His Greek name Lysias suggests that he was a Greek by birth. He acquired Roman citizenship for a large sum of money probably during the reign of Claudius, at which time, as was customary among those procuring citizenship, he adopted the name of the ruling emperor. (Ac 22:28; 23:26) According to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, early in the reign of Emperor Claudius, Roman citizenship was often sold for large sums.​—Dio’s Roman History, LX, 17, 5, 6.

On receiving report that Paul was a Roman citizen and then making personal inquiry, Claudius Lysias became afraid because of having violated the rights of a Roman by having him bound. (Ac 22:25-29) His acceptance of Paul’s claim to Roman citizenship on the basis of the apostle’s own statement can be better understood when considering that there was little likelihood of a person’s falsely claiming Roman citizenship rights, as such would render the one doing so liable to capital punishment. Says the historian Suetonius: The emperor “forbade men of foreign birth to use the Roman names so far as those of the clans were concerned. Those who usurped the privileges of Roman citizenship he executed in the Esquiline field.”​—The Lives of the Caesars, Claudius XXV, 3.