Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Roman Class Structure Not all citizens of Rome were treated equally
Document related concepts
Ancient Roman architecture wikipedia , lookup
Military of ancient Rome wikipedia , lookup
Roman army of the late Republic wikipedia , lookup
Food and dining in the Roman Empire wikipedia , lookup
Slavery in ancient Rome wikipedia , lookup
Constitutional reforms of Sulla wikipedia , lookup
Travel in Classical antiquity wikipedia , lookup
Roman Republic wikipedia , lookup
Roman historiography wikipedia , lookup
First secessio plebis wikipedia , lookup
Legislative assemblies of the Roman Republic wikipedia , lookup
Roman funerary practices wikipedia , lookup
Roman economy wikipedia , lookup
Education in ancient Rome wikipedia , lookup
Cursus honorum wikipedia , lookup
History of the Constitution of the Roman Republic wikipedia , lookup
Conflict of the Orders wikipedia , lookup
Culture of ancient Rome wikipedia , lookup
Constitution of the Roman Republic wikipedia , lookup
Early Roman army wikipedia , lookup
Transcript
RomanClassStructure NotallcitizensofRomeweretreatedequally.Infact,somepeoplelivinginRomewere notcitizensatall.PeopleofRomeweredividedintogroups,eachwithdifferentrightsand privilegesunderthelaw. PowerfulPatricians Thesmallestandmostpowerfulgroupwascalledthepatricians.PatricianswereRome’s elite,asmallgroupofwealthy,powerfulpeoplewhoownedlargehomesinthecity,vineyards inthecountry,andvillasonthecoast.ThepatricianswerecitizensofRome,meaningtheyhad therighttovote,andtheyhadcertainprotectionsandprivilegesunderthelaw.Becausethey werethemosteducatedandprivilegedgroup,thepatricianswerealsotheonesmostlikelyto becomeSenators,sotheygottomakealotofthelawsintheRomanrepublic.Incontrastto theancientGreekculture,womeninancientRomewereconsideredcitizens,andwealthy womenwerepartoftheelitepatriciangroup,althoughtheycouldnotvoteorserveasa senatororconsul. Second-ClassPlebeians AnothergroupofRomancitizenswerecalledplebeians.Plebeiansweresecond-class citizens,meaningthattheydidnothavealltherightsandprivilegesenjoyedbypatricians. However,theplebeianshadonebigadvantage:numbers.Becausetheplebeiansmadeupthe largestportionofRomancitizenry–byfar–thewealthypatricianslearnedthattheyneededto makesuretheplebeianswerehappy,oratleasthappyenoughthattheywouldn’triseupand trytotakemorepowerforthemselves. Likepatricians,plebeianswerecitizens,sotheycouldvote.However,theyweresubject todifferentsetoflawsthanpatricians.Forinstance,apatriciancouldfreelyinsultandeven attackaplebeian,butaplebianwouldbeinbigtroubleifhedidthesametoapatrician. Plebeianscouldownproperty,butitwashardforthemtogainenoughlandormoneyto becomeasrichoraspowerfulasthepatricians. Plebeianscameinallshapesandsizes,includingfairlywealthyshopkeepersandtraders, hardworkingfarmersandfishermen,andotherpoorandlowlyworks.Farmerswereimportant becauseplentifulcropswereverynecessaryforthesuccessofRome’scultureandcivilization. ThatisoneofthemainreasonswhyRomansworshipedSaturn,thegodoftheharvest. ManyRomanswhodidn’tfarmweretradersandmerchants.Theywouldseegoodsthat camefromshipsallovertheknownworld.Remember,ItalyisapeninsulaintheMediterranean Sea.Thesegoodswouldbesoldinmarketsinlarge,opengatheringplacescalledforums.In theseforums,peoplecouldshop,listentodebates,andworshipintemples.Thebiggestforum wasintheheartofRome,andwasthereforecalledtheRomanForum,orjusttheForum.The ForumwasaveryimportantplaceinRomansociety,servingasagatheringplaceofculture, economy,politics,religion,andmuchmore. LowlySlaves AnothergroupofpeoplewholivedinRomeweretheslaves.Slaveswerenotconsidered citizensofRome,sotheycouldnotvote.Slavesbelongedtotheirowners,sotheydidnothave thefreedomtodoastheypleased.Slavescouldnotchoosewheretoliveorwork.Theyhadno choiceinwhatjobtheygottodoandtheywerenotallowedtoquitthejobstheirownersgave them.Romanslavesdidhavesomerights.Forinstance,Romanslaveswereallowedtoreceive asmucheducationastheyneededtobebetteratwhateverjobtheyhad.Aftersometime,if slavesworkedveryhardfortheirowner,theycouldearntheirfreedom.Onceslavesweregiven theirfreedom,theirchildrenwereconsideredfullRomancitizens. Youmaybewonderingwheretheseslavescamefrom.AsRomeexpandedintonew territories,theRomansfoughtwarswiththepeoplealreadylivinginthoseareas.Itwas commonforthepeopleonthelosingsideofawartobecomeslavesforthewinningsidewhen thewarwasover.Slaveswereconsideredthepropertyoftheirowners;theyhadtoobeytheir ownersanddodifficultworkfornotpay.Theywerealsonotallowedtoinsultorattacka Romancitizen,ortherewouldbeconsequences.Slaveswereconsideredthemostlowlypeople inRomansociety–attheotherendofthespectrumfromtheeliteclass. Whetherpatrician,plebeian,orslave:man,woman,orchild--allofthepeopleof ancientRomecontributedintheirownwaystothemanycomponentsofthisancient civilization. AdaptedbyMatchEducationfromCoreKnowledgeTheAncientRomanCivilizationTellItAgain™ReadAloud Anthologypp.68-71,2013(http://www.coreknowledge.org/ckla-files-!/grade-3/listening-&-learning/the-ancientroman-civilization/anthology-the-ancient-roman-civilization) ThisworkisbasedonanoriginalworkoftheCoreKnowledge®Foundationmadeavailablethroughlicensingunder aCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike3.0UnportedLicense.Thisdoesnotinanywayimply thattheCoreKnowledgeFoundationendorsesthiswork.
