"But I was born a citizen" - Acts 22:28 and acquiring Roman citizenship by birthstva narodením

Abstract

In the well-known verse in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul claims to be a Roman citizen by birth. This would mean that it was either his father or grandfather who somehow acquired Roman citizenship. One theory says that it was the grandfather who fell into slavery during Pompey’s campaign, after which he was released, acquiring Roman citizenship. To gain Roman citizenship, however, was not as easy as such, and even if a person acquired it, whether he would be able to pass it onto his children was determined by several factors. In this contribution, we want to focus on the acquisition of Roman citizenship by birth and the obstacles that could prevent it from being passed to the offspring.