Rome's Social Divide

Ancient Rome was split into two classes: the aristocrats, known as the patricians, and the lower class, known as the plebeians. They lived harmoniously alongside each other for a while, but after Rome began to rise from it’s ashes the plebeians became resentful and decided to take action. To fully understand the degree of their anger some light needs to be shined on their situation, and how the patricians treated them.

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

Plebeians pressured the patricians to make political concessions, one result being the publication of laws which served as a check on decisions by judicial officers. New officials and tribunes were created and were drawn from non-elite classes. They could veto or block actions the Assembly or officials that threatened lower order interests.

Citizens in the Roman Empire separated from the wealth, house, and classes they are in. This kind of social structure was continued in a Rome empire for a long time especially for the slavery. Roman social structure affects the world today because there are still slaves and social classes. They are not exactly the same, but it replaces other kinds of social structure. This kind of social structure is kept continuing today. By comparing social classes in Rome such as patrician, plebeian, and slaves to the social classes today which are capitalist, middle class, and slavery, people are still held by the social structure today.

During the Conflict of Orders, the lower class Romans, or plebeians, forced the upper class Romans, known as patricians, to give them more rights and liberties (Hadas 1969).

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).

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

The patricians were only a small part of the Roman population, but had all the power. All the other citizens of Rome were Plebeians, and they were the farmers, laborers, and soldiers of Rome. There were many more Plebeians than Patricians and you bet the used that to their advantage to gain equality. The Patricians would be scared that the Plebeians would rebel so they ended up compromising. When there would be upcoming battles Patricians and Plebeians would be

The Roman Republic was established in 509 BCE after the Romans overthrew their etruscan leaders and ended in 27 BCE. A Republic is a system of government which citizens choose representatives to govern on their behalf. It was broken up into two groups, the Patricians which were members of the upper class, and the Plebeians who are the regular everyday people of Rome. Unlike today, Patricians and Plebeians could not go up and down the social ladder. Marriage between the classes was not allowed. Only Patricians could hold the high spots in the Republic. Only the Plebeians could hold the lower spots in the Republic. The consul which was the highest position in the Republic was lead by two patrician men, they also are the leader of the army. The both have the power to veto one another, and are limited to a one year term. If there is a crisis and they need to make decisions quickly, then one man would be dictator over the republic. These consuls are elected by a group of 300 patricians, also known as the senate. The senate are the lawmakers of Rome, they make decisions on how much money they should spend and what they should spend it on. They also make decisions on taxes and relationships with allies and enemies, such as trading or peace treaties. The senators of the Republic were chosen by the consul, and were elected for life. The assembly allowed plebeians to be a part of the Republic. The assembly had the right to assemble in the form, or the business center of Rome (www.youtube.com). As the Republic aged the assemble became in charge of selecting the consul. They were also given the right to elect Tribunes, a position that had the power to veto

Prior to Octavius’ ascension to his power, the Roman society functioned as a republic, wherein assemblies and elected officials shared political prerogatives and balanced each other’s influence. The Senatus, composed of 300 Patricians of enormous wealth appointed by the Consuls, directed foreign and domestic affairs, managed public treasury, directed instructions to all magistrates save the Tribunus, and declared wars; however, the Tribunus Plebis, elected by the Plebeii, could veto any of its actions, and Censors could impeach its members. Its humbler counterpart, the Concilium Plebis, the popular assembly, enacted laws as the Republic’s ultimate legislative institution, yet, in reality, their legislation proved enforceable only with the cooperation of the Patrician magistrates. Meanwhile, the two Consuls functioned as the head of the entire government and the army, but each had only a single year term. Censors hold the power to eliminate senators, but they were elected by the Comitia

According to Morey (1901) The Roman Republic were comprised of The Patrician and Plebeian Classes. However, in no shape or form did these two classes have the same rights. Perhaps more succinctly put, the Plebeians did not enjoy the same rights from an economic and political standpoint as did the Patricians of Roman Society. This paper serves to discuss these and other conditions which ultimately led to the Plebeian revolt of Ancient Rome.

The Roman civilization valued their geography as the greatest feature compared to their social class system and the Empire. The Romans were fortunate enough to have access to the Mediterranean sea. The Mediterranean Sea allowed Rome to earn vast amounts of land, which led to the government becoming more rich and the classes clashing with one another. Rome’s successful military missions allowed them to take over most of the Mediterranean area. As the republic grew, and the rich became richer (Struck). The land was unevenly distributed between social classes, pitting the plebeians against the patricians. The patricians and plebeians worked together to take down the Etruscan Kings, the power of Rome fell into the hands of patricians. The plebeians

Hierarchy - (My Notes) The Roman citizens were divided into different classes, Patricians, Plebeians, and Slaves. Patricians: Wealthy Roman families They had all the power in Rome

The elected representatives kept a careful eye on the Senate to ensure the plebeians were not being taken advantage of by the patricians. “By 287 BCE all formal, political distinctions between the patricians and the plebeians were gone” (Matthew et. al., 2014, p. 106). The patricians eventually saw that they required the assistance of the plebeians in their military, this allowed the plebeians to push for inclusion in the Senate. “The patricians were still able to use their wealth to buy control and influence over elected leaders” (UShistory.org, n.d.). This meant that the plebeians could still be effectively controlled by those wealthy members of society. As time passed the role of the Senate changed, during the rule of Dictator Sulla, the Senate was stripped of their lawmaking powers being just a group of wealthy men without any