In 212 CE, the emperor Caracalla extended citizenship to nearly all free-born residents of the Roman Empire. In doing so, he transformed not only his own, but the very ideal of empire and statehood in Europe. This volume first inquires into the contexts of Caracalla's act in his own day. Rome was an ancient empire: it had traditionally ruled over populations that were conceived and governed as distinct units, a practice that was both strategic and ideological. What were the practical and political effects of a universalizing ideology in this context? Was there a reorientation of private social and legal practice in response? And what politics of exclusion came to apply, now that citizenship no longer served to distinguish persons of higher and lower status? The volume subsequently traces the history of citizenship in universalizing ideologies and legal practice from late antiquity to the codification of law in Europe in the nineteenth century. Caracalla's act was then repeatedly cited as the ideal toward which sovereign polities should strive, be they states or empires. Citizenship and law were thereby made preeminent among the universalisms of European statecraft.--

In 212 CE, the emperor Caracalla extended citizenship to nearly all free-born residents of the Roman Empire. In doing so, he transformed not only his own, but the very ideal of empire and statehood in Europe. This volume first inquires into the contexts of Caracalla's act in his own day. Rome was an ancient empire: it had traditionally ruled over populations that were conceived and governed as distinct units, a practice that was both strategic and ideological. What were the practical and political effects of a universalizing ideology in this context? Was there a reorientation of private social and legal practice in response? And what politics of exclusion came to apply, now that citizenship no longer served to distinguish persons of higher and lower status? The volume subsequently traces the history of citizenship in universalizing ideologies and legal practice from late antiquity to the codification of law in Europe in the nineteenth century. Caracalla's act was then repeatedly cited as the ideal toward which sovereign polities should strive, be they states or empires. Citizenship and law were thereby made preeminent among the universalisms of European statecraft.

Imperial and Local Citizenship in the Long Second Century CE offers a radical new history of Roman citizenship in the long century before Caracalla's universal grant of citizenship in 212 CE. Earlier work portrayed the privileges of citizen status in this period as eroded by its wide diffusion. Building on recent scholarship that has revised downward estimates for the spread of citizenship, this work investigates the continuing significance of Roman citizenship in the domains of law, economics and culture. From the writing of wills to the swearing of oaths and crafting of marriage, Roman citizens conducted affairs using forms and language that were often distinct from the populations among which they resided. Attending closely to patterns at the level of province, region and city, this volume offers a new portrait of the early Roman empire: a world that sustained an exclusive regime of citizenship in a context of remarkable political and cultural integration.

How the legacy of monarchical empires shaped Britain, France, Spain, and the United States as they became liberal entities Historians view the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as a turning point when imperial monarchies collapsed and modern nations emerged. Treating this pivotal moment as a bridge rather than a break, The Imperial Nation offers a sweeping examination of four of these modern powers—Great Britain, France, Spain, and the United States—and asks how, after the great revolutionary cycle in Europe and America, the history of monarchical empires shaped these new nations. Josep Fradera explores this transition, paying particular attention to the relations between imperial centers and their sovereign territories and the constant and changing distinctions placed between citizens and subjects. Fradera argues that the essential struggle that lasted from the Seven Years’ War to the twentieth century was over the governance of dispersed and varied peoples: each empire tried to ensure domination through subordinate representation or by denying any representation at all. The most common approach echoed Napoleon’s “special laws,” which allowed France to reinstate slavery in its Caribbean possessions. The Spanish and Portuguese constitutions adopted “specialness” in the 1830s; the United States used comparable guidelines to distinguish between states, territories, and Indian reservations; and the British similarly ruled their dominions and colonies. In all these empires, the mix of indigenous peoples, European-origin populations, slaves and indentured workers, immigrants, and unassimilated social groups led to unequal and hierarchical political relations. Fradera considers not only political and constitutional transformations but also their social underpinnings. Presenting a fresh perspective on the ways in which nations descended and evolved from and throughout empires, The Imperial Nation highlights the ramifications of this entangled history for the subjects who lived in its shadows.

Citizenship in Antiquity brings together scholars working on the multifaceted and changing dimensions of citizenship in the ancient Mediterranean, from the second millennium BCE to the first millennium CE, adopting a multidisciplinary and comparative perspective. The chapters in this volume cover numerous periods and regions – from the Ancient Near East, through the Greek and Hellenistic worlds and pre-Roman North Africa, to the Roman Empire and its continuations, and with excursuses to modernity. The contributors to this book adopt various contemporary theories, demonstrating the manifold meanings and ways of defining the concept and practices of citizenship and belonging in ancient societies and, in turn, of non-citizenship and non-belonging. Whether citizenship was defined by territorial belonging or blood descent, by privileged or exclusive access to resources or participation in communal decision-making, or by a sense of group belonging, such identifications were also open to discursive redefinitions and manipulation. Citizenship and belonging, as well as non-citizenship and non-belonging, had many shades and degrees; citizenship could be bought or faked, or even removed. By casting light on different areas of the Mediterranean over the course of antiquity, the volume seeks to explore this multi-layered notion of citizenship and contribute to an ongoing and relevant discourse. Citizenship in Antiquity offers a wide-ranging, comprehensive collection suitable for students and scholars of citizenship, politics, and society in the ancient Mediterranean world, as well as those working on citizenship throughout history interested in taking a comparative approach.

This is the first world history of empire, reaching from the third millennium BCE to the present. By combining synthetic surveys, thematic comparative essays, and numerous chapters on specific empires, its two volumes provide unparalleled coverage of imperialism throughout history and across continents, from Asia to Europe and from Africa to the Americas. Only a few decades ago empire was believed to be a thing of the past; now it is clear that it has been and remains one of the most enduring forms of political organization and power. We cannot understand the dynamics and resilience of empire without moving decisively beyond the study of individual cases or particular periods, such as the relatively short age of European colonialism. The history of empire, as these volumes amply demonstrate, needs to be drawn on the much broader canvas of global history. Volume I: The Imperial Experience is dedicated to synthesis and comparison. Following a comprehensive theoretical survey and bold world history synthesis, fifteen chapters analyze and explore the multifaceted experience of empire across cultures and through the ages. The broad range of perspectives includes: scale, world systems and geopolitics, military organization, political economy and elite formation, monumental display, law, mapping and registering, religion, literature, the politics of difference, resistance, energy transfers, ecology, memories, and the decline of empires. This broad set of topics is united by the central theme of power, examined under four headings: systems of power, cultures of power, disparities of power, and memory and decline. Taken together, these chapters offer a comprehensive and unique view of the imperial experience in world history.

In The Antonine Constitution, Alex Imrie approaches the famous edict of AD 212 from numerous angles, offering an assessment of its rationale that is rooted in the dynamic period of the early third century. Controversial since its discovery, it is depicted here as a keystone in Caracalla’s attempt to revolutionise the public image of the Severan dynasty after murdering his brother. There is an inherent paradox between the apparently progressive nature of the edict, and the volatile emperor responsible for it. The enigma is only heightened by a dearth of ancient evidence relating to the legislation. By combining literary and material evidence with the surviving papyrological record, Alex Imrie shows that Caracalla’s rationale is best understood in an embedded context.