Ius Italicum

Ius Italicum (Latin, Italian or Italic law) was an honor conferred on particular cities of the Roman Empire by the emperors. It did not describe any status of citizenship, but granted to communities outside Italy the legal fiction that they were on Italian soil. This meant that it was governed under Roman rather than local or Hellenistic law, had a greater degree of autonomy in their relations with provincial governors, all those born in the city automatically gained Roman citizenship, and the city's land was exempt from certain taxes.[1] As citizens of Rome, people were able to buy and sell property, were exempt from land tax and the poll tax and were entitled to protection by Roman law.[2]

The early Roman Empire saw the creation of colonies; settlers in Roman citizen colonies (colonia civium Romanorum) had the same rights as legal privileges as cives. Military Roman colonies founded by Augustus were to house the civil war veterans while overseas civilian colonies were settled by Roman civilians who were deprived of their property by returning soldiers. Ancient literary sources enumerate some of the cities that were granted the privilege of Ius Italicum. The Digest (50.15) lists Roman colonies that were granted the privilege of ius Italicum.[3] This list comprises 16 colonies founded by Augustus Caesar: Berytus, Apamea, Sinope, Philippi, Alexandria Troas, Dyrrhacium, Pax Julia, Emerita, Valentia, Ilici, Lugdunum, Vienna, Cassandrea, Dium, Parium, Antioch of Pisidia. The colony of Carthage was founded by Caesar, re-founded by Augustus and given Ius Italicum by Septimius Severus. In his "Natural History" (3.25), Pliny adds Acci and Libisosa to the list of Augustan cities possessing Ius Italicum.[3]

Other cities founded to house Augustus' military legions were identified through epigraphical and numismatic evidence. These cities are believed to have also been granted Ius Italicum: Arausio, Baeterrae, Barcino, Caesaraugusta, Cartenna, Corduba, Forum Julii, Gunugu, Narbo, Patrae, Rusazu, Rusguinae, Saldae, Thermae Himeraeae, Thuburbo Minus, Thuburnica, Tubusuctu and Uthina.[3]

Under the Claudius, the Flavians and Trajan, three colonies are known to have had Ius Italicum; Ara Agrippinensium founded by Cluadian, is attested in the Digest. Agrippa founded the colony of Ara Ubiorum. Trajan founded two colonies on the Danube, one of which, Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizeaugusta.[3]

References
  1. David S. Potter (3 January 2014). The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180–395. Routledge. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-1-134-69484-6.
  2. Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve; Charles William Emil Miller; Tenney Frank; Benjamin Dean Meritt; Harold Fredrik Cherniss; Henry Thompson Rowell (1895). American Journal of Philology. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 383–.
  3. Watkins, Thomas H. (1983). "Coloniae and Ius Italicum in the Early Empire". The Classical Journal. 78 (4): 319–336. ISSN 0009-8353. JSTOR 3296773.


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