The concept of democracy and citizenship originated in Greece.
Greek citizenship was granted by the birth from a Greek mother and father, together with an assembly member. Without citizenship, they couldn’t own land, but they were required to pay taxes and serve in the military. Greek philosopher Aristotle defined citizenship as “he who has the power to take part in the deliberative or judicial administration of any state. ” Citizenship was restrictive as well as exclusive.
In a Greek polis, you either enjoyed full citizenship or none at all.
By contrast, Romans developed a sense of belonging to the Roman State by allowing citizenship to be granted to any group of people.
The Roman Republic shared rulership between the Patricians and the Plebeians. To the Greek city-states and the Roman Republic, citizenship was a form of local democracy, administered by the Senate and elected magistrates. But unlike Greek city-states, Roman citizenship wasn’t restricted by place of birth or land ownership, it could also be obtained by service to Rome.
The Greek city-state government was made up of commoners, they created their own legislation and judiciary, and they had freedom of speech. By limiting citizenship, a Greek citizen became a privileged class that controlled land ownership.
After Rome conquered a territory, it shared the wealth that it accumulated with the conquered. Rome’s willingness to extend its citizenship increased its manpower and wealth, and laid the foundation of the Roman Empire. "Rome conquered and shared the fruits of conquest with the