Capite censi

{{Short description|Lowest class of citizens of ancient Rome}} {{Dictionary|date=July 2025}} '''''Capite censi''''' were the lowest class of citizens in [[ancient Rome]], people not of the [[nobility]] or [[middle class]]es. The term in [[Latin language|Latin]] means "those counted by head" in the ancient Roman [[census]]. Also known as "the head count", the {{lang|la|capite censi}} owned little or no property, so they were counted by the head rather than by their property.<ref name="EncBrit1854">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=The Encyclopædia Britannica, or Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature: Bur - Clim |volume=6 |edition=8 |publisher=Black |year=1854 |pages=219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kWxBAAAAcAAJ&dq=capite+censi&pg=PA219}}</ref><ref name="Liddell">{{Cite book |title=A history of Rome: from the earliest times to the establishment of the Empire : with chapters on the history of literature and art |first=Henry George |last=Liddell |publisher=Harper & Brothers |year=1858 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ahistoryromefro07liddgoog/page/n66 48] |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistoryromefro07liddgoog}}</ref> Initially ''capite censi'' was synonymous with ''[[proletarii]]'', meaning those citizens whose property was too small to be rated for the census. Later, though, the ''proletarii'' were distinguished from the ''capite censi'' as having "appreciable property" to the value of 11,000 [[As (coin)|ass]]es or less. In contrast, the ''capite censi'' are assumed to have not owned any property of significance.<ref name="Liddell"/>

==See also== *{{annotated link|Patrician (ancient Rome)|Patrician}} *{{annotated link|Plebs}} *{{annotated link|Social class in ancient Rome}}

==Notes== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capite Censi}} [[Category:Social classes in ancient Rome]]