# Relegatio

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{{Short description|Form of exile in Roman law}}
{{Expand German|Relegatio|date=June 2019}}

'''''Relegatio''''' (or '''''relegatio in insulam''''') under [Roman law](/source/Roman_law) was the mildest form of exile, involving banishment from Rome, but not loss of citizenship, or confiscation of property. It was a sentence used for adulterers, those that committed sexual violence or [manslaughter](/source/manslaughter), and [procurer](/source/Procuring_(prostitution))s. 

A notable victim of ''relegatio'' was [Ovid](/source/Exile_of_Ovid).

==Origins==
Under the early Republic, citizens could be cut off from the community – fire and water – by the {{ill|Aquae et igni interdictio|it|lt=interdictio aquae et ignis|italic=yes}}. To forestall this, they sometimes went into voluntary exile (''exilium''), where citizenship might be maintained or lost but property would normally be retained.<ref name="nettleship1892a">{{cite book | editor-first = H | editor-last = Nettleship | title = A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities | location = London | year = 1892}}</ref>{{Rp|233}} By contrast, ''relegatio'' was mainly employed to expel foreigners from Rome: only under the late Republic did it begin to be applied to political figures within Rome.<ref name="kelly2006a">{{cite book | first = G | last =  Kelly | title =  A History of Exile in the Roman Republic | year = 2006 }}</ref>{{Rp|65}}

==Under the Empire==
The emperors made ''relegatio'' one of their main weapons of banishment, alongside ''[deportatio](/source/deportatio)''. ''Relegatio'' might be for a specific period or for life;<ref name="kelly2006a"/>{{Rp|67}} it might be to a fixed spot, or simply outside Rome or Italy. The exile could take place in any isolated place, not necessarily an island. [Tacitus](/source/Tacitus) describes how one senator "chose the famous and agreeable island of Lesbos for his exile".<ref>{{Cite book | author = Tacitus | author-link = Tacitus | title = Annals | publisher = Penguin | year = 1966}}</ref>{{Rp|196}} In any case, it remained a softer penalty than the alternative of ''deportatio'', which generally entailed loss of citizenship and property as well as banishment to a specific spot.<ref name="nettleship1892a"/>{{Rp|182-3}}{{Rp|535-6}} A ''relegatio'' sentence was often only temporary and once the sentenced was pardoned, they could return to Rome.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tocci |title=Il diritto obbligatorio dell'antica Roma |date=2001 |publisher=Civitavecchia |location=Rome |language=it}}</ref>

The poet Ovid was exiled under ''relegatio'' to [Tomis](/source/Constan%C8%9Ba), in what is modern-day [Romania](/source/Romania). In his writing, he never clearly stated what caused this exile. Ovid in his exile made play of the fact that he remained a citizen in charge of his property in Rome, though he was unable either to have his ''relegatio'' rescinded or his exile switched to a more pleasant spot.<ref>{{cite book | first = H | last = Evans | title = Publica Carmina | location = London | year = 1983}}</ref>{{Rp|27}}{{Rp|74}}  By contrast, [Juvenal](/source/Juvenal) (at least in [Gilbert Highet](/source/Gilbert_Highet)’s reconstruction) was subjected to ''deportatio''; and though his sentence was eventually repealed he returned to Rome a ruined man.<ref>{{cite book | first = P | last = Green | title = Juvenal: The Sixteen Satires | publisher = Penguin | year = 1982 }}</ref>{{Rp|19-20}}

Under the later Empire, jurists set up a hierarchy of banishments: temporary ''relegatio'', then permanent ''relegatio'', ''relegatio'' to an island or fixed spot, and finally deportation.<ref>{{cite book | first = D | last = Washburn | title = Banishment in the Later Empire | year = 2012}}</ref>{{Rp|22}}

==Cultural echoes==
[Epictetus](/source/Epictetus) praised a stoic senator who heard he had been condemned in his absence: "'To exile', says he, 'or to death?' – 'To exile' – 'What about my property?' – 'It has not been confiscated' – 'Well then, let us go to Arica [first stop outside Rome] and take our lunch there'".<ref>{{cite book | author = Epictetus | title = The Discourses | location = London | year= 1979}}</ref>{{Rp|15}}

==See also==
*[Damnatio memoriae](/source/Damnatio_memoriae)

==References==
{{Reflist|2|}}

==External links==
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Exsilium.html Exsilium]

<!--- Categories --->
Category:Ancient Roman exiles
Category:Roman law
Category:Exile
Category:Crime and punishment in ancient Rome

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