# Romanitas
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{{short description|Roman cultural identity}}
{{about|the culture of Ancient Rome|the [alternate history](/source/alternate_history) fiction by [Sophia McDougall](/source/Sophia_McDougall)|Romanitas (novel)}}
{{Italic title}}
'''''Romanitas''''' is the collection of political and cultural concepts and practices by which the [Romans](/source/Ancient_Rome) defined themselves. It is a [Latin](/source/Latin) word, first coined in the third century AD, meaning "Roman-ness" and has been used by modern historians as shorthand to refer to Roman identity and [self-image](/source/self-image).
==Literal meaning and origin==
''Romanitas'' means, as a rough approximation, ''Roman-ness'' in Latin,[{{cite book |title=The Vandals (The Peoples of Europe) |last=Merrills |first=Andrew |author2=Miles, Richard |year=2010 |isbn=978-1405160681 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yTIHPoyMOFYC&q=Romanitas+roman-ness&pg=PA88 |access-date=12 June 2012}}] although it has also been translated as "Romanism, the Roman way or manner".[{{cite book |title=The Ancient Art of Emulation: Studies in Artistic Originality and Tradition from the Present to Classical Antiquity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mXPl4yUMlVkC&q=romanism&pg=PA4 |last=Gazda |first=Elaine K. |year=2002 |isbn=978-0472111893 |page=4 |access-date=13 June 2012}}] The term, not common in Roman sources,[{{cite book |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 1, c.500-c.700 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcmwuoTsKO0C&q=Romanitas&pg=PA40 |last=Fouracre |first=Paul |year=2005 |isbn=978-0521362917 |page=40 |access-date=13 June 2012}}]{{#tag:ref|It is not found in the [Oxford Latin Dictionary](/source/Oxford_Latin_Dictionary), which is the standard [Classical Latin](/source/Classical_Latin) lexicon derived from Latin sources dated earlier than 200 A.D.[|group="note"}} was first coined by the 3rd century Roman writer [Tertullian](/source/Tertullian), an [early Christian](/source/Early_Christianity) from [North Africa](/source/Africa_(Roman_province)), in his work [https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tertullian/tertullian.pallio.shtml ''de Pallio'' (IV,1)].][{{cite book |title=Christianity in Rome in the First Three Centuries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LojX4E6o1EgC&q=romanitas&pg=PA129 |last=Green |first=Bernard |year=2010 |isbn=978-0567032508 |page=129 |access-date=12 June 2012}}] Tertullian used the term pejoratively to refer to those in his native [Carthage](/source/Carthage) who aped Roman culture.[{{cite book |title=Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cb3mOg_UATYC&q=%22Oxford+Latin+Dictionary%22+romanitas&pg=PA5 |last=Winter |first=Bruce W. |year=2003 |isbn=978-0802849717 |page=5, note 11 |access-date=12 June 2012}}]
==Concepts behind literal meaning==
''Romanitas'' is used to refer to the collection of political and cultural concepts and practices defining what it is to be a Roman.[ A notable part of Roman cultural identity was based on being part of a political and religious community with common values, customs, morality and way of life.][{{cite book |title=Becoming Roman: The Origins of Provincial Civilization in Gaul |last=Woolf |first=Greg |year=2000 |isbn=978-0521789820 |page=120}}] That made historians seek to define ''romanitas'' using a number of approaches: one way is to consider the general ideals Romans attributed to themselves; another approach, which has achieved consensus among scholars, is to consider the construction of Roman identity during the process of colonisation.[{{cite book |title=Tertullian the African: An Anthropological Reading of Tertullian's Context and Identities |last=Wilhite |first=David E. |year=2007 |isbn=978-3110194531 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anxK6pMCWMUC&q=Romanitas&pg=PA42 |access-date=13 June 2012}}] However, not all scholars accept that the notion of identity, which is inherited from social sciences, is adequate to understand what is to be Roman.[SILVA, A. J. M. 2012, From lost Roman pottery to broken identities in Post-modern times: on the use of the concept of identity in Roman Archaeology, 28th Congress of the Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores, Catania. https://www.academia.edu/1994803/From_lost_Roman_pottery_to_broken_identities_in_Post-modern_times_on_the_use_of_the_concept_of_identity_in_Roman_Archaeology]
It was not a word often used in ancient times, but it is used by modern writers to express the ideals which inspired the Roman State. It meant a great many things, but in short it meant what it was to be Roman (that is, Roman-ness). The Roman ideal was the [citizen](/source/Roman_citizenship)/[soldier](/source/soldier)/[farmer](/source/farmer). The farmer was a hardworking, prudent, practical man who worked the land with his own hands. The soldier was a courageous, strong man who [obeyed orders](/source/Obedience_(human_behavior)) and risked his own life in the name of Rome. Prior to the formation, under [Gaius Marius](/source/Gaius_Marius), of the standing Roman Army, Rome had a [militia](/source/militia)-type defence-force which could be called up in time of [war](/source/war) and then disbanded during [peace](/source/peace)time. The ideal of the ''homo militaris'' – embodying the functions of the citizen, soldier and farmer – was [Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus](/source/Lucius_Quinctius_Cincinnatus). According to Roman legend, Cincinnatus was tending his farm when a messenger arrived, telling him that Rome was under attack and that he had been elected [dictator](/source/Roman_dictator). He was at first reluctant to go, but the [Senate](/source/Roman_Senate) pleaded with him. He defeated the enemy tribe within a matter of weeks and, despite there remaining most of his six-month term as dictator with absolute power, returned to his farm.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}
The attainment and possession of the virtue of ''[gravitas](/source/gravitas)'' was highly valued by Romans of the early Republic and by Roman intellectuals. Indeed, ''gravitas'' was the single most clarifying characteristic of early republican Roman society. [Polybius](/source/Polybius) remarks:[Polibius, Histories 6.56 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44125/44125-h/44125-h.htm#b6_56]
{{quote|The Roman customs and principles regarding the acquisition of wealth are better than those of the [Carthaginians](/source/Carthaginians). In the view of the latter nothing is disgraceful that makes for gain; with the former nothing is more disgraceful than to receive bribes and to make profit by improper means. For they regard wealth obtained from unlawful transactions to be as much a subject of reproach as a fair profit from reputable sources is of commendation. A proof of the fact is this: the Carthaginians obtain office by open bribery, but among the Romans the penalty is death.}}
The virtuous character of the Romans, their honesty and trustworthiness, is shown in the way they handled their finances. [Polybius](/source/Polybius) remarks: "Greek statesmen, if entrusted with a single talent, though protected by ten checking-clerks, as many seals and twice as many witnesses, yet cannot be induced to keep faith; whereas among the Romans, in their magistracies and embassies, men have the handling of a great amount of money, and yet from pure respect for their oath keep their faith intact."