Latin Rights (Latin: ius Latii or ius latinum) was a term for a set of legal rights that was originally granted to the Latins (Latin: "Latini", the People of Latium, the land of the Latins) who had not been incorporated into the Roman Republic after the Latin War and to the settlers of Roman colonies with Latin status, which colonies were denominated "Latin colonies".
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The definition of the term changed as a result of three laws which were introduced during the Social War between the Romans and their allies among the Italic peoples ("socii") which rebelled against Rome. The Lex Iulia de Civitate Latinis (et sociis) Danda of 90 BC conferred Roman citizenship on all citizens of the Latin towns and the Italic towns who had not rebelled. The Lex Plautia Papiria de Civitate Sociis Danda of 89 BC granted Roman citizenship to all federated towns in Italy south of the River Po (in northern Italy). The Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis of 89 BC granted the ius Latii to the communities of Transpadania, a region north of the Po, which had sided with Rome during the Social War. It also granted Roman citizenship to those who became officials in their respective municipia (cities). This introduced a status that was intermediate between that of Roman citizen and foreigner ("peregrinus"). Prior to that, peregrini comprised the Latini, socii (Italic allies), and provinciales (Roman subjects outside Italy). "Latinitas" became commonly used by Roman jurists to denote this status. Cicero used this term in relation to Julius Caesar's grant of Latin rights to the Sicilians in 44 BC. This use of "ius Latii" or "Latinitas" persisted to the reign of Emperor Justinian I in the sixth century AD. This status was later given to whole towns and regions: Emperor Vespasian granted it to the whole of Hispania and Emperor Hadrian gave it to many towns.
The ius Latii included, under Roman law), the:
Origin
From 340-38 BC the Latin League, a confederation of circa 30 towns in Latium (land of the Latins) which was allied with Rome, rebelled in what has been called the Latin War. The Romans won the war and dissolved the Latin League. Many of the city-states of Latium were fully incorporated into the Roman Republic, while others were given limited rights and privileges which could be exercised in dealings with Roman citizens. These came to be known as ius Latii. The ius Latii was given to some Roman colonies which were founded around Italy in the fourth and third centuries BC to strengthen Roman control, as Rome expanded its hegemony over the peninsula. They were colonies which were given Latin legal status, and their settlers the ius Latii, instead of the Roman legal status of other colonies whose their settlers were given Roman citizenship. Colonies of Latin status were called "Latin colonies" and those of Roman status were called "Roman colonies". Roman citizens who settled in a Latin colony lost their Roman citizenship and acquired ius Latii. Latin colonies were usually smaller than Roman colonies.
In 122 BC, the plebeian tribune Gaius Gracchus introduced a law which extended the ius Latii to all other residents of Italy. This reflected the increasing ties between Rome and the Italic peoples through trade and the ties between the leading families in the Italian towns and patrician families in Rome. With Roman expansion beyond Italy, Latin colonies were also founded outside Italy, e. g. Carteia (contemporary San Roque), which was founded in Hispania in 171 BC and was the first Latin colony outside of Italy. In 44 BC, Julius Caesar granted the ius Latii to all free-born Sicilians.
Under the Empire
Following the great spat of colonial settlements under Julius Caesar and Augustus, the ius Latii was used more as a political instrument that aimed at integration of provincial communities via their local leadership. Latin status included the acquisition of Roman citizenship upon the holding of municipal magistracy (ius adipiscendae civitatis per magistratum), which presumed a trajectory of development that would carry at least the local magistrates along the path to the institution of a Roman-style community. In AD 123, Emperor made a key modification to Latin rights. He introduced "Latium maius" ("greater Latin [rights]"), which conferred Roman citizenship on all the decurions of a town as opposed to "Latium minus", which conferred it only on those who held a magistracy.
The acquisition of ius Latii was wholly dependent on imperial gift. This beneficence could span the whole range from grants to individuals to awards made to whole towns, and could even be applied to an entire population, as when Emperor Vespasian gave the ius Latii to all of Hispania in AD 74. Although this decree could encompass whole cities, it is important to note that it did not necessarily entail the establishment of a municipium (self-governing town). Often, as in Hispania, formal municipia might have been constituted several years after the initial grant.