The Organisation of Italy and the Provinces

Italy

As was noted in chapter 2, after the whole of Italy came under Roman domination in the early third century BC, some of the towns were annexed whilst others were admitted into alliance with Rome on terms which differed for almost every individual community.

Communities in alliance with Rome (civitates foederatae, socii Italici) retained their autonomy. Despite the fact that they were regarded by the Romans as foreigners (peregrini), the inhabitants of these communities enjoyed certain rights under Roman law, such as commercium (the right to trade with Romans on equal terms and to use the forms of contract available to Roman citizens) and conubium (the right to enter into a valid Roman marriage). Every allied community was bound to Rome by a special treaty (foedus) which set out the rules governing its relations with Rome. Although these treaties differed from one case to another, they all obliged the allied communities to aid Rome militarily and to surrender control over foreign relations. On the whole Rome respected the treaty rights of her allies, although some cases can be found in the sources in which these rights were encroached upon by Roman officials. But as the Roman power and influence continued to grow, the allies tended to sink into a position of greater inferiority and to be regarded, in effect, as clients at the disposal of their Roman masters. With the gradual Romanisation of Italy the generally disadvantageous position of the allies was felt more keenly and the acquisition of the Roman citizenship became one of the chief demands of the allied communities. Following a revolt of the allies against Rome, which led to the so-called Social War (90-88 BC), this demand was finally met with the passing of the lex lulia in 90 BC and the lex Plautia Papiria in 89 BC.

Many formerly independent communities which, as a result of the expansion of Roman territory, had been incorporated into the Roman state were allowed to retain some local autonomy and to continue governing themselves in accordance with their former constitutions.

The term coloniae was used to denote the new settlements founded by Rome in conquered lands in Italy and elsewhere. Usually, when a new territory was conquered, a part of it became property of the Roman state (ager publicus) and was used as a source of public revenue under the administration of the senate; another part was divided among Roman citizens who had chosen to leave Rome and to settle permanently in the conquered country as coloni (cultivators of the land).

There were two types of colonies: Latin colonies (coloniae Latinaef and Roman colonies {coloniae civium Romanorum). The inhabitants of the former enjoyed commercium with Rome, but not conubium (unless this right had explicitly been granted to them). Latin colonists {Latini coloniarii) could acquire full Roman citizenship if they became magistrates in their own towns (per magistratum), or if the citizenship was granted to them by law. Sometimes Roman citizens who had been deprived of some of the rights of the citizenship as a form of punishment (deminutio capitis) became members of Latin colonies. Each Latin colony had full rights of local self-government, with its own laws, magistrates and a constitution closely modelled upon that of Rome. The Roman colonies were made up of Roman citizens as well as elements of the local population.

The term provincia signified a territory or district outside Italy which the Romans had conquered by war.” When a country was subjugated a Roman magistrate, usually the one who carried out the conquest, together with a commission of senators (legati), were entrusted with the task of organising it as a province.^[513] [514] They arranged the terms of peace with the defeated local population, designated the boundaries of the new province and drew up a constitution prescribing the way in which the province was to be governed. Upon the return of the legati to Rome these arrangements were put before the assembly for approval in the form of a legislative proposal (rogatio legis). The proposal, once it became law (lex data, lex provinciae), formed the constitutional charter governing the organisation and administration of the province.^[515] This law, however, could be modified or amended by subsequent legislation, senatorial decrees or edicts of the provincial governors themselves.

Each province comprised a number of communities (civitates) enjoying local self-government but having no political bond of unity. A distinction was drawn between three categories of communities: free and federate (civitates liberae et foederatae), free and nontributary (civitates liberae et immunes) and tributary (stipendiariae). To the first category belonged those communities (very few in number) which retained their independence. These were permanently bound with Rome by treaties of alliance. Into the second category fell a small number of communities to which Rome had granted, by virtue of the provincial charter and without the existence of a bilateral treaty, certain privileges, such as exemption from taxation. These privileges could be revoked by the senate at any time, however. The third group, which was by far the most numerous, furnished most of the taxes imposed upon the province.

A province was governed by a Roman magistrate with imperium, usually a consul or a praetor. In the last century of the Republic, under Sulla's lex Cornelia de provinciis ordinandis (81 BC), consuls and praetors, after their year in office expired, were required to serve as governors of provinces as pro-magistrates (proconsules or propraetores) for one more year. It was usually left to the senate to determine which provinces were to be governed by consuls (provinciae consulares) and which by praetors (provinciae praetoriae). In general, as consular provinces were designated those provinces in which peace was not yet fully established or which remained under the threat of war.^[518] The governor of a province was assisted by a quaestor provinciae and other officials (legati), appointed by the senate but usually nominated by himself.

The governor, by virtue of his imperium, acted as commander-in- chief of the troops stationed in the province and regulated all matters relating to the internal administration of the province.

The Later Republic 159 principles which he would enforce during his term of office.^[520] He also issued decreta, orders of an administrative or judicial character.^[521]

The task of collecting taxes in the provinces was assigned to private contractors (publicani) who formed companies referred to as societates publicanorum. Besides the ordinary taxes, such as the property-tax (tributum), which they were required to pay on a regular basis, the provincials were often subjected to the arbitrary demands of local Roman officials. They were required, for example, to provide winter shelter for the troops, to equip and maintain ships for war or transport and to provide supplies for the governor's household. As these burdens were usually imposed at the discretion of the governor or local magistrates, they were often used by them as means of intimidation and oppression. An attempt to check the abuses of power by provincial governors and magistrates was made in 149 BC with the passing of the lex Calpurnia de repetundis. Under this law, which was confirmed by subsequent enactments, a regular court was instituted (quaestio perpetua) to deal with cases of extortion and other abuses committed by provincial magistrates.^[522] [523] [524]