free cities
free cities
- Antony Spawforth
Extract
Free cities (civitates liberae, eleutherai poleis) formed a privileged category in Rome's system of provincial government. In the east the status ultimately derived from the blanket declaration of Greek freedom by T. *Quinctius Flamininus (196 bce); by the late republic a free city was one with a special agreement with Rome allowing it local autonomy (suis legibus uti) and sometimes tax-immunity (*immunitas), although whether these two privileges were routinely coupled (Bernhardt) is debated (Ferrary).Subjects
- Ancient Geography
- Roman Law
