Social class in ancient Rome: Encyclopedia II - Social class in ancient Rome - Plebeians

Social class in ancient Rome - Plebeians

The plebeians made up the bulk of the Roman citizenry. They were divided into four sub-classes based on property. The poorest class, the proletarii, were forbidden military service until the reforms of Marius in 108 BC, but otherwise members of the various sub-classes enjoyed the same rights and responsibilities.

The official attitude towards the plebeian class varied significantly between generations. Originally, the plebeians had little say in Roman government; the Roman system of voting by regional "tribes" and property-based "centuries" meant that the vote of a plebeian counted for much less than the vote of a patrician. Historical evidence exists of three major plebeian revolts, mainly triggered by overtaxation, debt, hunger, war weariness, and social instability.

The main legal bulwark against the powers of the patrician class was the council of tribunes. Founded in 494 BC as a concession to the plebeians (who had seceded from the city in protest), the tribunes originally had the power to protect any plebeian from a patrician magistrate. Later revolts forced the Senate to grant the tribunes additional powers, such as the right to veto legislation.

The plebeian class was the first to benefit from increasing commercial opportunities available in the late Republic. Unlike patricians, plebeians were not required to own a certain amount of property, so they were free to invest their earnings into commercial ventures. However, the bulk of the plebeians never rose above basic competence. During most of the Late Republic, Principate, and Early Empire, plebeians were allowed a daily issue of grain or bread to encourage their submission to government policies. Some contemporary writers decried these measures as leading to laziness, but both Tacitus and Livy give abundant evidence that slavery severely limited the number of jobs available to the less educated classes of plebeian.

The plebeians also made up the bulk of the army. Each healthy plebeian male (other than members of the proletarii) was expected to be on call for military duty for a number of years.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Plebeians", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki