The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History - Karatunov.net

H i s t o r i c a l Ba c k g r o u n d 69
lished mostly in existing cities, sometimes by dispossessing the original inhabitants.
Land allotments went with the foundation of each colony, since no city
can survive without its surrounding lands to produce food. The majority of the
colonies established in Italy had Latin status rather than full Roman citizenship.
Th ey were all owed con s i dera ble auton omy, but they were also instru m ents of
voluntary Romanization.
Co l onies of Roman citi zens with full vo ting ri ghts (civi t a tes optimo iure)
were fewer in nu m ber than Latin co l onies and were largely re s tri cted to the
coastal towns, where it was once thought that the prime duty of the citizens was
to provide garrison troops, an opinion that has since been revised. Roman citizenship
could occ a s i on a lly be con ferred on whole town s , and in the later Republic
it could be bestowed on individuals. Full voting rights could be exercised
only by personal attendance in Rome. Roman citizenship was a prized asset, and
eventually Rome started to ration the grant of full voting rights. Instead, a new
kind of grant called civitas sine suffragio was instituted, which bestowed the legal
rights and privileges that went with citizenship, without the voting powers. This
relationship with Rome was extended to some of the towns of Latium, Campania,
and Etruria. As with the allied states, the military obligations to fight on behalf
of Rome remained in place.
The first permanent colony outside Italy was set up in 118 bc at Narbo in
Proven ce , Fra n ce (the modern name derives from provi n ci a , as the area was
once designated as the province before it became known as Gallia Narbonensis).
Toward the end of the second century bc, more colonies were established in
Africa and Gaul, mostly to accommodate discharged veterans from the armies;
t h en under Ju l ius Cae s a r, Au g u s tu s , and su cceeding em perors , the practi ce
s pre ad to the Rh i n e , S p a i n , and the eastern provi n ce s . The co l onies ra n ked
higher than the other cities of the Empire, and emperors could confer colonial
status on settlements.
As the Romans acqu i red more terri tory and ex ten ded their influ en ce over
the peri ph eral states and tri be s , a different kind of rel a ti onship with non -
Roman peoples was developed (Braund, 1984). Modern historians call this system
client kingship, but a better term would be friendly king, since the Romans
used the phrase rex sociusque et amicus, denoting a king who was both an ally
and a friend of the Roman people, under an arrangement that was ratified by
the Senate. This was a personal agreement between the individual king or queen
and the sovereign Roman people, through the medium of Roman magistrates.
When the friendly ruler died, the relationship could be terminated, or it could
be renewed with the successor. Although the agreement did not involve outright
annexation, the ultimate fate of the kingdoms of many friendly kings was exactly
that.
Rome su pported the cl i ent ru l ers in their own kingdom s , and the cl i en t s
were expected to provide troops and to use their local knowledge to aid Roman