Afree city (Latin:civitas libera, urbs liberae condicionis;Greek:ἐλευθέρα καὶ αὐτόνομος πόλις)[1] was a self-governed city during theHellenistic andRoman Imperial eras. The status was given by the king or emperor, who nevertheless supervised the city's affairs through hisepistates orcurator (Greek:epimeletes) respectively. Several autonomous cities had also the right to issue civic coinage bearing the name of the city.
Examples of free cities includeAmphipolis, which after 357 BC remained permanently a free and autonomous city inside theMacedonian kingdom;[2] and probably alsoCassandreia andPhilippi.
UnderSeleucid rule, numerous cities enjoyed autonomy and issued coins; some of them, likeSeleucia andTarsus, continued to be free cities, even after the Roman conquest byPompey.Nicopolis was also constituted a free city by Augustus, its founder.[3]Thessalonica after thebattle of Philippi, was made a free city in 42 BC, when it had sided with the victors.[4]Athens, a free city with its own laws, appealed toHadrian to devise new laws which he modelled on those given byDraco andSolon.[5]
Autonomi[6] or ratherAutonomoi was the name given by the Greeks to those states which were governed by their own laws, and were not subject to any foreign power.[7] This name was also given to those cities subject to the Romans, which were permitted to enjoy their own laws, and elect their own magistrates.[8] This permission was regarded as a great privilege, and mark of honour; and it is accordingly found recorded on coins and medals (e.g. Metropolis of the Antiochians autonomous).[9]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: John Murray.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help).jpg) | Thisancient Greece–related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
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