Lex Plautia Papiria
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The ''Lex Plautia Papiria de Civitate Sociis Danda'' was a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
enacted amidst the Social War in 89 BCE. It was proposed by the Tribunes of the Plebs, M. Plautius Silvanus and C. Papirius Carbo. The law granted
Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
to Italian communities that had previously rebelled against Rome during this war.


Background

The Social War, which was fought between 91 and 88 BCE, was a rebellion against Rome by some of her Italic
socii The ''socii'' ( in English) or ''foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of ancient Rome, Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the ''Latin Rights, Latin ...
(allies) caused by Rome's refusal to grant them
Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
. However, this concession became necessary to try to stem the rebellion. The ''Lex Plautia Papiria'' was not the first law that extended Roman citizenship during the Social War. In 90 BCE, the Lex Calpurnia gave commanders the power to reward valor of soldiers with Roman citizenship. In the same year, the '' Lex Julia de Civitate Latinis et Socii Danda'' granted civitas to Italian communities who had not participated in the rebellion against Rome to prevent them from joining the war. The law stated that communities with newly granted citizenship should be enrolled in new tribes for voting in the
Comitia Tributa The Tribal Assembly (''comitia populi tributa'') was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by tribes (''tribus''). In the Roman Republic, citizens did not elect legislative representatives. Instead, they voted themselves on legisl ...
. In 89 BCE the ''Lex Plautia Papiria'' followed the guidelines laid out in the ''Lex Julia'' for adding new tribes to the Comitia Tibuta for the new communities which were also granted citizenship. In the same year, the Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis granted
Latin rights Latin rights (also Latin citizenship, Latin: ''ius Latii'' or ''ius latinum'') were a set of legal rights that were originally granted to the Latins (Latin: "Latini", the People of Latium, the land of the Latins) under Roman law in their origin ...
to the communities in Transpadana, the region north of the River Po as a reward for having sided with Rome during the war.Dart, C. J.,The Social War, 91 to 88 BCE: A History of the Italian Insurgency against the Roman Republic (2014), pp. 189-212


Provisions

While the complete original text of the law has never been recovered,
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
stated several of the provisions of the law in his '' Pro Archia Poeta Oratio'': Thus, an individual had to meet three conditions to become a Roman citizen under the newly created law: he must claim citizenship in an Italian city that was a Roman ally, he must have already established residence there before the passing of this law and he must then present himself to a
praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
within sixty days to be considered for citizenship. Unlike the Lex Julia, which granted citizenship only to entire cities, the Lex Papiria Plautia could be used to grant citizenship to individuals as well.


Effects

Demonstrating its use in granting citizenship to an individual, the law was used as justification for bestowing citizenship upon
Aulus Licinius Archias Aulus Licinius Archias ( grc-gre, Ἀρχίας; fl. c. 120 – 61 BC) was a Greco-Syrian poet. Life He was born in Antioch, Syria (modern Antakya, Turkey). He studied at his native city, and received a liberal education. During his schoo ...
. Archias, a Greek poet, was accused of assuming his citizenship illegally. However, in ''Pro Archia'', Cicero used, among other reasons, the ''Lex Plautia Papiria'' to uphold the legitimacy of Archias’ citizenship. The law, however, was ineffective at persuading confederate towns and at ending the war. By placing the newly admitted citizens into new tribes instead of assimilating them into previously established tribes, the laws made the votes of the new citizens virtually worthless. Thus, Italian confederates had little incentive to stop fighting against Rome. Although it is also worth noting the significant benefits brought aside from suffrage (protection from mistreatment during military service, improved legal rights, and for the rich, chances to bid for lucrative tax farming contracts) which may for many have been most significant.


See also

*
Lex Julia A ''lex Julia'' (plural: ''leges Juliae'') was an ancient Roman law that was introduced by any member of the gens Julia. Most often, "Julian laws", ''lex Julia'' or ''leges Juliae'' refer to moral legislation introduced by Augustus in 23 BC, o ...
*
Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
* List of Roman laws


Notes


References

*Cerutti, Steven M. (1998). ''Cicero Pro Archia Poeta Oratio''. Wauconda, Ill: Bolchazy-Caarducci Publishers, 1988. * Dart, C. J., The Social War, 91 to 88 BCE: A History of the Italian Insurgency against the Roman Republic, Routledge, 2014; *Cicero, M. Tullius. (1856). ''The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge''. London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. OCLC: 4709897 *Gotoff, Harold C. (1979). ''Cicero’s Elegant Style: An Analysis of the Pro Archia''. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. *Keaveney, Arthur. (1987). ''Rome and the Unification of Italy''. Beckenham: Croom Helm Ltd. *(1996). ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd Edition: “Gaius Papirius Carbo”''. New York: Oxford University Press.


External links


The Roman Law Library, incl. ''Leges''
{{Italic title Roman law 89 BC 1st century BC in law