A Roman citizen was a free-born individual who held certain rights and privileges, including the right to vote, marry legally, and stand for public office. Citizenship was a valued status, conferred by birth or granted by the state as a reward for service or loyalty. However, only freeborn men had full citizenship rights; women, slaves, and non-Romans had limited or no citizenship.
Roman citizenship was extended to many inhabitants of the empire over time, reflecting Rome’s strategy of integrating conquered peoples. Emperor Caracalla’s Edict of 212 AD (the Constitutio Antoniniana) granted citizenship to all free men within the Roman Empire
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