Birth registration in Ancient Rome
Encyclopedia
Two separate processes of birth registrations existed in Roman Egypt
: one process for Roman
citizens that was conducted in Latin, and another process for Greco-Egyptians that was conducted in Greek. These two processes were in legal terms, totally unrelated.
There are 21 available birth registration documents of Roman citizens. The standard pattern of the birth registrations included the date of birth. For legitimate children, the date was a profession of their birth. However, for illegitimate children, the date of birth was more complex and less authoritative since it was either as originally recorded or as copied from the public register.
Completing birth registrations in Roman society were not compulsory. Whereas penalties for failure to register in the census
existed, no known penalties existed in regard to birth registrations. In terms of Roman law
, individuals who did not register their birth were neither penalized nor disadvantaged: there are imperial rescripts (a written answer of a Roman emperor to a query or petition in writing) that state that the failure to register children should not deprive them or their right to legitimacy, and there are recorded statements of Roman Emperors Diocletian
and Maximian
that inform an individual that “It is a well-established rule of law that though a declaration of birth has been lost, your status is not adversely affected.”
Birth registrations could be used as proof of age; however, from historical evidence, it is clear that they were not regarded as sufficient proof in themselves. Oral and written evidence could be used as proof of age. For instance, Emperor Hadrian
stated in a rescript that when the age of an individual was at issue, all proofs of age should be furnished and a decision reached based on the most credible evidence. In another case, the Roman jurist Modestinus concluded that in order to prove one’s age for exemption of certain responsibilities, “age is proved either by notices of birth or by other customary (lawful) evidence.”
Thus, Roman jurists negligibly utilized birth registrations due to their lack of permanent legal value. Instead, the prominent legal practice of Classical Roman jurists was responsa prudentium, or “answers of the learned ones.” Responsa prudentium was the body of legal opinion that gradually became authoritative from the accumulation of views of many successive generations of Roman lawyers. This resulted in the classical principle of the freedom of the judge to evaluate the legitimacy of the evidence. Birth registrations did not serve an essential or conclusive purpose in Roman society.
There are 34 available birth registration documents of Greco-Egyptian citizens that span some 270 years. With the initiative of the father or another close relative, standard birth registrations included the name and current age of the individual concerned and was addressed to an official.
Greco-Egyptian birth registrations were not compulsory and were more of a certification of status than proof of birth. The census eliminated the need of birth registrations because the information gathered from birth registrations merely supplemented the information from the census. Age was particularly important for determining who was liable to pay the poll tax
at the age of 14 years. Birth registrations could provide the age of the individual; however, the census was held every 14 years to ensure that no one escaped the tax and also provided this information. The census was more efficient and thorough than the system of birth registrations in Greco-Egyptian society, and government officials relied on the information from the census far more than birth registrations.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
: one process for Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
citizens that was conducted in Latin, and another process for Greco-Egyptians that was conducted in Greek. These two processes were in legal terms, totally unrelated.
There are 21 available birth registration documents of Roman citizens. The standard pattern of the birth registrations included the date of birth. For legitimate children, the date was a profession of their birth. However, for illegitimate children, the date of birth was more complex and less authoritative since it was either as originally recorded or as copied from the public register.
Completing birth registrations in Roman society were not compulsory. Whereas penalties for failure to register in the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
existed, no known penalties existed in regard to birth registrations. In terms of Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
, individuals who did not register their birth were neither penalized nor disadvantaged: there are imperial rescripts (a written answer of a Roman emperor to a query or petition in writing) that state that the failure to register children should not deprive them or their right to legitimacy, and there are recorded statements of Roman Emperors Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
and Maximian
Maximian
Maximian was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent...
that inform an individual that “It is a well-established rule of law that though a declaration of birth has been lost, your status is not adversely affected.”
Birth registrations could be used as proof of age; however, from historical evidence, it is clear that they were not regarded as sufficient proof in themselves. Oral and written evidence could be used as proof of age. For instance, Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
stated in a rescript that when the age of an individual was at issue, all proofs of age should be furnished and a decision reached based on the most credible evidence. In another case, the Roman jurist Modestinus concluded that in order to prove one’s age for exemption of certain responsibilities, “age is proved either by notices of birth or by other customary (lawful) evidence.”
Thus, Roman jurists negligibly utilized birth registrations due to their lack of permanent legal value. Instead, the prominent legal practice of Classical Roman jurists was responsa prudentium, or “answers of the learned ones.” Responsa prudentium was the body of legal opinion that gradually became authoritative from the accumulation of views of many successive generations of Roman lawyers. This resulted in the classical principle of the freedom of the judge to evaluate the legitimacy of the evidence. Birth registrations did not serve an essential or conclusive purpose in Roman society.
There are 34 available birth registration documents of Greco-Egyptian citizens that span some 270 years. With the initiative of the father or another close relative, standard birth registrations included the name and current age of the individual concerned and was addressed to an official.
Greco-Egyptian birth registrations were not compulsory and were more of a certification of status than proof of birth. The census eliminated the need of birth registrations because the information gathered from birth registrations merely supplemented the information from the census. Age was particularly important for determining who was liable to pay the poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
at the age of 14 years. Birth registrations could provide the age of the individual; however, the census was held every 14 years to ensure that no one escaped the tax and also provided this information. The census was more efficient and thorough than the system of birth registrations in Greco-Egyptian society, and government officials relied on the information from the census far more than birth registrations.