Latinĭtas
or Ius Latii designated, in the later republican and early imperial period, a special legal status conferred upon the inhabitants of many provincial municipalities—a status midway between that of Roman citizens (cives) and that of aliens (peregrini). Historically, the Latin allies of Rome had always enjoyed special treaty rights; and when the people of Latium received full citizenship, similar rights were bestowed upon certain colonies in other parts of Italy. After the Social War and the extension of Roman citizenship on the entire peninsula, Latini colonarii were found only in the provinces. Where minus ius Latii was conferred upon a municipality, all its citizens who were chosen as municipal magistrates became ipso facto Roman citizens; where maius ius Latii was given, the decuriones or municipal senators also became Roman citizens. In both cases all free inhabitants of the municipality enjoyed commercium with Rome, but not conubium —i. e. the Roman law of property could be invoked by them, but they had no part in Roman family law. With the edict of Caracalla, conferring citizenship upon all the free inhabitants of the Roman Empire, the Latini colonarii disappeared.A second and distinct class of Latins was established in the early imperial period by a lex Iunia or Iunia Norbana (A.D. 19?). This law enacted that freedmen (liberti) who had been informally manumitted from slavery, and who were free only by virtue of praetorian protection (tuitione praetoris) should have, with some exceptions, the status of Latini colonarii. These Latini Iuniani were not citizens, and had no political rights; they had no conubium, and their marriages, like those of slaves, were purely de facto matters, creating neither manus over the wife nor patria potestas over the children; and they had only a restricted commercium—inter vivos, but not mortis causa. Their contracts were perfectly valid, but they could neither take inheritances or legacies nor dispose of their property by testament. Their estates, in fact, were treated as peculia or slave-estates, and went at death to the former master or his heirs. There were, however, several methods in which this Latina libertas might be converted into full citizenship (cf. Ulpian, Fragmenta, iii. 1-6). The Latini Iuniani were unaffected by the edict of Caracalla, but disappeared under the legislation of Justinian (Gains, Inst. i. 23 foll. Inst., iii. 85 foll.; Codex, 7, 6, 1.1).