Salvo iure gentium: Roman Citizenship and Civic Life before and after the Constitutio Antoniniana
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Level 5 by design analogy for historical text analysis and narrative argument, not clinical CEBM.
OpenAlex W2980755333 · doi:10.1080/09503110.2019.1675028
What was done
The author analyzed historical and epigraphic evidence regarding Roman citizenship and municipal obligations in the eastern Mediterranean from the early Roman Empire to Late Antiquity. Examining precedents from Cyrenaica under Augustus and the Tabula Banasitana under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, the paper argues that Caracalla's AD 212 Constitutio Antoniniana contained an analogous clause preserving local civic burdens (salvo iure gentis), evaluating the impact through case studies of Termessos and Aphrodisias in Asia Minor.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data. It presents the historical argument that the extension of Roman citizenship did not exempt individuals from local municipal obligations or civic contributions, thereby supporting urban continuity and civic participation during the third century.
Why it matters
This work clarifies the legal and fiscal mechanics of universal citizenship under the Constitutio Antoniniana, proposing how provincial urban institutions maintained local civic funding after AD 212.
Limits
The paper relies on qualitative historical interpretation and two regional case studies in Asia Minor, which may not represent conditions across the entire empire. No quantitative measurements are provided, and the presence of the specific legal clause in the Constitutio Antoniniana is argued by analogy rather than direct textual survival.
Cited by
- supports By the early 3rd century AD prior to Caracalla's edict, at most approximately one-third of the free inhabitants of the Roman Empire held Roman citizenship.