Cicero and the Italians: Expansion of Empire, Creation of Law

After 70 BC, Italians were legally equal to old Roman citizens, in that they could avail themselves of the ius civile. Nevertheless, there are indications in Cicero’s work that not all Italians were considered equal by the Romans who sat in judgement on cases involving an Italian. Cicero often had to fight against Roman prejudice against Italians and other allies, arguing that they possessed the same moral qualities as Romans and should therefore be treated equally under the law. As the Roman state continued to expand, the inhabitants of the provinces adopted the place that the Italian allies had taken in the hierarchy of peoples.  The Romans were not ready to give the provincials citizenship, but created two mechanisms to defend the provincials: treaties and the lex repetundarum.