Roman+Social+and+Political+Structure

=Roman Social and Political Structure = 

=
This section examines society in Rome during the republic era. Of most importance to this discussion is Rome’s consolidation of political power to the elite and its prominent social class hierarchy. =====

=
The senators, prominent government officials, and the wealthy descendants of Rome’s founding families were the aristocracy (patrician class) of Rome. At the birth of the republic in 510 BC., the senators took control of the political power from the ousted Roman monarchy. Many of these parties evolved to serve the interests of powerful, vocal senators; most of whom disguised their grabs for political power as a means to repair the fledgling republic. By the 1st century BC, political factions in Rome were plagued with conspiracies where prominent members conspired to overthrow the republic. Eventually the senators used the armies delegated to the senate and took their arguments from the senate floor to the battlefield. Each side claimed to be defending the republic from the other; and the lower classes of Rome could only watch as their republic of the people transitioned into an empire. ===== 

=
 =====

=
1. The //patricians//; Roman citizens and descendants of the patriarchs that founded Rome. A person who holds public office is in this class and considered a noble. =====

 The Roman class hierarchy was based off other social factors outside wealth. Romans viewed each other as above or below another by their involvement in social relationships (as head of the household), by their involvement in political relationships, and their overall position in society (Garnsey 1970: 2). Only a member of the patrician class could pursue such standards. Senators and state officials do not make a salary, confining the high social occupation to the wealthy. Patricians had wealthy estates and have no need to work; therefore have the opportunity to spend their days involved in the Roman social sphere. In contrast, most plebians teetered just above poverty In contrast, most plebians teetered just above poverty.




"sed enim sciendum est discrimina esse poenarum neque omnes eadem poena adfici posse" "But it should be known that there are differences in penalties, and not all can suffer the same penalties" - Domitius Ulpianus //"Digesta//” (Garnsey 1970: 81)

Roman law dictated two sets of punishments based on the class of the accused. Referred to today as the __Duel Penalty System__ it issues penalties for high-status offenders for which execution was rare, the standard penalties being exile or disqualification of office holding. Compared to the most serious penalty for “offender of low status” covered several aggravated forms of the death such as death by beasts or against a gladiator.



=
** The court did not concern itself with the trial of senatorial criminals, except for standard political crimes like treason. Their crimes are only pursued when other senators have an interest in seeing it through. ** ===== (Garnsey 1970: 18) The members of the senate were almost completely immune to rule of law.

**The End of a Republic**
While Rome was ruled by the senate during the republic era, it enjoyed many years of expansion and stability. But internal strife among the aristocracy and neglect to the public well being in the 1st Century BC lead to an environment ripe for overthrow. After several failed conspiracies to elect a dictator and to remove senators, Julius Caesar took advantage of the weak state of the republic and politically maneuvered himself around Pompey to become Rome's first Emperor. Considering the state of the senate in the 1st century BC and the years of class division in Rome, the failure of the Empire and the crowds that cheered Caesar on all make more sense.

= =

=Citations=

Garnsey, Peter. __Social status and legal privilege in the Roman Empire__ Oxford Clarendon, 1970.

Strong, Donald. __Roman Art__ Penguin Books, 1988. NY.

Feder, Theodore. __Great treasures of Pompeii and Herculaneum__ Abbeville Press, 1978. NY.

Rawson, Beryl & Weaver, Paul. __The Roman Family in Italy: status, sentiment, space__ Canberra & Oxford Clarendon Press, 1997.

Mathisen, Ralph W. __Law, society and authority in Late Antiquity__ Oxford University Press, 2001.

Amery, Colin. __The Lost World of Pompeii__ The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002. L.A.