman citizenship to his daughter. I have sent the answered petition which you should deliver to him.

Cf. also Plin. Ep. 10.5 and 6, and 10.114 and 115 (set forth, infra, 1187).

Tabula banasitana 35-38 (CRAcad. Inscrip. 1971 [1972 ] 468) (177 A.D.) Upon the request of Aurelius lulianus, chief of the Zegrensians, by petition, supported by Vallius Maximianus. by letter, we (emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus) have granted Roman dtizenship to them (wife and children of Aure­lius lulianus), without impairment of the law of the tribe (salvo hire gentis), and without diminution of tribute and taxes of the (Roman) people and of the fisc.

CONSTITUTJO ANTONINIANA DE CIVTTATE 1-9 (M. Chr. No. 377 ; FIRA I No. 88) (212 A.D.)

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus proclaims:...

I may show my gratitude to the immortal gods for their preserving me in so Therefore I believe that magnificently and reverently I can render

proper service to their majesty if I bring to the worship of the gods as many foreigners as have entered into the number of my people.

For the restorations not indicated, see text and notes, in FIR4 I No. 88.

The restoration indicated derives from the comparable text of the Tabula Banasitana, supra.

The topic of Roman citizenship is not a subject within the scope of this volume? The point of interest herein is solely the relation between the extension of citizenship to non-Romans and the spread of Roman law among provincials. The point of departure is presented by the opening texts above. Extracts from Cicero indicate that Roman law principles pre­vented a person from having more than one citizenship, even though he might have two patriae (fatherlands), one by nature and the other by reason of citizenship? If a foreigner, like Batbus, acquired Roman citizenship, be­came active in Roman affairs, and moved to Rome, he ceased to be a citizen of his native town, Gades. But with the widespread grants of Roman citizen­ship by Caesar and Augustus, a change appears to have taken place. In the grant of Roman citizenship to Seleucus of Rhosos, his ability to hold office and perform public duties in his native Rhosos is expressly reserved. Accord­ing to Sherwin-White, Seleucus becomes a Roman as far as his status is involved, subject to the Roman ius civile in his actions within the field of private law, but free to hold office or perform public duties in either Rome or Rhosos? In the edict to the Cyrcnacans, however, the new Romans remain subject to some of the duties of local citizenship, thus breaking the principle of incompatability of dual citizenship?

With the rule of Claudius the policy of the government with respect to the extension of Roman citizenship beyond the confines of Italy had taken firm hold? The emperor seeks the participation of provincials in the admin­istration, and accordingly extends citizenship to communities and individ-

1.

2. Cic. de leg. 2.2.5; Ep. ad fam. 13.11; pro Balbo 27-29. Cf. Welles, Etudes de Papyr. 9(1962) I, 14 IT

3. Sherwin-White, op. at., 296-304; cf. also De Viwcher. Nouveltes Etudes 51. 83-96.

4. De Visschcr, Edits 108-18; Nouvelles Etudes 51, 55 ff.; but cf. Sherwin-White.'op. di., 304 ff., 334 ff.

5. Sherwin-White, op. cit., chaps. XI ff.

uals in the provinces. The earlier grants of immunity from tribute and taxes disappear, and the new citizenship is afforded subject to the condition that the laws and customs of the native community be retained.* Many scholars have employed the term ‘dual citizenship’ to describe the situation from the time of Oaudius on? Unfortunately, one cannot precisely delineate the areas of each legal system, Roman or local, to which the neo-Roman is subject. According to Weiss, once granted Roman citizenship a person is totally subject to the Roman law, and merely performs certain functions for his native state.* To Schdnbauer, on the other hand, The law of the tribe remaining’ (salvo iure gentis), signifies that the internal legal system of the tribe continues to bind a person even after he has been granted Roman citizenship.^{[1297] [1298] [1299] [1300] Sherwin-White asserts that the new Roman employed the ius civile in ‘matters of personal status and basic property rights, mar­riage, descent and succession’;[1301] [1302] [1303] this is shown, he states, by the fact that the Gnomon of the Idios Logos applies the rules of Roman law to all Roman citizens in Egypt.” Perhaps Sherwin-White would modify his state­ment in view of the fact that, at approximately the same time as the com­pilation of the Gnomon, appellate decisions of the emperor Marcus Aurelius applied Athenian law in matters of personal status to Athenians newly granted Roman citizenship.[1304] The final step was taken by Caracalla, in 212 A.D., by the grant of Roman citizenship to all within the confines of the Empire, the so-called constitutio Antoniniana.13}

The divergent points of view respecting the law applicable to new Romans both before and after the constitutio Antoniniana are reflected in the dia­metrically opposed theses respecting the legal systems which were prevalent in the provinces of the Roman Empire, particularly the eastern provinces, during the Principate.

In 1963, in the course of lengthy research into the development of the doctrine of origo, the equivalent of patria, Nbrr was able to show that the idea of dual citizenship was not the clue to the apparent plurality of legal systems.¹⁰ Roman citizenship (civitas Romans) has three connotations in the late Principate, no one of which was exclusive: (1) honorary citizen­ship, a prestige position; (2) a position of status, the upper class members of the community; and (3) a citizen-member of the Empire. There is, thus, no concept of dual citizenship in the time of the Principate, and no direct connection between civitas Romans and Roman law for the neo-Roman.¹¹ There never was any principle that a person was not entitled to live ac­cording to the laws of his origo. But at the same time, there was no ques­tion but that the Roman legal system was at a higher level than any local

14. Mittcis, fyidKreefa 109 f., 152 if.

15. Particularly, Arangio-Ruiz, Bull. 1st. ί 217 n,20. Cf. also Schiller, ‘The role of Roman citizenship and Roman law in the Pax Romans’, Festgabe Ladinitzer 121-30.

20. Norr, 77? 31 (1963) 525, 583 ff.

21. Non, op. dt, 592 ff.

law. With the gradual penetration of Roman legal doctrines the local law began to be replaced, until finally, in the post-classical period, there evolved a single, new Roman legal system which, incidentally, incorporated Hellen­istic legal institutions, formerly institutions of the local law of the eastern provinces.’¹

Recent studies have generally subscribed to the ideas set forth by Ndrr. Gaudemet has devoted several pages to the development of the concept of citizenship in his text, and speaking of ‘double citizenship', points out that citizenship, in antiquity, was not, like modem ‘nationality', a global and in­divisible notion, but a bundle of rights which Rome could grant, in whole or in part; access by the new citizen to the legal institutions of Rome is certain, but it is equally true that provincial forms did not disappear im­mediately after 212 A.D.^2J Talamanca, in assessing the remarks of a certain Menander of Laodicca (second half of 3rd century) respecting the effect of the constitutio Antoniniana, cites Nfirr’s study with approval.²⁴ Finally, Modrzejewski has recently presented an extensive study on the nature of the local legal system in Egypt during the period of Roman rule.¹* In the course of this study he dwells upon ‘double citizenship’.²· The first two centuries of our era brought about a profound change in the relations between Rome and the local communities making up the Empire. The city-states of the east became mere territorial units with administrative autonomy, and the notion of citizenship gave way to origo, a local tie of the inhabitants to the city-state. Meanwhile, with Rome becoming a world state, civitas Romana signified participation in the Roman Empire. The constitutio Antoniniana put into legal terms the sense of the mass of inhabitants as belonging to the Empire. The ties to the local communities were not affected; they were comprised within those possessed by all free men of the Empire. Such a relation cannot be termed ‘dual citizenship’; local rights and duties are not legal principles in opposition to the Roman law. The question, Modrzejew­ski states, is not the eventual disappearance of the local law in the face of the Roman law, but rather the manner of the integration of the local law into a new legal system. The jurists of the later Principale actually paid scant attention to the law practiced in the provinces. For this, in addition to the survey of Modrzejewski on the provincial law in Egypt, attention is called to the contrasting views of Seidl in a recent volume.”

22. Cf. generally. NPrr, ìv, Origo, RE Supp. 10 ( 1965) 433-73.

23. Gaudemet, Institutions 525-34, particularly | 378.

24. Talamanca, Studi Volterra V 433, 458-60.

25. Modrzejewiki, 'La règie de droit dansJ’Bgypte romaine', Proc. XHth Cong. Papyr. 317­77.

26. Modrzejewski, op. at., 349-52.

27. Seidl, Rechligeschichte Àgyptens ais r&nixher Provini ( 1973).