How the Romans were (and weren't) like us

Why can't Marcus marry Aurima?

Marcus is the heir to one of the noble houses of Rome. He must marry another Roman citizen in order for his children to be born citizens. It would be unthinkable to have heirs who weren't Roman; his family's prestige would be forever destroyed.

On the contrary, he is expected to make a match that will put his family in a more advantageous position. His wife should ideally be from a family that is more distinguished, more powerful, and/or richer than his. Love has nothing to do with it; for a patrician, marriage is all about politics.

Aurima is not only a non-citizen but a foreigner (peregrina). Though a free woman and the daughter of a lord, she has no legal rights. Since she's a hostage, the Senate (or in reality, Caligula) can dictate what becomes of her.

What's the point of being a Roman citizen?

Only male citizens could vote, make legal contracts, own property, sue in court, or hold office. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Classical Civilization, citizens also enjoyed favorable tax status.

You had to be male to exercise all these rights. But you also got to parade around in a toga, which was forbidden to non-citizens. Female citizens were under the legal power of their paterfamilias (usually their husband or the oldest male in the family).

Other benefits of citizenship came when you left town. If you got into trouble in one of the provinces, you could appeal the local court's judgment to Rome. You couldn't be tortured, or sentenced to death except for treason. Even then, you couldn't be crucified. (That's why St. Paul, a Roman citizen, was beheaded, while St. Peter, a non-citizen, died on the cross.)

If sentenced to deportation, a form of exile, a Roman could be deprived of his citizenship and forced to leave Rome forever. This was generally regarded as a fate worse than death.

Could a non-citizen be granted citizenship?

Sure. Auxiliary soldiers became citizens when their enlistment was up (if they survived that long). The children of a Roman's freed slaves became citizens. The Senate or the Princeps could grant citizenship to deserving individuals. A non-citizen could also gain citizenship by being adopted into a Roman family.

The potential for foreigners to gain citizenship, with all its civilizing rights and responsibilities, was key to the spread of the Pax Romana throughout the world. Not much consolation to a young Roman in love with a barbarian girl.