Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

COLONIA.

100

COLONIA.

read of duumviri, quinqucviri, vigintiviri for
the same purpose. The law fixed the quan-
tity of land that was to be distributed, and
how much was to be assigned to each person.
No Roman could be sent out as a colonist
without his free consent, and when the colony
was not an inviting one, it was difficult to
fill up the number of volunteers. The colonia
proceeded to its place of destination in the
form of an army (sub vexitto), which is indi-
cated on the coins of some coloniae. An urbs,
if one did not already exist, was a necessary
part of a new colony, and its limits were
marked out by a plough, which is also indicated
on ancient coins. The colonia had also a ter-
ritory, which, whether marked out by the
plough or not, was at least marked out by
metes and bounds. Thus the urbs and terri-
tory of the colonia respectively corresponded
to the urbs Roma and its territory. Religious
ceremonies always accompanied the founda-
tion of the colony, and the anniversary was
afterwards observed. It is stated that a
colony could not be sent out to the same
place to which a colony had already been sent
in due form (auspicato deducta). This merely
means, that so long as the colony maintained
its existence, there could be no new colon}- in
the same place ; a doctrine that would hardly
need proof, for a new colony implied a new
assignment of lands ; but new settlers (novi
adacripti) might be sent to occupy colonial
lands not already assigned. Indeed it was
not unusual for a colony to receive addi-
tions, and a colony might be re-established,
if it seemed necessary, from any cause. The
commissioners appointed to conduct the
colony had apparently a profitable office, and
the establishment of a new settlement gave
employment to numerous functionaries, among
whom Cicero enumerates—apparitores, scri-
bae, librarii, pracconcs, architect}. The
foundation of a colony might then, in many
cases, not only be a mere party measure, car-
ried for the purpose of gaining popularity,
but it would give those in power an oppor-
tunity of providing places for many of their
friends.—The colonics founded by the Romans
were divided into two great classes of colo-
nies of Roman citizens and Latin colonies ;
names which had no reference to the persons
who formed the colonies, but merely indicated
their political rights with respect to Rome as
members of the colony. The members of a
Roman colony (colonia civium Romannrum)
preserved all the rights of Roman cit z?ns.
The members of a Latin colony (colonia
Latino.) ceased to have the full rights of
Roman citizens. Probably some of the old
I>atin colonies were established by the Romans
iu conjunction with other Latin states. After

the conquest of Latium, the Romans esta-
blished colonies, called Latin colonies, in
various parts of Italy. Roman citizens, who
chose to join such colonies, gave up their
civic rights for the more solid advantage of a
grant of land, and became Latixi. [Civitas.]
Such colonies were subject to, and part of, the
Roman state; but they did not possess the
Roman franchise, and had no political bond
among themselves. — The lex Julia, passed
b. c. 90, gave the Roman franchise to the
members of the Latin colonies and the Socii;
and such Latin colonies and states of the Socii
were then called municipia, and became com-
plete members of the Roman state. Thus
there was then really no difference between
these municipia and the Roman coloniae, ex-
cept in their historical origin : the members
of both were Roman citizens, and the Roman
law prevailed in both.—In the colonies, as at
Rome, the popular assembly had originally
the sovereign power ; they chose the magis-
trates, and could even make laws. When the
popular assemblies became a mere form in
Rome, and the elections were transferred by
Tiberius to the senate, the same thing hap-
pened in the colonies, whose senates then
possessed whatever power had once belonged
to the community. The common name of this
senate was ordo decurionum ; in later times,
simply ordo and curia; the members of it
were decuriones or curiales. Thus, in the
later ages, curia is . opposed to seyiatus, the
former being the senate of a colony, and the
latter the senate of Rome. But the terms
senatus and senator were also applied ,r: the
senate and members of the senate or a coiony.
After the decline of the popular assemblies,
the senate had the whole internal administra-
tion of a city, conjointly with the magistratus ;
but only a decurio could be a magistratus,
and the choice was made by the decuriones.
The highest magistratus of a colonia were the
duumviri or quattuorviri, so called, <«s the
members might vary, whose functions may
be compared with those of the consulate at
Home before the establishment of the piaetor-
ship. The name duumviri seems to have
been the most common. Their principal
duties were the administration of justice, and
accordingly we find on inscriptions " Duum-
viri J. D." (juri dicundo), " Quattuorviri
J. D." The name consid also occurs in in-
scriptions to denote this chief magistracy;
and even dictator and praetor occur under the
empire and under the republic. The office of
the duumviri lasted a year.'—In some Italian
towns there was a pracfectus juri dicundo ;
he was in the place of, and not co-existent
with, the duumviri. The duumviri were, as
we have seen, originally chosen by the people