Rome Was A Highly Hierarchical And Class-Conscious Society

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

Patricians hold all the offices in ancient Rome and plebeians who outnumbered them were mostly farmers, craftsmen and soldiers. Therefore one can understand that practically while plebeians had no rights or knowledge, they were in an advantageous position as patricians couldn’t defend the city or do any kind of job without their help. Plebeians couldn’t tolerate the increasing debt and the abuse of patricians and demanded equality, by blackmailing the patricians

All members of the Senate were of the Patrician or wealthy landowner class. There was a second part of Roman government was the assembly. The assembly was elected by Romans from the Plebeian class (common people). Julius Caesar made himself a dictator, and became the absolute ruler of Rome and its territories.

[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

It is clear that the dynamics that characterized Rome’s society during the Republic were never easy. There was a constant push and pull of intentions and interests between Patricians and Plebeians. The Patricians always wanting to maintain economic and political supremacy while the Plebeians were in constant

However, after a long struggle the patricians finally codified and published the law which covered many legal issues, including property ownership, guardianship, inheritance, procedure for trials, and punishments for various crimes (p. 131). There were two elected officials with in the plebeians, the Licinius and Sextius tribunes; the wealthy plebeians finally gained the opportunity to provide elected political leadership for the senate. They also gained such cosmetic privileges as wearing the purple-bordered toga (p. 131). However, access to the highest political offices was still difficult for any plebeian, who often had to get the support of patrician families if he wanted a political career (p. 132). Unfortunately, since the patricians were already established, the political power had been expanded only slightly and still resided largely in a group of wealthy families, some of whom happened to be plebeian (p.132). Roman politics operated by a patron-client system, were free men would promise their votes to a certain electoral for help with legal

Struggle of the Orders was a political battle between the Plebeians and Patricians in which the Plebeians were seeking political equality. Plebeians started gained more power and rights when they were given the opportunity to organize their own body of assembly and the right to pass plebiscites. The early Romans were miserable living under a king, so they created a republic. That is when the tribune was created, 493 B.C. In place of a king, the Romans elected two consuls, Tribunes, with equal power later there were five elected then ten. The consuls served for only one year and could not be elected again. The consuls held veto power over one another.

However, the real authority of the republic lay in the hands of the patricians this power could not and would not remain. The plebeians, who made up most of the army and did most of the real work, rebelled, going on strike and demanding an equal voice in the government. Out of this struggle came the Conflict of Order, a class “war” that lasted from 494 to 287 BCE. It was a fight that brought about meaningful change: a plebeian assembly, the Concilium Plebis. Through this new congress, the plebeians could elect tribunes who, like consuls, served for one year. Their primary function was to safeguard plebeian rights against patrician abuse. Their duties were in many ways like that of the consuls; however, they could veto any magistrate decision

“With laws unwritten, patrician officials often interpreted the law to suit themselves. In 451 B.C., a group of ten officials began writing down Rome’s laws. The laws were carved on twelve tablets, or tables, and hung in the Forum. They became the basis for later Roman law. The Twelve Tables established the idea that all free citizens had a right to the protection of the law.” (page 156)

The beginning of the third century BCE saw a new elite emerging in Roman society—the nobiles (nobles).These people were a mixture of patricians and plebeians who had held the highest office (the consulate), or whose fathers or forefathers had done so. This new hereditary ruling class of nobilitas (nobility) controlled the senate and, thanks to their array of clients and their own prestige, the popular assemblies as well .

During this time two social classes clashed for control; the patricians and the plebeians. The patricians were

regard to the issues placed before them. Membership in these early assemblies would be limited by such things as class, income, family ties, and affiliations. The assemblies had various and specific functions within the Roman republican

Thus many kings were overthrown by the union of the patricians and the plebeians. Unfortunately, after the overthrow of royalty and the birth of the new republic, political power fell into the hands of the patricians who used their power in a very abusive manner. The plebeian could vote but could not sit on the senate unlike the patricians. But what revolted the plebeians better was the fact that they saw that the patricians were no better than the kings, they strutted with their riches while making any attention to the poor.

This paper will discuss the issues related to the economic and political differences between the patricians and the plebeian classes of Ancient Rome. The paper will also discuss the events that led up to the first revolt.

Once before, after the formation of the Republic, the aristocratic families of Rome, Patricians had exercised control over the majority of the Roman people, Plebeians. The revolt of the Plebeians and their struggle in turn pushed for new political and economic reforms (Morey. n.d., Chap. 6). However, in the new democratic republic of Rome, another gap between the Italian allies, Latins and Romans with full citizenship was getting wider. Many of the Latin colonies had limited voting rights and could not hold