A municipium (pl. municipia) belonged to the second highest class of
Roman cities, being inferior in status to the
colonia. The first municipium was Tusculum. The
distinguishing characteristic of the municipium was self-governance.
2 orders of the municipia
The citizens of municipia of the first order held full Roman citizenship and their
rights (civitas optimo iure) included the right to vote, which
was the ultimate right in Rome, and a sure sign of full rights.
The second order of municipia comprised important tribal centres which had come under Roman
control. Residents of these did not
become full Roman citizens (although their magistrates could become so after retirement).
They were given the duties of full citizens in terms of
liability to taxes and military service, but not all of the rights: most significantly, they had no right to vote.
Executive power in municipium was held by four annually
elected officials, composed of two duumvirs and two aediles, all under the thumb
of Roman rule. Advisory powers were held by the
decurions, appointed members of the local equivalent to the senate. In later years, these became hereditary.
The only known municipium in Brittania was St. Albans,
then called Verulamium.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
