Senate and the People of Rome. The acronym
SPQR stands for Senatus populusque Romanus
and can be seen emblazoned on many Roman
structures built during the Republic as a sign of
pride in the duties of civic life.
Roman men had the right to vote and also
bore serious responsibilities: They should be
prepared to die, if necessary, in the service of
Rome. This connection between rights and re-
sponsibilities created the concept of Roman
citizenship, known in Latin
as civitas, which would
expand and change
over the rise and
fall of Rome.Sicily was on trial for extortion in 70 B.C., the
orator and lawyer Cicero, acting as prosecutor,
appealed to the rights inherent in citizenship to
strengthen his case against the governor. Cicero
described the severe punishments Verres had
inflicted on a prisoner, despite the victim re-
peatedly insisting that he was a Roman citizen,
a status that should have protected him from
torture. So persuasive were Cicero’s arguments
against Verres that he was exiled.Rights and Responsibilities
Citizenship has its roots in Rome’s deep past. In
the sixth century B.C., Rome passed from a mon-
archy to a republic with power residing in theSWELLING
THE RANKS
A bust depicts the
third-century Emperor
Caracalla (below),
whose extension of
citizenship to all free
inhabitants of the
empire expanded both
Rome’s tax base and
potential recruits to
the army. National
Archaeological
Museum, NaplesAt the beginning of the civil
war between Julius Caesar and
Pompey, Caesar promotes the
lex Roscia, by which Roman
citizenship is granted to the
inhabitants of Cisalpine Gaul
(northern Italy).
49 b.c.
An edict known as the
Constitutio Antoniniana de
Civitate is issued by the
Emperor Caracalla granting
Roman citizenship to all free
men who live within the
Roman EmpireUNWRAPPING
THE TOGA
O
nly citizens had the right to
wear the toga, the quintes-
sential Roman garment that
was placed over the tunic and
covered the body and shoulders. Large,
woolen, and oval-shaped, the toga was
time-consuming to put on, and left one
arm immobilized under its complex folds.
For anyone engaging in physical work, the
toga was restrictive and impractical, so by
the late republic, it had become unpopular
as everyday clothing. As the only outward
sign of Roman citizenship, it still played a
powerful ceremonial and ritual role. After
puberty, boys swapped the purple trimmed
toga praetexta for the plain toga virilis of a
man. The white toga (toga candida) was the
most distinctive of the various styles and
was worn by those aspiring to political office
as an indication of the purity of their inten-
tions. This is where the term “candidate”
comes from.SIGN OF A CITIZENSCALA, FLORENCEa.d. 212