alternatehistory.com

The Roman Rpeublic faced a problem regarding the expansion of citizenship among their Italian allies - actually, they faced several - in that many prominent Romans who had no objection to the idea on principle could no abide poliical rivals reaping the rewards of having entire swaths of the peninsula as clients. It also didn’t help that the patchwork nature of Italy complicated the plebeian vs patrician friction.

There were plenty of ad hoc solutions, particularly on the individual level. What if the Senate took on a long-term approach to the situation: If nobody could be trusted with the influence that came with having a vast array of Italian clients, then just upgrade a few cities each year. Commit to a policy of granting two Latin allies full Roman citizenship, and two Italian allies Latin Rights (each Consul gets credit for one Latin->Roman and one Italian->Latin). Or some similar rate.

This would send a strong signal to all of Italy that citizenship was on the way, as long as they were patient and loyal. It would also be, inherently gradual, so that there would not be any one magistrate benefiting. Plus, since the laws granting citizenship would be passed by the Consuls - men who were already at the apex of their careers - there is (somewhat) less opportunity for mischief as the magistrates in question accumulate more clients. Further, if this idea originates in the Senate, and is more or less viewed as one of the tasks of the Consuls for that year, that ‘mass clientalization’ concern might be mitigated anyway.

Thoughts?
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