Tribus libertinorum

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to shed light on the reasons why the majority of freedmen were enrolled in the Palatine tribe, one of the four urban tribes, and why not all of them were. After analysing the manumissio in relation to the professio censualis, it could be admitted that freedmen had a certain chance to choose their tribe according to the different types of manumission. Among the urban tribes, freedmen preferred the Palatine because of its connection with the Palatium, the aristocratic region par excellence.