Acollegium (pl.:collegia) orcollege was any association inancient Rome thatacted as alegal entity. Such associations could be civil or religious.The wordcollegium literally means "society", fromcollega ("colleague").[1] They functioned as social clubs or religious collectives whose members worked towards their shared interests. These shared interests encompassed a wide range of the various aspects of urban life; including political interests, cult practices, professions, trade, and civic services.[2] The social connections fostered bycollegia contributed to their influence on politics and the economy; acting as lobbying groups and representative groups for traders and merchants.[2]
Somecollegia were linked to participating in political violence and social unrest, which resulted in the suppression of social associations by the Roman government.[3] Following the passage of thelex Julia during the reign ofJulius Caesar asconsul anddictator of theRoman Republic (49–44 BC), and their reaffirmation during the reign ofCaesar Augustus asprinceps senatus andimperator of theRoman Army (27 BC – 14 AD),collegia required the approval of theRoman Senate or theEmperor in order to beauthorized as legal bodies.[4]
Collegia could function asguilds, socialclubs, orburial societies; in practice, in ancient Rome, they sometimes became organized bodies of local businessmen and even criminals, who ran the mercantile/criminal activities in a given urban region (similar to arione). Legalcollegia possessed certain rights, such as common property, a common treasury, and legal right to an attorney.[5] Large portions of the population of a town could be a part ofcollegia associations, with many aspects of daily life having correspondingcollegia.[6] The organization of a collegium was often modeled on that of civic governing bodies, theSenate of Rome being the epitome. The meeting hall was often known as thecuria, the same term as that applied to that of the Roman Senate.
The formation ofcollegia and other civil organized bodies were subject to the discretion of the central Roman government. After the implementation ofJulius Caesar's social reforms between 49 and 44 BC (lex Julia) and their reaffirmation byAugustus,collegia required the approval of the Roman Senate or the emperor in order to be authorized as legal bodies.[4]: 346–349 Collegia were often the target of restrictions and bans as a result of suspicions on the part of the Roman government about the function of these social associations.[7]
The legality of civil collegia was subject to constant legislation. In 64 BC, all civic collegia were banned by the Senate for being against the Roman constitution, only to be restored six years later in 58 BC.[8] Part of the social reforms of Julius Caesar's reign disbanded all but the most ancient collegia and instituted that any new collegia had to be deemed by the Senate to be useful to the community.[4]: 346 Later in the 2nd century AD, collegia in the Roman world showed signs of an increased tolerance on the part of the Roman government. UnderHadrian, inscriptions inAsia Minor depict collegia that functioned with more freedom as Roman restrictions became smaller and more temporary in scope.[9] TheRoman emperorAurelian imposed state control over collegia in the late 3rd century.[10]
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Religiouscollegia were formed byfraternities ofpriests, sanctioned by the Roman government, and provided a number of religious functions in Rome. These included the overseeing ofritual sacrifices, the practice ofaugury, the keeping ofscriptures, the arranging offestivals, and the maintaining of specificreligious cults.[11] Along with their religious functions, these kinds ofcollegia also had funerary and social functions; providing an outlet for fellowship as well as guaranteed burial services for its members.[12]
There were four great religious colleges (quattuor amplissima collegia) of Roman priests, in descending order of importance:
Other minor religiouscollegia existed, including:
Under theRoman Republic and around 100 AD, militarycollegia were viewed as small and violent militias.[13] Inscriptions atLambaesis date the formation ofLegio III Augusta military clubs to the reign ofSeptimius Severus (193–211) and indicate that they were formed by petty officers and specialists attached to the various services of the legion.[14] During theSeveran dynasty (193–235 AD), when unions, both commercial and industrial, became widespread, the government turned its attention to improving standards of living within the army. The basic purpose of militarycollegia was to help their members cover their funeral expenses. Officers and personnel assigned to special duties were not forbidden from joiningcollegia, but average soldiers on active duty could not formcollegia or be members of them. Membership in a militarycollegium gave the officer insurance against unforeseen events requiring any substantial financial investment.
Media related toAncient Roman collegia at Wikimedia Commons