274 Emigration 



the failure of native imperial forces sufficient for the purpose: and this 

 failure was first conspicuous in Italy. Among the various measures 

 taken by emperors to interest more persons in promoting Italian agri- 

 culture we may notice Trajan's 1 ordinance, that Provincials who aspired 

 to become Roman Senators must shew themselves true children of 

 Rome by investing one third of their property in Italian land. The 

 order seems to have been operative, but the reduction 2 of the fixed 

 minimum proportion from J to ^ by Marcus looks as if the first rule 

 had been found too onerous. There is no reason to think that the state 

 of rural Italy was materially bettered by these well-meant efforts. And 

 the introduction of barbarian settlers, who had to be kept bound to the 

 soil in order to be readily available when needed for military service, 

 tended to give the rustic population a more and more stationary 

 character. It was in fact becoming more usual to let farms to free coloni\ 

 but the coloni, though personally free, were losing freedom of movement. 



NOTE ON EMIGRATION FROM ITALY. 



In the Journal of Roman Studies (vol vm) I have discussed the questioi 

 whether the emigration from Italy to the Provinces was to a serious extent 

 agricultural in character, and in particular whether we can believe it to 

 carried abroad real working rustics in large numbers. Are we to see in it ai 

 important effective cause of the falling-off of the free rustic population of Italy! 

 That the volume of emigration was large may be freely granted; also tl 

 settlements of discharged soldiers took place from time to time. Nor does it 

 seem doubtful tl^at many of the emigrants became possessors of farm-lands 5 

 in the Provinces. But that such persons were working rustics, depending 01 

 their own labour, is by no means clear. And, if they were not, the fact of theii 

 holding land abroad does not bear directly on the decay of the working farme 

 class in Italy. That commerce and finance and exploitation in general wei 

 the main occupations of Italian 4 emigrants, I do not think can be seriously 

 doubted. And that many of them combined landholding with their otht 

 enterprises is probable enough. 



Professor Reid kindly reminds me that soldiers from Italy, whose term 

 service expired while they were still in a Province, were apt to settle do 

 there in considerable numbers. The case of Carteia in Spain is well kno> 

 and that of Avido, also in Spain, was probably of the same nature. Th< 

 were not regular Colonies. So too in Africa Marius seems to have left behim 

 him communities of soldiers not regularly organized 5 as coloniae. When tl 



1 Schiller I 566. Plin epist vi 19 depicts the situation fully. The aim was to make ther 

 feel Italy their patria. See the jealousy of rich Provincials shewn by senators, Tac At 

 XI 23. 



2 Schiller I 656. 



3 The remarkable community of Lamasba is referred to below in a note after chapt 

 XXXVII. 



4 The locus classicus on emigrant Romans is Cic pro Fonteio 11-13, which belongs t( 

 69 BC. Cf Sallust Iugi\, 26, 47. 



5 That is, allottees of land distributed viritim. 



