Citizenship in the Greek Empire

Democratic citizenship was a foundational principle of the Greek Empire. One of Alexander the Great’s motives for expanding Macedonian influence was to restore democracy in city-states that had fallen under Persian control (Grabbe, Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian, 1:205). When Alexander drove the Persians from most of Asia Minor, democracies arose in the city-states formerly occupied by Persians. These city-states in turn recognized Alexander as their redeemer and elected ruler (Grabbe, Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian, 1:205). However, when residents of Macedonian colonies rebelled against Alexander’s appointed governors, they were sold into slavery or killed rather than given the opportunity to elect their own governor (Grabbe, Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian, 1:207–08).

Following Alexander’s death, imperial citizenship in Egypt under the Ptolemies ceased to be rooted in the polis and instead became rooted in political and military allegiances with or against the families governing disputed territories (Grabbe, Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian, 1:208–18; Grabbe, “Jews and Hellenization,” 60). In the region of Syria-Palestine, the primary families vying for control were the Ptolemies and the Seleucids. At first, only Greek settlers were granted citizenship (Grabbe, “Jews and Hellenization,” 63).

Over the approximately two centuries following Alexander the Great’s death, the Ptolemies and (later) Seleucids granted various levels of citizenship to the residents of Syria-Palestine (Grabbe, “Jews and Hellenization,” 63). Greek officials supervised every city and village to ensure that the subjects paid taxes, but native peoples often served as lower-level supervisors within the administration of the villages (Grabbe, “Jews and Hellenization,” 53; summarizing Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism, 1:103–06). In Egypt, native Egyptians often rose to high-level administrative positions, indicating an even greater level of citizenship than that in Syria-Palestine (Grabbe, “Jews and Hellenization,” 58). Josephus claims Jews in Alexandria had full citizenship status under Ptolemy I (Josephus, Antiquities 12.1.1 §8). Residents of Babylon and Uruk were offered citizenship only after 223 bc, and then only through intermarriage (Grabbe, “Jews and Hellenization,” 60).