Lesson 45 (Part 1): Changes That Occurred in Roman Society Resulting From the Struggle of the Orders

There was a time in Roman history when two classes or orders existed: the Patricians and the Plebeians. Amazingly, the ensuing struggle between the two orders came about without even one drop of blood spilled!

The Patricians were a dictatorial upper class that none could enter except via birth. The remaining occupants of Rome, the impoverished, were the Plebeians. These Plebeians were deprived of political rights and were liable to be helplessly converted into slaves for any debts they owed. These two orders were mentally separated by a deep chasm and were prohibited from intermarrying. As if the Patricians weren’t rich enough already, when enemies’ land was won in combat, it was gifted or sold exceptionally cheap to the rich.

The Struggle of the Orders happened from 494 to 287 B.C. The Patricians’ thumb over the Plebeians began to slip, and Patrician privileges started to recede. The cause of this was the Plebeians’ rebellion. Realizing nothing would get done without the working class, they, as one, moved out of the city and camped outside until the Patricians agreed to come to a compromise.

One compromise was the Twelve Tables, which were written up containing all the laws and set on display in a public place. Previously, the Plebeians were excluded from knowing the law. The consequences of capital punishment or slavery, because a Plebeian could not pay debts, were revoked. An eye-for-an-eye sort of justice was installed.

One more liberty the Plebeians achieved was representation in the government. The office of tribune was invented. Tribunes were given the power to repeal oppression from the Patricians. At the start, two tribunes represented them, and later, ten. These tribunes were considered close to holy. Any person who attempted to or did harm them could suffer severely for it.

Resolutions from the concilium plebis, a Plebeian assembly founded in 471 B.C., became binding on every citizen equally by 287 B.C.

By the late fifth century B.C., certain political offices’ doors were thrown wide, allowing the Plebeians to be elected.

In the early fourth century B.C., the Roman Senate, instead of restricting only to the Patricians, distributed conquered land to the Plebeians. In this way, Etruscan, a city of Veii, came into the Plebeians’ possession.

Plebeians and Patricians were permitted to intermarry, and the looming threat of becoming a slave because of debt was abolished.

In 367 B.C., Plebeians were considered qualified for consulship positions, and by 343 B.C., at least one Plebeian consul was required. Astonishingly, for the first time in 172 B.C., both consuls were Plebeians.

Notwithstanding, even with these numerous changes, Rome was still dominated by aristocratic families. The Patricians, showing their status, wore special shoes well into the fourth century A.D.

With the heavy penalties and restrictions lifted off the Plebeians and government opened up, the Patricians were taken down a few notches. Roman future looked brighter for the common folk than ever before because of the Struggle of the Orders.