In
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
, the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
term (pl. ) referred to a town or city.
Etymologically, the was a
social contract among ("duty holders"), or
citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges and protections of citizenship. Every citizen was a .
The distinction of was not made in the
Roman Kingdom; instead, the immediate neighbours of the city were invited or compelled to transfer their populations to the urban structure of Rome, where they took up residence in neighbourhoods and became Romans ''per se''. Under the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
the practical considerations of incorporating communities into the
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
of Rome forced the Romans to devise the concept of , a distinct state under the jurisdiction of Rome. It was necessary to distinguish various types of and other settlements, such as the
colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...
. In the early
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
these distinctions began to disappear; for example, when
Pliny the Elder served in the Roman army, the distinctions were only nominal. In the final stage of development, all citizens of all cities and towns throughout the empire were equally citizens of Rome. The then simply meant municipality, the lowest level of
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
.
Creation of a ''municipium''
The ''
munera'' and the citizenship and its rights and protections were specific to the community. No matter where a person lived, at home or abroad, or what his status or class, he was a citizen of the locality in which he was born. The distinguishing
characteristic of the ''municipium'' was
self-governance. Like any ancient city-state, the ''municipium'' was created by an official act of
synoecism, or founding. This act removed the sovereignty and independence from the signatory local communities, replacing them with the jurisdiction of a common government. This government was then called the ''res publica'' 'public affair' or in the Greek world the ''koinon'' 'common affair'.
The term ''municipium'' began to be used with reference to the city-states of Italy brought into the city-state of Rome but not incorporated into the city. The city of
Romulus synoecised the nearby settlements of
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...
, transferring their populations to the seven hills, where they resided in typically distinct neighbourhoods. And yet, Sabines continued to live in the Sabine Hills and
Alba Longa continued even though synoecised. The exact sequence of events is not known, whether the populace was given a choice or the synoecised sites were reoccupied. As it is unlikely that all the Sabines were invited to Rome, where facilities to feed and house them did not yet exist, it seems clear that population transfer was only offered to some. The rest continued on as independent localities under the ultimate governance of Rome. Under the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
the impracticality of transferring numerous large city-states to Rome was manifest. The answer to the problem was the ''municipium''. The town would be partially synoecised. The
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
would remain but to its ''munera'' would be added ''munera'' due to the city of Rome. The partial synoecism took the form of a charter granting incorporation into the city of Rome and defining the rights and responsibilities of the citizens. The first ''municipium'' was
Tusculum
Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...
.
Two orders of the municipia
The citizens of ''municipia'' of the first order held full
Roman citizenship and their
rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
(''civitas optimo iure'') included the
right to vote
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
, which was the ultimate right in Rome, and a sure sign of full rights.
The second order of ''municipia'' comprised important
tribal centres which had come under Roman control.
Residents of these did not become full Roman citizens (although their
magistrates could become so after retirement). They were given the
duties of full
citizens in terms of
liability to
taxes and
military service, but not all of the rights: most significantly, they had no right to vote.
Executive power in ''municipium'' was held by four annually
elected officials, composed of two
duumvirs and two
aediles.
Advisory powers were held by the
decurions, appointed members of the local equivalent to the
Senate. In later years, these became hereditary.
Examples for grants of municipia
#
Volubilis in the province of
Mauretania (modern day
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
) was promoted to a ''municipium'' by the Emperor
Claudius as a reward for its help in a revolt in AD 40–41
# The Emperor
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...
granted '
Latin Rights' to the provinces of
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...
(
Tarraconensis,
Baetica,
Lusitania) in AD 73 or 74
# Marcus Servilius Draco Albucianus from
Tripolitania successfully petitioned
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to grant the status of ''municipium'' on his town
[Edmondson, J., 2006, “Cities and urban life in the Western provinces of the Roman Empire, 30BC – 250AD”, in Potter, D.S, A Companion to the Roman Empire, Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, pp. 250–280]
References
{{Reflist
Roman law
Roman towns types
Subdivisions of ancient Rome