Roman Citizenship of Italian *Augustales. Evidence, Problems, Competitive Advantages

Abstract

The title * augustalis was used during the first three centuries A. D., to refer to an honorary position in local society. It was mostly bestowed on wealthy freedmen who, because of their servile birth, could not partake in the official cursus honorum. Scholars have considered * augustales to be Roman citizens, but this academic consensus is based on a broadly refuted interpretation of only five documents concerning one exceptional case. Although the value of these documents for the discussion of the civic status of * augustales was dismissed, the presumed Roman citizenship of * augustales inferred from them was not. This paper addresses three questions : (1) What (potential) evidence do we have for the civic status of Italian * augustales ? (2) How do we evaluate and work with the information and figures obtained from these ? (3) If only some of the * augustales were Roman citizens, did this offer them a competitive advantage vis-a-vis their fellow * augustales who were not, and is this recorded in epigraphy ?