Does A Soldier Possess More Merit Than A Lawyer

As a result of their poverty, most plebeians had dwellings outside the city, whereas most patricians could afford to reside inside. The patricians controlled the military, and their main priority was to protect the city they live in. Therefore, they pulled all the soldiers back to protect it. This left many of the plebeian farms exposed to war, and after their return from battle, plebeian soldiers often found their homes completely destroyed.

In Santosuosso’s article, he questioned how a powerful empire as Rome could raise an army to guard this frontier but was unable to meet this attacks. Simple, the Romans were unable to effectively communicate management of their holdings meaning that Rome struggled to marshal enough troops and resources to defend its frontiers from local rebellions and outside attacks. With morality high, a very small recruitment pool, the financing and administration process became to be a burden. Problems with the administration meant the increase tax collection and inflation—which caused the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished. Roman technology was very low during this time and the lower class (i.e., the manpower) provided for those consumers paying little to no taxes at all; the wealthiest groups of all was the senatorial order, who avoided financial obligations by way of privilege.The military soon lacked recruiting Roman citizens

They were separated in 6 troops called cohorts and each of these cohorts consisted of 80 legionnaires. One officer who was called a Legate was assigned to a cohort and had full authority over his men. All were influenced in their powerful northern neighbors the Etruscans and to include the group call the Cities a powerful and dominant influence in central Italy (Keppie pg 38). The structure and the manner in how the Roman army was put together during its prime were all due to Servius Tullius, the sixth king. Servious is credited with establishing many of the early institutions of the Roman state (Keppie pg 40). Servious created the first census and with doing so had created a way in which not just the people of Rome, but the Soldiers were divided depending on their wealth. There was a political and military

Cicero, a very successful Roman politician, also plays a very significant role in the story of “Bartleby, the Scrivener”. The narrator has a bust of Cicero in his office connecting the two cultures; the Western and Eastern cultures however are strikingly different. At around 100 B.C. Cicero led the Roman Empire in a very structured and civilized way. The Roman Empire’s governmental structure is very similar to the United Stated government because they both include three branches. The Judiciary, the Executive, and the Legislative branches are included in both civilizations; however the Roman’s devised this system more than 2,000 years before the United States. They also both have elected officials who are either elected or are appointed by the Consuls. The Roman Government was very orderly and organized, the exact opposite of how it was in Bartleby’s office. This small detail in the story creates more contrast and helps us better understand the changes that can happen in such a short amount of time. The law office was a very orderly place, it just takes one person to throw any well oiled system off balance.

Before Marius left for Jugurtha, he decided a total reform of the military system was necessary. The military recruitment system in place before Marius involved recruiting the army from the landowning masses of Rome. A.J Koutsoukis, author of History of the ancient world; Ancient Rome describes recruitment as an "unwelcome obligation" as it meant "a long time away from the family farm, and possible economic ruin."6 In an effort to dramatically increase the size of the army and overcome the shortage of soldiers, Marius welcomed landless, unemployed recruits into the army. This transformed the service from a reluctant obligation to a paid profession. The landless soldiers were given weapons and payment by their general, and for this reason were unconcerned with the Republics' motives behind their fighting, and more concerned with pleasing the individuals responsible for their payment and weapons, in this case being the generals. Many soldiers sought guidance and advice from their generals

According to document F, members of the Roman Senate consisted of about 300 men that served the duration of a lifetime. The Senate had primary responsibilities for foreign relations, making treaties, and creating alliances. They were responsible for war policy, and controlled lands. By the 3rd century BCE they had full governing power in Rome. Not all senators held equal status however. Those selected by Censor did not have a right to vote or speak on the Senate floor. Senators earned the proper dignity and nobility to vote and speak on the floor by virtue of holding various offices such as Consul. In contrast to the Roman Empire, the Athenian empire dealt with economic affair. They passed laws and had the power to declare war. Rome’s Senate was more effective in terms of pleasing the citizens due to the foreign relation position opening a way of trade. Making alliances was very vital for keeping peace among the other

The Roman's executive branch, had two consuls and they were elected by the assembly for one year to be the chief executives of the government and the commanders-in-chief of the army. In the judicial branch, the Praetors and the eight judges are chosen for one year by the Centuriate Assembly. Both the Praetor and the eight judges oversee the civil and criminal courts. To become a citizens you have to be an adult male landowner. The citizens had the right to vote, to make legal contracts, to have a lawful marriage, and to have a trial. A common citizen would vote to elect tribunes and to make laws. The Romans had the Twelve Tablets which, were a list of rules that was the basis of the Roman legal system. The laws in the Twelve Tablets talked about property, crime, family, theft, and inheritance.

[The top state officals] At the very top of the Anceint Roman society was the rich and esteemed senatorial class, a class of men who had served in the senate, this class also included the family of

The idea behind this rule was that these people were considered to be well-behave and that they had reason to fight in the army. However, with the changing times the number of property owners was diminishing due to the land being bought out by wealthy individuals, and the farmers having to move to the city. As the category of eligible people to join the army became even more limited, the category of those who weren’t grew along with unemployment and social issues in the city. Marius opened up recruitment for the military to the poor. This saw great changes to the army because it introduced greater numbers within the army itself, increasing overall strength, as well as offering a form of profession to those individuals who were previously excluded. On the other hand, political this reform had a different impact. Although the reform offered answers to the rising social issues, such as unemployment and overcrowding, the roman nobility did not approve. The inclusion of the lower classes was seen as change, which the nobility disapproved of because changing the rule could lead to the people wishing to change more of the rules that benefitted the nobility. Furthermore, it was disapproved by the nobility as it gave more power to the majority, which could have been seen as a threat. The reforming the recruitment of the army by the Marian reforms reflected the qualities of Marius that made him a good general. It

The trials of political success and error throughout history, have led to more efficient and authentic ways of governing, making nations stronger over the course of time. While the United States and the Roman Republic share similar political systems, the structure of the Roman Republic is in many ways flawed compared to the modern Democratic Republic of the U.S. nation. The Roman Republic’s rigid social structure flawed their political system because there was less flexibility within the social ladder, affecting citizens and their opportunity to be elected into office. The Republic’s society was made up of two distinct and separate social classes, the Patricians and the Plebeians. “In the early years of the Roman Republic, patricians controlled all the religious and political offices; plebeians had no right of appeal against decisions of the patrician government, since no laws were codified or published.

The Race of Honors began with lower offices, and someone could move up to higher ones as they worked. It began with Quaestors, accountants that kept track of government money and were assistants to higher offices. These Quaestors could become Aediles, who managed city buildings and planned festivals. A common citizen could run for the office of the Tribune of the Plebs, a very important and protected official who represented and protected less wealthy citizens. Higher than this were Praetors, who judges cases, managed the city of Rome, and led armies in times of war.

enlistment, the poor, weak class of the empire were drawn to the army because of

The consuls were the supreme power of authority with one year terms and could not be elected more than two times in a row and three times total. However, in situations of crisis, the Romans were led by a dictator who had complete power in a six month term. The Republic also had a senate, picked by the two consuls. The senators held their position for life and were responsible for taxes, funding laws, and foreign affairs. Next in line were the assembly, an elected body drawn from the citizens of Rome with two year terms and no term limits. The assembly occasionally made laws that had to be approved by the senate. The common people of Rome were called the Plebeians. The Plebeians served in the army, payed taxes, and had other citizen duties, but were not allowed to hold any important positions in office, unlike the Patricians who had all the rights. The Tribunes represented the voice of the Plebeians and were elected by the Plebeians. There were two Tribunes at a time with one year terms and had the power to veto any law. The Tribunes were “sacred” and left their doors open to the public to speak to them about any problems they might have

Rome was a highly hierarchical and class-conscious society; yet, since its power extended for centuries, the distinction between different classes varied in time. In the Roman kingdom and the early Roman Republic, the most important division in Roman society was between the Patricians and the Plebeians. The struggle for power between these two classes resulted in the development of the Roman system of government (McManus, 1997).

Only the highly educated and wealthy class made up the Senate. The Concilium Plebis only consisted of representatives for the Plebeians, and the Comitia Centuriata represented most of the landowning class. Both the popular assemblies were given pre-discussed debates, and any disagreements with the Senate were rare. Furthermore, the Consuls, who were the most prestigious magistrates and “the military and political heads of state” were also advised by the Senate (Gwynn, 20).