Intervallari

Intervallari refers to a historical group of people or a social status within the Roman Empire, particularly during the late Roman Republic and the early Empire. The term itself is derived from the Latin word "intervallum," which can mean a space or an interval. While the precise nature of the intervallari is not definitively known, scholarly interpretations suggest they were individuals who occupied a position between full citizens and slaves.

One prevailing theory is that the intervallari were free individuals who lacked full Roman citizenship rights. This could include freedmen who had not yet acquired all the privileges of citizenship, or perhaps indigenous populations within Roman territories who were not fully integrated into the Roman legal and social system. They may have possessed certain freedoms but were subject to limitations in their political participation, property ownership, or legal standing.

Another perspective suggests that the intervallari might have been a more fluid social group, perhaps comprising those who worked in transitional roles or occupied intermediate spaces in society. This could encompass laborers, artisans, or tenant farmers who were not landowners but also not enslaved. The term's ambiguity reflects the complex and evolving social stratification of the Roman world, where clear-cut divisions were not always present. The study of the intervallari offers insights into the nuanced social hierarchies that existed alongside the more commonly understood categories of citizen, non-citizen, and slave.