02-24-2005, 03:37 PM
Well, technically there existed a list of all Roman citizens in Rome. Citizenship grants were supposed to be recorded there, as well as the births of all citizen children. Personally, I feel almost certain this was mostly ornamental. Similar registers at the local level, however, would most likely also have recorded personal status, so there would have been some kind of 'paper trail'.<br>
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That said, I recall a few papyri where someone's citizenship (in this case Alexandrian or Antinopolitan, not Roman) was established by witnesses, and this sounds like a reasonable enough way to me in most cases. The Roman empire was mostly a world of small towns - averaging a few thousand inhabitants. People knew what their neighbours were. If someone went and started pretending to be a knight, they'd catch on. Traellers, of course, could probably pretend to all kinds of things - there are nice stories about the exploits of robbers. But most people were what you'd call integrated into a close-knit society.<br>
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BTW, what has come of the theory that diplomas were not given to all auxiliaries buit only in special ceremonies? <p></p><i></i>
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That said, I recall a few papyri where someone's citizenship (in this case Alexandrian or Antinopolitan, not Roman) was established by witnesses, and this sounds like a reasonable enough way to me in most cases. The Roman empire was mostly a world of small towns - averaging a few thousand inhabitants. People knew what their neighbours were. If someone went and started pretending to be a knight, they'd catch on. Traellers, of course, could probably pretend to all kinds of things - there are nice stories about the exploits of robbers. But most people were what you'd call integrated into a close-knit society.<br>
<br>
BTW, what has come of the theory that diplomas were not given to all auxiliaries buit only in special ceremonies? <p></p><i></i>
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