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governments in the modern world. Especially important within this system was the city, where the magistrates, councils, and assemblies of urban centers governed themselves and areas of the countryside around them. These cities could vary enormously both in population and territory from the tiny Greek
104:
Although Rome ruled a vast empire, it needed strikingly few imperial officials to run it. This relatively light ruling administrative overview was made possible by the tendency to leave to local government much administrative business and to private enterprise many of the tasks associated with
182:("colonies of Latins"), depending on their respective political rights. At first, the establishment of a colony required that a law be passed in Rome in the popular assembly. During the civil discord of the
125:. Despite these differences, these cities shared certain governmental structures and were free, in varying degrees depending on the community’s status, to manage their own affairs.
205:, with roles being defined for magistrates, council, and assemblies. Colonists enjoyed full Roman citizenship and were thus extensions of Rome itself. Beginning in 118 BC in
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in conquered territory for security, sending their own citizens out from Rome. In the earliest period, colonies fell into two classes,
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There were also important differences in the statuses of communities, which were arranged in a hierarchy of prestige, with Roman
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144:), and cities that had no citizenship rights at all. Cities in this last group could be tribute-paying cities (
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The category was also used in the provinces to describe cities that used Roman law but were not colonies.
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had originally been communities of non-citizens among Rome's Italic allies. Following the
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Burton, G. P. ‘Proconsuls, Assizes, and the
Administration of Justice under the Empire’,
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were especially used for settling demobilized soldiers and in programs of
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to govern conquered territories without having to rule them directly.
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Millar, F. ‘Italy and the Roman Empire: Augustus to
Constantine’,
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190:, colonies were founded on the whim of dynasts such as
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The second most prestigious class of cities was the
140:(some of which had full citizen rights, others, the
249:was awarded to all Italy, with the result that a
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46:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
281:Imperium Romanum: Politics and Administration
253:was effectively now a community of citizens.
209:, colonies began to be established in Rome's
267:Municipal Administration in the Roman Empire
111:of several hundred citizens to the great
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283:(London and New York: Routledge, 1993).
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201:Colonies were modelled closely on the
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178:("colonies of Roman citizens") and
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269:(Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1926).
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160:civitates liberae et foederatae
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154:), and free cities with
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32:This article includes a
61:more precise citations.
170:Romans began founding
198:without such a law.
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207:Gallia Narbonensis
203:Roman constitution
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180:coloniae Latinorum
34:list of references
247:Roman citizenship
152:civitates liberae
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