Civitas

Civitas (the Latin plural of this female word is civitates ) from the Latin civis comes, which means “Citoyen”, and recovers two concepts:

  • Civitas : the condition of the Roman citizen, the Roman Citizenship. Legal term reported with a person.
  • Civitas : a community organized in Quoted, People or in State. One speaks about civitates foederatae for designated friendly people (federate with the empire). For example, before the Roman conquest, the Romans can designate Gallic people like civitas , together of Vicus and Oppida .
  • In the Roman Empire the civitas or Roman city was initially an administrative center controlled by Roman citizens. Not to confuse with Capital with the modern direction (city - Urbs in Latin - power station and important). During the period of the Lower Empire, after the administrative reorganization of Auguste, the term civitas indicates a division of a Roman Province. The civitas itself is divided into pagi (or country), the Pagus being divided into banum (round of applause). Some of these cities were adopted like delimitation of a Diocèse of the Catholic church; after the decomposition of the Roman empire the term civitas continued to be employed to indicate the diocese and its chief town.

Around the Mediterranean the civitates often coincided with city-capitals. In north, in Gaulle Roman, Brittany and Belgium, the cities missed. Thus, the Romans founded civitates with their gladly. Sometimes, these civitates was apart from the territories of the tribes: The civitas Cassel of the Ménapiens was indeed in Morin territory. Bavay was the civitas Nerviens, but was located in the Gallic country of the Bellovaques. This probably for political reasons. The civils servant were recruited on the spot. It is possible that the Romans were wary of Nerviens. The Gallic ones on the other hand were honest citizens. Thus, the civitas of Nerviens at summer founded apart from the Nervien territory. The town of Trier ( Civitas Treverorum ), was probably founded with the same way: just apart from the tribal territory of the Tréveriens.

The civitates were especially centers of taxation. At the time of the Principat, the taxes amounted to 10% and the Roman administration was light.

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