Roman citizenship
The honorific title "civium Romanorum" ("of Roman citizens", "c.R." for short) was normally awarded by the emperor for valour to an auxiliary regiment as a whole. The award would include the grant of Roman citizenship to all the regiment's current members, but not to subsequent recruits to the regiment. The regiment, however, would retain the prestigious title in perpetuity. Until 212, only a minority of the empire's inhabitants (inc. all Italians) held full Roman citizenship. The rest were denoted "peregrini", a second-class status. Since the legions admitted only citizens, "peregrini" could only enlist in the auxilia. Citizenship carried a number of tax and other privileges and was highly sought-after. It could also be earned by serving the minimum 25-year term in the auxilia. In 212 all free inhabitants of the empire were granted full Roman citizenship.