Introduction
Ancient Rome was constituted of two classes, the patricians who were mostly the descendants of the aristocrats and the plebeians who descended mostly from the freed men or mostly immigrants. The two classes could unit to fight against the common enemy in order to protect the city. However, political power and the economic were in the hands of the patricians. Although they were the majority in ancient Rome, the plebeians were poor and had to worked the land of the rich patricians and some were even slaves to the patricians. Even though poverty put them into this state, they were still very important to Rome. In this essay, I will try to analyze what role did they play in Rome which made them that important, then follow with a conclusion.
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Before the passage of the Lex Canuleia law (445 B.C), the plebeians were excluded from all political activities and from holding public offices except that of military tribune. During those days, the plebeians were also forbidden to marry patricians. But the activities of the plebeians made their role crucial in Rome.
As average or poor citizens of Rome, the plebeians were hard working and could be called the working class of Rome. They were farmers, bakers, builders, or craftsmen who worked extremely hard to support their families and pay their taxes (Pbs.org, n.d). Of course the state of Rome needs these taxes to support government activities and invest in the military as the state was frequently engaged in wars.
Although the plebeians could not read nor write, those who were doing extremely well could save money to increase their rank toward the upper class. However, life was a struggle for the majority. Because they were the majority in Rome during those days, there was therefore the risk of political unrest, mob roisting, or rebellion against the upper class who were of course the
The taxes were used to build an even stronger army that the emperor thought was necessary for his power as well as because Rome was getting attacked on virtually all sides everyone wanted to get at them and crush it for their own
Only Political The establishment of the Roman Republic is important because it enabled the lower class citizens to have a say in the governing of the state. The creation of the laws on the twelve stone tablets approved the idea that all citizens are entitled to be protected by the law and be treated equally. The establishment of the tribunes allowed for the majority of the empire to be treated with equity.
Patricians were landowners and plebeians were citizens but not landowners. Patricians would vote for senate, who had law making powers. Plebeians elected the assembly, who had advisory power. In the U.S. everyone over 18 is able to vote, whether you are a landowner or not.
The Roman empire was based on slavery: slavery on a massive scale. Therefore The success and spoils of Roman wars meant that slaves were everywhere putting regular Roman citizens out of work. This solution was not ideal but no rich Romans (patricians) seemed willing to compromise and give up their slaves. Attempts were made to base taxes on the numbers of slaves owned but the rich simply freed their slaves to avoid taxation and then added on still to the numbers of unemployed.
They had all the control over the religion and the government. The plebeians were everybody that wasn’t a Patrician. They had little to no voice throughout imperial Rome’s history. In both classes the oldest male was the head of the families. Women had no rights during this time and the people were Christian.
The citizens would elect Praetors, these were judges that ruled in the judicial branch and would be voted for each year(AR). Usually only the wealthy Praetors would be elected leaving out the middle and lower class citizens of Rome(AR).Today in The U.S., people can vote on issues that are addressed within America and are also able to vote on who is elected as the president no matter what financial state they are in. In Rome, the lower class citizens also known as the plebeians, were forced into the army and were furious at the fact that
The Roman society consisted of two different classes of people, the patricians and plebeians. The patricians, a status given by birthright, generally held the most power and control in society. The plebeians were considered to be a member of the lower class.
People were not working. Everything was out of control; it was a free-for-all. Judges 21:25 accurately describes Rome at this time “All the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (NLT). There was not enough people holding political power and the empire was becoming unmanageable. There were rebellions and surprise attacks.
I believe the plebeians were important to Rome for a few reason. The plebeians were instrumental in the war and in the army’s numbers to defend Rome for being taken by its enemies or the nearby Latium towns. Also I would think that them being the working class, that their taxes were important to the city. Plebeians could be observed as the working class or commoners who lived outside of the walls of the city (Morey, 1901).Their only rights after the abolishment of the kingship was the right to vote and the right to property/contract.
This shift was not in the form of a sudden revolution, and rather grew as a gradual switch from a monarchy previously under the Etruscans. The republic stood for liberty and extended citizenship of the people. In the Roman republic, the people chose officials to represent their interests. Dominating the government was a senate that was primarily made up of the wealthy, landholding class, known as patricians. This outraged the lower class plebeians, who later gained power and elected their own officials.
Introduction The Roman Republic was established in 509 BCE, after a long struggle against kingship. The Roman Republic was characterized by elements of democracy, such as the election of officials and the creation of a representative government. However, the Republic was also marked by undemocratic practices, such as the exclusion of plebeians and women from political power. This paper will discuss the circumstances that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic, the democratic elements of the Republic, and the undemocratic practices that made the Republic questionable.
Ancient Rome had a well organized government that had many purposes that helped them create an amazing civilization. I studied 5 difference purposes of government to learn more about Ancient Rome. Those were the following: public services, protect rights, rule of law, prepare for a common defense, and support the economic system. The Roman Republic had amazing features.
Patricians are the higher class and they are wealthy. Also, they are the only ones allowed to be in the government. Their percentage of the population is a small junk of Rome. To be a patrician, you had to have been given birth by a patrician. Now the plebeian on the other hand is every other person in Rome.
The magistrates and tribunes… were the only ones who could place legislation before the voters.” The small percent of citizens that actually did vote in Ancient Rome were spoon-fed their candidates by higher ups like the magistrates in
The Legacy of the Roman Empire The ancient Roman saying states: All roads lead to Rome! And this was true, in this essay I will show what great achievements and inventions happened during the plus minus 500 years from 27 Before Common Era, to 476 Common Era, in the Roman Empire and argue how these achievements and inventions still have influences in our everyday life and the modern world we live in today. Of course the Roman Empire consisted of more than just Roads, the Roman legislative system, their customs and traditions, religions, social structure, political system, art, architecture, writing, philosophy, citizenship, language use and military advancements held their Empire and their citizens together. I will reflect and show, how some of these tools the Romans used almost 2000 years ago, still live on through us today.