Becoming a Client
This chapter examines what forms personal patronage took in Rome and how patronage of cities relates to them. Personal patronage in Rome can be divided into two categories — patronage of freedmen and patronage of free clients — and there were important differences between these relationships. Prominent Romans could become patrons of cities in several ways. First, they could be asked, as the inscription from Aphrodisias shows. Second, they could become patron by virtue of conquest or colonial foundation. The first category is voluntary, the second involuntary. A similar division can be found in the patronage of individuals: freedmen had no choice about having their former masters as patrons, free clients gained them willingly.
Keywords: patronage of cities, Rome, freedmen, free clients, Aphrodisias
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