Social Injustices In Ancient Rome

Just like today and in many other empires all over, the Roman Empire had class systems and they were the Patricians and Plebeians. Patrician class was the upper-class and consisted of nobility and wealthy land owners. Opposite of the patricians were the plebeians, the social group that consisted of everyone else in Rome. This group ranged from the tradesman all the way to the very poor. Later these groups would transform into the other social classes known as the populares and the optimates. The Populares were a mixture of plebeians and patricians who favored the common people and were for the extension of citizenship to all people of the empire, the elimination

Looking at Rome’s political struggles at the dawn of the first century B.C., it becomes apparent that the groundwork for Caesar’s Republic shattering revolt was lain down by Marius and Sulla. To be more specific, the stage was set by the class struggles between the Aristocracy, who demanded control of the Republic by virtue of tradition, and the masses, which demanded a voice.

In The Assassination of Julius Caesar, Michael Parenti highlights the many significant people and events that characterized the late Roman Republic. Specifically, he focuses on the time period between the election of Tiberius Grachus, to the rise of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. In this account of history, Parenti presents the social, political, and economic aspects of the Roman culture from the perspective of the Roman commoner, or plebeian. Using this perspective, he also spends a great amount of time examining the causes and effects of the assassination of Julius Caesar. The views that Parenti presents in this book stand in sharp contrast with the views of many ancient and modern historians, and offer an interesting and enlightening perspective into class struggle in the society of the Roman republic.

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).

By 264 BCE the groundwork had been laid for an unprecedented empire to expand it’s reign across the Mediterranean. Ancient Rome is lauded for the strength of its republic and its unparalleled military prowess but the reason for its domestic and foreign success was the confidence Roman citizens had in their state. In order to determine why Romans had such a prolific faith we must look to the flexible political structure they developed during the early Republic. The governmental system they crafted was incredibly malleable and allowed for modification whenever it couldn’t meet the needs of the people it was designed to serve. Because of the Rome’s economic reliance on war, their need for soldiers, and the stratification of the patrician

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).

Much like we see in daily in the media, power struggle has been a problem of humanity in many situations, and the Roman empire was no exception. The Roman Empire as a world power, extended its reach across parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia; however, the wars of conquest came with a price and especially effected the lie legionaries who had gone for years and where forced to sell their lands upon returning home (McKay, 110). After losing their lands many of the veterans were unable to find employment and would follow any leader until Gaius Marius recruited some of them to fight in Africa in return for land, however, the senate or the state refused to support Marius’ promise (McKay, 111). These events were one of the first destabilizing factors

In Ancient Rome, during the course of the years 90-88 BCE, many noteworthy events occured and many important people lived. Those events were primarily military and government, regarding both the wars and who were involved. The Social War, Lex Julia, and a few Roman generals all shaped the military and government of Ancient Rome at the time. These changes continued on to have an effect on the Roman Empire.

For 350 years the Roman Republic had grown, retracted, and grown again, surviving and thrived. Through it all the Romans never turned away from their basic founding principle that no king shall rein in Rome. Every year men stood for election and every year free ballots were cast by free citizens. The winner won and the looser lost, and power was transferred between them. It was a remarkable run and the republic’s track record was and is the case of much justifiable envy. The Roman’s success would be the undoing of the Roman republic. Over the years the republic had survived for two major reason, the lower class had not been so impoverished that they

In the midst of a failing republic, Rome was the epitome of chaos. Leaders acquired power by demanding loyalty among their troops, and yielded power through bribery and flawed checks and balances. It was a scene of populist fervor and patrician setback, marked with multiple civil wars. Mainly, conspiracies, sedition, and revolution plagued the years from the Gracchi into Caesar’s death. The sources of contention included the rampant inequality between the plebeians and patricians, the previous of which were discontent with the little social mobility and mistreatment by laws.

In the beginning of the Roman Empire it was a fortified, solid kingdom that the people felt secure in. Their army was nearly undefeated and the people lived in the strongest empire in the world at that time. They almost felt immortal, except for the people who lived in poverty, such as the slaves. The financially destitute people were the most spiritually fulfilled, because despite not having many material things and luxuries, they found refuge and peace in God.

The Roman Republic was made up of two social classes, the Patricians, and the Plebeians. Although these two social classes made up the republic collectively, they were very different, These two groups shared a better social status than the slaves of Rome, but their economic and social differences caused many historical problems in Rome, even a revolt. The patricians were very wealthy, they owned land and slaves, and were known as the upper class in Rome. The patricians were also known as the aristocrats and had the advantage in the government and decisions in Rome.

In the second century B.C., The Roman republican state was separated into two different social classes: the patricians and the plebeians. The patricians were the wealthier citizens who had all the political power in the Roman state while the plebeians were less wealthy citizens who barely had any standing in government. The plebeians, in particular, lacked many of the rights and protections enjoyed by the patricians under Roman law, and their lives were often harsh and unhappy. At the time, slaves were a common element in the Roman financial society; even smaller farmers tended to own at least two. The would-be social reformers, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, sought to better the condition of the plebeians in Roman society and elevate

Ancient roman had many campaigns of conquest during its history, but its most influential war may have been the ones it fought against itself. Power hungry leaders and political backstabbing made civil war an ever-present part of roman life,and the infighting eventually helped trigger both the fall of the the roman republic and the its fracture and decline.

In the Roman Empire, there was a power struggle going on. And the Roman populous was fed up with their tyrant kings. During the time when they were overthrowing the kings, such as Brutus, they began to make new laws and make many political changes such as the Valerian laws, condemning anyone claiming to be king as a traitor, the formation of three voting assemblies, etc. but backtracking, in order to overthrow the kings, the patricians and plebeians united in their efforts to rid of them. Unfortunately, upon the overthrow of the kingship and