Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Rights. Roman citizenship was required in order to enlist in the Roman legions, but this was sometimes ignored. Citizen soldiers could be beaten by the centurions and senior officers for reasons related to discipline. Non-citizens joined the Auxilia and gained citizenship through service. Classes of citizenship. The legal classes varied over time, however the following classes of legal status existed at various times within the Roman state: Cives Romani. The "cives Romani" were full Roman  citizens, who enjoyed full legal protection under Roman law. "Cives Romani" were sub-divided into two classes: Latini. The "Latini" were a class of citizens who held the Latin Right ("ius Latii"), or the rights of "ius commercii" and "ius migrationis" (the right to migrate), but not the "ius connubii". The term "Latini" originally referred to the Latins, citizens of the Latin League who came under Roman control at the close of the Latin War, but eventually became a legal description rather than a national or ethnic one. Freedmen slaves, those of the "cives Romani" convicted of crimes, or citizens  settling Latin colonies could be given this status under the law. Socii. "Socii" or "foederati" were citizens of states which had treaty obligations with Rome, under which typically certain legal rights of the state's citizens under Roman law were exchanged for agreed levels of military service, i.e. the Roman magistrates had the right to levy soldiers for the Roman legions from those states. However, "foederati" states that had at one time been conquered by Rome were exempt from payment of tribute to Rome due to their treaty status. Growing dissatisfaction with the rights afforded to the "socii", and with  the growing manpower demands of the legions (due to the protracted Jugurthine War and the Cimbrian War) led eventually to the Social War of 91–87 BC in which the Italian allies revolted against Rome. The Lex Julia (in full the "Lex Iulia de Civitate Latinis Danda"), passed in 90 BC, granted the rights of the "cives Romani" to all "Latini" and "socii" states that had not participated in the Social War, or who were willing to cease hostilities immediately. This was extended to all the Italian "socii" states when the war ended (except for Gallia Cisalpina), effectively eliminating "socii" and  Latini as legal and citizenship definitions. Provinciales. "Provinciales" were those people who fell under Roman influence, or control, but who lacked even the rights of the "Foederati", essentially having only the rights of the "ius gentium" (rules and laws common to nations under Rome's rule). Peregrini. A peregrinus (plural "peregrini") was originally any person who was not a full Roman citizen, that is someone who was not a member of the "cives Romani". With the expansion of Roman law to include more gradations of legal status, this term became less used, but the term "peregrini" included those of the  Latini, "socii", and "provinciales", as well as those subjects of foreign states. Citizenship as a tool of Romanization. Roman citizenship was also used as a tool of foreign policy and control. Colonies and political allies would be granted a "minor" form of Roman citizenship, there being several graduated levels of citizenship and legal rights (the Latin Right was one of them). The promise of improved status within the Roman "sphere of influence", and the rivalry with one's neighbours for status, kept the focus of many of Rome's neighbours and allies centered on the "status quo" of Roman culture , rather than trying to subvert or overthrow Rome's influence. The granting of citizenship to allies and the conquered was a vital step in the process of Romanization. This step was one of the most effective political tools and (at that point in history) original political ideas. Previously Alexander the Great had tried to "mingle" his Greeks with the Persians, Egyptians, Syrians, etc. in order to assimilate the people of the conquered Persian Empire, but after his death this policy was largely ignored by his successors. The idea was not to assimilate, but to turn a defeated and potentially rebellious  enemy (or their sons) into Roman citizens. Instead of having to wait for the unavoidable revolt of a conquered people (a tribe or a city-state) like Sparta and the conquered Helots, Rome tried to make those under its rule feel that they had a stake in the system. The Edict of Caracalla. The Edict of Caracalla (officially the Constitutio Antoniniana in Latin: "Constitution [or Edict] of Antoninus") was an edict issued in AD 212 by the Roman Emperor Caracalla, which declared that all free men in the Roman Empire were to be given full Roman citizenship and all free  women in the Empire were given the same rights as Roman women, with the exception of the "dediticii", people who had become subject to Rome through surrender in war, and freed slaves. Before 212, for the most part only inhabitants of Italia held full Roman citizenship. Colonies of Romans established in other provinces, Romans (or their descendants) living in provinces, the inhabitants of various cities throughout the Empire, and a few local nobles (such as kings of client countries) also held full citizenship. Provincials, on the other hand, were usually non-citizens, although some held the Latin Right. The Bible 's Book of Acts indicates that Paul the Apostle was a Roman citizen by birth - though not clearly specifying which class of citizenship - a fact which had considerable bearing on Paul's career and on the religion of Christianity. However, by the century previous to Caracalla, Roman citizenship had already lost much of its exclusiveness and become more available. Section::::"Romanitas", Roman nationalism, and its extinction. With the settlement of Romanization and the passing of generations, a new unifying feeling began to emerge within Roman territory, the "Romanitas" or "Roman way of life", the once tribal feeling that had divided Europe  began to disappear (although never completely) and blend in with the new wedge patriotism imported from Rome with which to be able to ascend at all levels. The "Romanitas", "Romanity" or "Romanism" would last until the last years of unity of the "pars occidentalis", a moment in which the old tribalisms and the proto-feudalism of Celtic origins, until then dormant, would re-emerge, mixing with the new ethnic groups of Germanic origin. This being observed in the writings of Gregory of Tours, who does not use the dichotomy Gallo-Roman-Frankish, but uses the name of each of the  gens of that time existing in Gaul (arverni, turoni, lemovici, turnacenses, bituriges, franci, etc.), considering himself a Arverni and not a Gallo-Roman; being the relations between the natives and the Franks seen not as Romans against barbarians, as is popularly believed, but as in the case of Gregory, a relationship of coexistence between Arverni and Franks (Franci) as equals. It must also be remembered that Clovis, kings of the Franks, was born in Gaul, so according to the Edict of Caracalla that made him a Roman citizen by birth, in addition to being recognized by the emperor Anastasius I  Dicorus as consul of Gaul, so his position of power was reinforced, in addition to being considered by his Gallo-Roman subjects as a legitimate viceroy of Rome; understanding that the "Romanitas" did not disappear in such an abrupt way, observed its effects centuries later with Charlemagne and the "Translatio imperii".