Algunas cuestiones en torno a la promulgación de la Constitutio Antoniniana

Abstract

At the beginning of the third century AD, a new Roman dynasty appeared. Septimius Severus was the first emperor who, using the nomen Antoninus, brought about political stability. This stability was based on several different factors, including a deep militarization of the Empire and an increased oriental influence. These factors, in turn, caused profound changes in different aspects of individual and collective life in the Roman world. The new dynasty, of Syrian-African origins, represented a drastic change from the preceding one, eminently Italian-based and oligarchic. In this context of transformation and change in the conception of the Empire itself, Caracalla’s Edict was promulgated at the end of 212 or the beginning of 213, granting Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Roman world. This edict responds to a subtle homogenization process that had been taking place over the previous decades. It has to be interpreted as part of a wider expansion of the Roman Constitutional system, where Emperors gain relevance in the process of writing and passing the laws. The preserved sources of information are scarce and, in the case of Casius Dio, negatively biased. It is likely that the so-called Constitutio Antoniniana sought the homogenization of the legal treatment of all the inhabitants of the Empire by the state. It was probably written by oriental experts in law from the consilium. The rationale behind it includes legal arguments; the attempt to achieve equality of socio-political status and full integration for all citizens; a re-arrangement of local and regional administrations; finally, the need of integrating the Oriental part of the Empire under a cosmopolitan monarchy. The decision made by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caracalla was revolutionary. It went against a tradition that limited Roman citizenship outside Italy to a tiny minority, normally belonging to a social elite. This edict extended citizenship even to the most remote corners of the Empire, thus accomplishing a dream based on political universalism.