Constitutio Antoniniana – The Beginning of the End of the Ancient Roman Identity

This article briefly traces the chronology of the development of the institution of Roman citizenship as a specific and special status, granted by the Roman state to the population in Italy and to the provinces, from the origin of the City to the time of the developed Principate in the 3rd century. Exactly this value and significance of the citizenship permanently transformed with the issuance of the Constitutio Antoniniana. The study attempts to look behind Caracalla’s possible motives for issuing the Edict, to reveal the place of this imperial constitution in the development of Rome and the provinces, and to show its significant imprint on them. By comparing the opinions of different authors, the ambiguous character of the Constitutio Antoniniana is presented, which does not cease to arouse disputes and questions. The meaning of the Edict turned out to be „delayed“ in time and significantly influenced the political, social and economic processes in the Roman state. Issued in the form of an edict, as part of the emperor’s proper legislative activity, the Constitutio Antoniniana outlined new relations and a new morality along the way of the empire’s development in the subsequent ages.