privileges of Roman citizenship

[eugene]

Which privileges where connected with Roman citizebnship?

[Epictetus]

It can get complicated and differs a bit between location and time. I glanced through Sherwin-White’s The Roman Citizenship and found some goodies. I probably am missing some things, but here goes:

1) Voting
2) Candidate for office
3) Freedom to chose between local and Roman jurisdiction
4) Immunity from some local laws
5) Marriage rights, and rights of citizenship to children
6) Migration within Empire
7) Migration outside Res Publica and granting rights equivalent of foreign citizenship (probably only useful early in Roman history, I suppose, such as immigrating to Greek city-states when they were still independent)
8 ) Not to be tortured
9) Appeal
10) Roman law, that gave some special rights (litigation, some taxes etc.)

There are others, too, that were not specifically enshrined in law. Sherwin-White talks about “the passive value of the Roman citizenship” such as:
1) Protection in the provinces and abroad (some “soft power” of sorts – basically don’t mess with a Roman citizen)
2) Treatment during and after military service (discipline, pay, booty, veteran’s colonies)
3) Business possibilities (Provincial tax-farming contracts only went to Roman citizens, for instance)

[richsc]

I think one of the big right was the ability to pass your property along to your heirs. Slaves could earn and keep money but could not pass it to their children. There were several classes of citizenship, I believe.