Editing Romano-British culture (section)

==Arrival of the Romans==
[[File:All Roman coins 1997 - 2010 (2).jpg|thumb|right|Roman coins findings clearly indicate the areas of biggest cultural Romanisation and presence in Roman Britain.]]

Roman troops, mainly from nearby provinces, invaded in AD 43, in what is now part of England, during the reign of Emperor [[Claudius]]. Over the next few years the province of [[Roman Britain|Britannia]] was formed, eventually including the whole of what later became England and Wales and parts of Scotland.<ref name="awh">Kinder, H. & Hilgemann W. ''The Penguin Atlas of World History'', Penguin Books, London 1978, {{ISBN|0-14-051054-0}}</ref> The Claudian army took over [[Colchester]] and eleven tribal kings of Britain also surrendered to the Roman army. By AD 47, the Romans had invaded southern Britain and claimed territory that held many natural resources. This led to an increase in imperial wealth. The Romans developed the city of Colchester through urbanisation and new clusters of public buildings.<ref name=":4">{{Citation|last=Jones|first=Michael J|editor-last=Todd|editor-first=Malcolm|title=A Companion to Roman Britain|chapter=Cities and Urban Life|date=2003|pages=162–192|place=Oxford, UK|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|doi=10.1002/9780470998861|isbn=978-0-631-21823-4}}</ref> The [[Roman army]] and their families and dependents amounted to 125,000 people, out of Britannia's total population of 3.6 million at the end of the fourth century.<ref name="alcock">[[Joan P Alcock|Joan P. Alcock]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=t7KeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT260 ''A Brief History of Roman Britain'', page 260], [[Hachette UK]]</ref> There were also many migrants of other professions, such as sculptors (Barates) from [[Roman Syria]] and doctors from the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] region.<ref name="shotter">[[David Shotter]] (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Hw98CvXwRoUC&pg=PT37 ''Roman Britain'', page 37], [[Routledge]]</ref> Romano-British cultures and religions continued to diversify; while the populace remained mainly Celtic, there was an increase in [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanisation]].<ref name=":5">{{Citation|last=Salway|first=Peter|title=2. The Roman Conquest|date=2002-07-11|doi=10.1093/actrade/9780192854049.003.0002|work=Roman Britain|pages=15–40|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-285404-9}}</ref>

The bulk of the population was rural and engaged in agriculture; from a total population of 3.6 million at the end of the fourth century, the urban population was about 240,000 people,<ref name="alcock"/> with the capital city of [[Londinium]] having about 60,000 people.<ref name="Durant2011">{{cite book|first=Will|last=Durant|title=Caesar and Christ: The Story of Civilization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JztghD__8ksC&q=londinium&pg=PT468|date=7 June 2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4516-4760-0|page=468}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=London Civic Theatre: City Drama and Pageantry from Roman Times to 1558 |first=Anne |last=Lancashire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QajvxgbH59QC&pg=PA19 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |page=19 |isbn=978-0-5216-3278-2 }}</ref> Londinium was an ethnically diverse city with inhabitants from across the Roman Empire, including natives of Britannia, and immigrants from [[continental Europe]], the Middle East, and [[North Africa]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34809804 DNA study finds London was ethnically diverse from start], [[BBC]], 23 November 2015</ref> There was also cultural diversity in other Roman-British towns, which were sustained by considerable migration, both within Britannia and from other Roman territories, including North Africa,<ref>[[Ray Laurence]] (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=dlq6pZaTS_UC&pg=PA121 ''Roman Archaeology for Historians'', page 121], [[Routledge]]</ref> Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean, and continental Europe.<ref name="shotter"/>

Christianity came to Britain in the 3rd century. One early figure was [[Saint Alban]], who (according to tradition) was martyred near the Roman town of [[Verulamium]], on the site of the modern St Albans, during the reign of Emperor [[Trajan Decius|Decius]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Salway, Peter |title=Roman Britain: a very short introduction |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-871216-9 |oclc=962302267}}</ref>

===Roman citizenship===
One aspect of Roman influence seen in British life was the grant of [[Roman citizenship]].<ref>[http://www.romanempire.net/romepage/Citizenship/Roman_Citizenship.htm Roman Citizenship]. Romanempire.net.</ref> At first this was granted very selectively: to the council members of certain classes of towns, whom Roman practice made citizens; to veterans, either [[Roman legion|legionaries]] or soldiers in [[Roman auxiliaries in Britain|auxiliary units]]; and to a number of natives whose [[patron]]s obtained citizenship for them. The granting of Roman citizenship was gradually expanded and more people from provinces became citizens. One way for a provincial inhabitant to become a citizen was to serve in the Roman army or a city council.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Lavan |first=Myles |date=February 2016 |title=The Spread of Roman Citizenship, 14–212 ce: Quantification in the Face of High Uncertainty |journal=Past & Present |issue=230 |pages=3–46 |doi=10.1093/pastj/gtv043 |issn=0031-2746|hdl=10023/12646 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Dobson|first1=B.|last2=Mann|first2=J. C.|date=1973|title=The Roman Army in Britain and Britons in the Roman Army |journal=Britannia|volume=4|pages=191–205|doi=10.2307/525866|jstor=525866|s2cid=161707917 |issn=0068-113X}}</ref> The number of citizens steadily increased, as people inherited citizenship and more grants were made by the emperors. Eventually in 212 or early 213 AD, everybody living in the provinces except slaves and [[freed slaves]] were granted citizenship by the ''[[Constitutio Antoniniana]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Roman citizenship held many benefits; for example, citizens could make their own decisions, could request protection, and could share possessions/responsibilities within the community under the protection of Roman law.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Heater|first=Derek Benjamin |title=A brief history of citizenship|date=2004|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=0-7486-1999-2|oclc=55911461}}</ref>

The other inhabitants of Britain, who did not enjoy citizenship, the ''[[Peregrinus (Roman)|Peregrini]]'', continued to live under the laws of their ancestors. Principal handicaps were that they could not own land with a Latin title, serve as a [[legionary]] in the army, or, in general, [[will (law)|inherit]] from a Roman citizen.<ref name=":1" /> In the Republic, foreign ''peregrini'' were further named as ''peregrini dediticii'' which meant they were "surrendered foreigners" and forbidden to gain Roman citizenship.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|date=2006-10-01|title=Peregrini, Barbari, and Cives Romani: Concepts of Citizenship and the Legal Identity of Barbarians in the Later Roman Empire |journal=The American Historical Review|volume=111|issue=4|pages=1011–1040|doi=10.1086/ahr.111.4.1011|issn=1937-5239|doi-access=free}}</ref> These surrendered foreigners were not provided with any of the benefits, duties, status or sense of identity of citizens. Romans continued to stigmatize ''peregrini dediticii'' as freedmen or foreigners who were tortured and excluded from citizenship forever.<ref name=":2" />