Milan’s history reveals Roman views on integration
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Two thousand two hundred years ago, Milan was a Gallic city belonging to the Insubri people before Roman forces conquered it in 222 BC.
Rome fought and sometimes enslaved people from conquered territories like the Salassi, selling 36,000 of them into slavery after a campaign in what is now the Aosta Valley in Italy.
However, Rome also extended citizenship to conquered peoples, eventually granting it to communities in the Po Valley between 90 and 89 BC and to those further north in 49 BC. The Romans weren’t simply welcoming, but pragmatic. They understood that incorporating people into their empire, even former enemies, could strengthen their governance. In 48 AD, Emperor Claudius argued for allowing Gallic citizens access to the Senate, pointing to the diverse origins of many Romans and earlier kings.
Despite this, Rome also practiced expulsion. In 186 BC, Roman forces drove a group of approximately 12,000 armed Gauls from the Friuli region and then founded the city of Aquileia in the same area. Today, some groups in Italy propose policies to encourage foreign residents to leave and prioritize the return of people with Italian ancestry, a concept distinct from how Rome handled integration and expulsion in the past.
