Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 262: The Secret of Theonias Strength? (II)

“Oh, which two?” Kanos leaned his body forward once more.

“The first is-” Siprus unhurriedly placed a wooden stick on the table and said, “Anyone can apply to be granted a Theonian citizenship, whether they are foreigners, a captured enemy citizen, and even a freed slave, as long as they meet the requirements….”

Kanos took a breath, Elea had also given citizenship to freemen, but that was all due to war and a shortage of soldiers and labour, hence why it is really hard to imagine that Theonia would constantly grant citizenship, “Does that…that…mean that the citizenship in Theonia is not that important? And they couldn't enjoy most of the rights of the union? And what kind of people can be a citizen of the union? How are they able to maintain the order of the city-state?….”

“Being a citizen of Theonia is very attractive!” Faced with Kanos' tons of questions, Siprus shook his head and said in a deep voice, “Apart from the other rights, just the right of each new citizen receiving an allocated 3,333 square meter of land is enough to drive the freemen crazy. Not to mention that new lands can be allocated to citizens depending on their achievements in their military service.”

“That…is that true?!” Kanos found it hard to believe, and he couldn't stop himself from gulping, because as citizens of Elea, who had been trapped in the city for a long time, lands were very attractive to them.

“Of course it is true. Otherwise, why would Theonia, with its small army, have been able to easily recruit 7,000 freemen without spending money in the previous decisive battle between Theonia and Crotone, and the freemen were even extremely brave in helping Theonia defeat Crotone. All of it was due to the allure of the citizenship of Theonia.” Looking around at those who were eating and talking enthusiastically, Siprus turned back and continued, “As for whether it will disturb the order of the city-state, there are at least twenty~thirty Theonians present at today's celebration ceremony, right?”

After this reminder from Siprus, Kanos immediately understood, “It is the first time I have seen a union celebration and festival where so many people attended and without any major disruptions. I am afraid that it wasn't just because of the large number of patrolling soldiers that were maintaining the order.”

Siprus responded in a low voice, “This naturally had a lot to do with the laws of Theonia Union that governed the citizens, freemen and even the slaves. The city of Thurii has not only more patrols than any other city-states but also courts. And these courts not only try cases and disputes but also record the names of those who break the law. If they are freemen, it will affect whether they can obtain their citizenship on time; If they are citizens, it will affect their allocation of land…therefore, for a better future, the vast majority of people living in Theonia will consciously abide by the laws here….”

“That's a fantastic idea! Over time, the Theonians will naturally form the habit of abiding by the law. No wonder….” Kanos couldn't help but praise, “This solution fundamentally solves the possible disorder that might happen in Theonia due to the complex origins of the people. I wonder who came up with this idea in the first place….”

He then saw a smile on Siprus' face, and then he realized, “Was it Davos again?”

Siprus nodded.

Kanos shrugged helplessly, there was nothing more he could say about the archon of Theonia.

“What is the second law?” Siprus' familiarity with Theonia and his unique inside had deepened Kanos' understanding of Theonia, so he was eager to know more.

“Sub-city-state.” Two words came out of Siprus' mouth, and a strange gleam flashed through his eyes, “Theonia's way of dealing with their sub-city or territories they have occupied is very different from that of most Greek city-states.”

“What's the difference?” Kanos was once again drawn to the words of Siprus and hurriedly asked.

“Do you know Aprustum?”

“I have heard that it used to be a city of the Bruttians, and had later become a sub-city-state of Crotone, and has now become part of Theonia Union.”

“Let's take Aprustum as an example. What did the Crotonians do after they occupied it? They have killed all the Bruttians in the city, and move the landless citizens of Crotone to the city of Aprustum, where it has the same political system as Crotone.” Siprus pricked a piece of tripe and tossed it into his mouth with a mocking grin and said, “The inhabitants of Aprustum are citizens of Crotone and its government is the government of Crotone. It is reasonable to say that Aprustum has become a part of Crotone, but why have there been two riots in Aprustum in recent decades and demanding secession from Crotone?”

“There have been two riots in Aprustum?” Kanos was slightly surprised because as far as he could remember, Aprustum was a city in Crotone.

“Yes, Twice.” Siprus stretched out two fingers and said slowly, “Due to Crotone quickly quelling the riots and deliberately blocked the news, you, Elea, who is far away in the north, naturally do not know about it…although it is true that Aprustum was completely attached to Crotone at first, 20 years ago, the situation has changed. According to the law of Crotone, only Aprustum men whose fathers were citizens of Crotone could become a Crotonian citizen, and over time, some foreigners came to Aprustum and married women from the city and had children who could not become citizens of Crotone and can only be a citizen of Aprustum…some people who were born in this small city and had grown up there had naturally become more attached to Aprustum than to Crotone, and they do not want to apply to become citizens of Crotone…

In this way, there are more and more true Aprustum citizens in this small city, more than the citizens of Crotone, and their willingness to safeguard the interests of Aprustum alone outweighed that of Crotone. And for the Crotonians, as the blood became more and more distant, they treated Aprustum more and more like slaves, rather than their own people. When there is a war, they will place the Aprustums in the forefront; In the event of a land dispute, the Crotonians were favoured…with the growing resentment against Crotonians among the Aprustums, how could they not demand independence?!”

When Kanos heard this, he nodded and took a big gulp of beer.

“The measures taken by Crotone against Aprustum after the riot was to kill the people who firmly resist Crotone and then to relocate a large number of Crotonian citizens to the small city while supporting the Aprustums who were close to Crotone and to give the citizens of Crotone control over the supreme power of Aprustum. But more than ten years ago, there was another riot in Aprustum, and the situation was the same as the last…as far as I know, the Greek city-states did roughly the same thing with their colonies and territories they occupied, and even though Aprustum was very close to Crotone, which was a powerful city-state in Magna Graecia and has enough power to control Aprustum, a small city, and yet such thing still happened. It is very common for those sub-states that were far away from their mother-state, or for those where the mother-state was not strong enough, to be unable to unite with their sub-state to strengthen themselves. What is even more terrible is that the mother-states becoming enemies with their sub-states instead…there are many such examples!….” Siprus said with a sigh.

His words reminded Kanos of Elea's mother state. Elea had once sent envoys to her mother-state to ask for help, but had ignored the plight of Elea and refused to provide any help, and so both sides have become strangers. Kanos was slightly sentimental, “You are right!” With that, he raised the mug and invited Siprus to a toast.

Kanos wiped off the foam on his lips and asked, “How does Theonia treat the territories they occupied?”

Siprus took another wooden stick and put it on the wooden table and slowly said, “After Theonia occupied Aprustum, the first thing they implemented was to declare, ‘All Aprustums who are willing to stay will become citizens of Theonia.’”

“Hah?!” Kanos was surprised.

“Although there are very few Aprustums who choose to stay, I think they have made the right choice.” After emphasizing a sentence, Siprus continued to say, “The second thing that Theonia implemented was – the appointment of civil servants by the Theonian Senate to govern Aprustum, and the supreme administrator of the city is the Praetor, who must be a statesman of Theonia, and as I recall, the current praetor of Aprustum was…Hielos of the Senate of Theonia, a statesman who had a close relationship with Davos.

You see, the residents of Aprustum are now Theonian citizens, and according to the Theonian Law, ‘As long as either of the parents is a Theonian, their children will be Theonian as soon as they are born. Besides, the authorities of Aprustum are directly appointed by the Senate, and any Theonian citizen can apply for public office in the city-state. After a long period of serving as a public official, those who have rich experience and outstanding performance can become a statesman of the Theonian Senate.’”

Siprus said with a slightly excited expression, “This will make it less likely for the residents of Aprustum to betray the Theonian Union, either now, or later, as they enjoy the same rights as the citizens of Theonia in the other cities of the union. Aprustum is already a part of the Theonia Union, and it is also directly managed by the Senate of the union, and whether it is paying taxes or doing military service, it will directly enhance the strength of the union. Hence why Theonia was able to muster about the same number of soldiers and resources as Crotone, even though they are weaker back then. Because this form of government could better concentrate all the power of the cities under their jurisdiction! While Crotone and Aprustum could not even support each other to the fullest extent, let alone its allies Scylletium and our Terina. And that, I fear, is what is most intimidating about Theonia Union, that every land they gain would strengthen the union!”