Were Roman Civilians allowed to carry weapons?

Question

Mainly, swords.

Answer 1

Non-citizens, too. "...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one." Keep in mind, too, that the gladius was just a slightly oversized knife (pugio), often less than two feet long.

Answer 2

If you mean within the bounds of the city, then no they were not allowed to carry any form of weapon – this does not mean that they didn't. There was a sacred area which encircled Rome called the Pomerium, it was forbidden to carry weapons within the Pomerium (in other words, since the Pomerium surrounded Rome, weapons were forbidden in the city of Rome), however this area did not grow as Rome grew, although it was extended, so parts of the city which were outside the original city were not included in this law. This applied to all visitors to Rome including non-civilians, any soldiers entering the Pomerium automatically became civilians – Rome feared military coups. Outside Rome, it would have been customary and necessary to carry a sword for protection.

Answer 3

Good question. First off, are we talking about the Roman Empire or Roman Citizens (the City of Rome)? There is a difference from Civilian and Citizen. Citizens had a lot of rights in the Early part of the Empire. However you had civilians in the Empire with no rights. Take France/Gaul for example; they were civilians of the Roman empire but they were not allowed weapons during the time of Julis Ceasor and Augustus.

Durning the last days of the Empire when Rome could not protect even the City of Rome, then everyone was carrying arms.

Hope this helps.

  

Answer 4

In the Roman Empire, both inside and outside the city, Romans did usually not carry swords, though they may have been allowed to, outside Rome.