Roman Social Classes

SOCIAL CLASSES IN THE

LATE REPUBLIC AND EARLY EMPIRE

Society in the Roman Empire was very “rank conscious,” but upward mobility was not unheard of because class was not determined entirely by birth. It was, however, determined entirely by men. As a woman in ancient Rome, your class was determined by the class of your father, and to a lesser extent by the class of your husband, unless you were born to a slave or a freed slave. In those cases, your rank was determined by your mother.

Roman society was also very patriarchal. The Paterfamilias (male head of the household) had special legal powers and privileges that gave him patria potestas (legal jurisdiction) over all the members of his familia. Familia is more extensive than our modern idea of ‘family”. The familia included not only a man’s minor children, but also his adult sons and even his married daughters, and various other relatives as well, plus all the slaves owned by his family. You might notice that wives belonged, legally, to their father’s familia, rather than to their husband’s.

The Romans recognized six main classes of Society:

• Consul/Dictator/Emperor & his family
• the Senators
• the Equestrians
• the Common People
• the Non-Freeborn Citizens
• and the Slaves.

CONSUL/EMPEROR - The highest class, consisting of the the Consul & his family during the Republic; the Dictator & his family during the transition to the Empire; or the Emperor & his family in the Empire. They were the highest rank of elite Roman society.

The SENATUS ROMANUS (Senators) were the men who served in the Roman Senate, and their families. The first Roman king, Romulus, created the Senate by appointing 100 men, all heads of ancient families, to be his advisors. The fifth Roman king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, expanded the Senate to include an additional 100 men chosen from among the leading families of the time. The descendants of these original 100 Senators became the Patrician class – the upper nobility of Roman society. Over time the Patricians became a sort of “rank within a class.” The original Senators’ families became known as the gentes maiores, the “most noble houses.” The second group of families became the gentes minors, or “lessor noble houses.”

The last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, went on a bit of a rampage and executed many of the Senators without replacing them, so the first Consuls, Lucius Junius Brutus and Publius Valerius Publicola replaced those Senators and increased the size of the Senate to 300. Membership in the Senate no longer brought automatic inclusion in the Patrician caste, though that rank could be granted to someone as a special reward. During the Republic, the senate was gradually increased to 500 and eventually to 900, with many men of lower classes selected to join the Senate. The first emperor, Augustus, reduced the size of the Senate from 900 to 600, removing primarily those who were not from Patrician families or who did not meet other requirements for holding Senatorial status. The size of the Roman Senate was never drastically altered again.

The Senators were the men who became the Governors of provinces, Generals, and held other high offices. Not all Senators were born Patricians - many came from the Equitorial or Plebian classes – especially in the late Republic. While it was possible for a man not born to a Senatorial or Patrician family to become a Senator, it became more difficult in the Empire period. There had always been a property value requirement for maintaining a family’s Senatorial status, but Emperor Augustus raised the requirement so that Senators must be worth at least 1,000,000 sestertii or 250,000 denarii (the equivalent of the annual salary of 1,100 legionaries) with an annual income of at least 400,000 sestertii. By long-standing tradition, the Senators owned large agricultural estates and did not engage in commercial activities. To be awarded Senatorial status, a family had to prove that it had not engaged in non-agricultural commercial activities for at least a generation (or more). In addition, a family’s Senatorial status depended upon the head of the household continuing to hold a seat in the Senate. Although the sons of sitting Senators frequently won seats in the Senate, it was not guaranteed, and the number of candidates usually outnumbered the available seats each year. A family that failed to maintain either the income qualification or the requirement for active service in the Senate would revert to the class just below the Senators – the Equites.

How does all this translate to ranks and status in the SCA? The social rank that we would consider equivalent to the upper nobility of the middle ages belonged, in the Roman world, exclusively to the Senators and their immediate families. In SCA terms, this class would be the Royal and Bestowed Peers, and Landed (Territorial) Barons. The Patricians were a subset of the Senatorial class, equivalent to the Royal Peers in the SCA. The Bestowed Peers would be most equivalent to the Senators, some of whom would be Patricians (Royal Peers) while the rest were not. Landed (Territorial) Barons would be, in practical terms, most equivalent to a Legatus August pro Praetore Augusti, which means literally "envoy of the emperor - acting for the praetor". This was the official title of a governor or governing general of an Imperial Province under the Roman Empire. These men were always Senators of consular or praetorian rank.

The EQUITES , or “Equestrians” (Knights), were descendants of the 100 young men chosen by Romulus, the founder of Rome, to serve as his personal mounted guards. The third king of Rome, Tullus Hostilius, expanded the number of mounted guards to 300. The Equites were chosen from both Patrician and Plebeian (commoner) families, the requirements being that they must be at least 18 years old and must have a personal fortune of at least 400,000 sestertii (a considerable amount of money at that time) and must be financially stable. Their duties were expanded from simply serving in the army to also acting as jurymen and judges, and taking charge of the public revenues, public administration, and public finance.

The Equites formed the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome. The rank of Eques was passed from father to son, as long as the family continued to meet the property requirements. By the late Republic the property threshold stood at 50,000 denarii, which was doubled to 100,000 denarii (roughly equal to the annual salary of 450 legionaries) by emperor Augustus. Because Senators and their families were barred by law from engaging in non-agricultural commerce, the Equites dominated the mining, shipping, banking and money lending, tax farming (tax collecing schemes), and manufacturing industries. An Equites engaged in any of these professions was required by law to sell their businesses and adhere to Senatorial rules if they succeeded in being elected to a Senatorial position.

By the early Empire there was a clear career path for both the young men of Senatorial and Equites families, who both served initially as Equites. After completing their education, young men began a period of junior administrative posts in Rome or elsewhere in Italy; followed by a period of military service as an army officer (usually about a decade); followed by senior administrative or military posts in the provinces; possibly followed by high ranking administrative or military posts in Rome. Taken together, the Senators and Equites were a small elite group of no more than 10,000 members who dominated the political, military, and economic power of an empire made up of about 60 million people.

In SCA terms, this means that despite the use of the term “Equites” appearing to allude to “knights”, the closest equivalent SCA rank would be those individuals with an Award of Arms, a Grant of Arms, or a Court Barony.

The PLEBEIANS or PLEBS (common people) made up the largest body of people in Roman society. They were the working class - freeborn citizens of Rome whose parents were Roman citizens. They were distinct from the groups who were not considered full Roman citizens, such as the Latins, the Peregrini, and the Libertini.

In the earliest days of Rome, the Plebeians were any tribe or clan that did not have advisors or representatives appointed to serve the king. Over time the word “plebeian” (which is related to the Greek word “plethos” meaning “crowd”) came to simply mean “the common people.” During the Kingdom of Rome, the Plebeians were excluded by law from holding any political or religious offices. They could serve in the army, but rarely became military officers. They were required to obey the laws of Rome but were not permitted to even know what those laws were!

Unhappiness with the status quo repeatedly turned into a protest called a secessio plebis. During a secession plebis, the Plebs would abandon the city of Rome en masse, shutting down all shops, workshops, taverns, inns. Nearly all commercial transactions of any kind ceased. There is some disagreement on how many times this happened, but most agree that there were at least five such protests over the course of about 200 years between 494 and 287 BCE. This period is called the “Conflict of the Orders” and the result was that by the early days of the Roman Republic, there had been several reforms. The 'Law of the Twelve Tables' was published publicly, the passage of the Lex Canuleia permitted intermarriage between members of the Plebeian and Patrician classes, many political, administrative, and religious offices were opened to, or created for, Plebeians, and the concilium plebis (assembly of plebeians) was formed and given authority to pass legislation that was binding on all Roman citizens. The climax of the Conflict of the Orders came when, in 287 BCE, the Patricians and Plebeians were declared to be equals under the law.

Following these changes, the distinctions between patricians and plebeians became less important. Over time some patrician families lost their fortunes, their political power, or died out entirely. Some plebeian families gained wealth, land, and political power. A plebeian who was the first of his family to be elected consul (the highest elected political office in the Roman Republic) was called a novus homo (“new man”), and he and his descendants became nobiles (nobles) and part of the elite. In the Empire period the Emperor sometimes granted the title of patricius on families that were not descended of patrician families but had achieved great wealth, political prominence, and high rank.

Participants in the SCA who have not yet earned an Award of Arms are roughly equivalent to the Plebeians of ancient Rome. Like the Plebeians of old, they have the same rights as all other members of the SCA, and they have the opportunity, and ability, to earn high rank and esteem. Who knows, in the SCA today’s Pleb may be tomorrow’s Emperor!

Below the Common People, but above the Slaves, were three classes of non-citizens known collectively as the PROLETARIANS or PROLES: the Latins, the Foreigners, and the Freed People. None of these people had any distinctive form of dress – their primary distinction being that they were considered non-citizens and, as such, they were denied the right to wear a toga or stola (the distinguishing garments of Roman citizens).

• The LATINI (Latins) were freeborn residents of Italy, but not of the city-state of Rome, and as such did not share the same rights as the Plebeians until 89 BCE when they were granted full Roman citizenship.
• The PEREGRINI were “foreigners” – freeborn men and women living in the Roman provinces and territories. In 212 CE, most of the freeborn people living within the entirety of the Roman empire were granted full Roman citizenship.
• The LIBERTINI were men and women who had been slaves but who had been formally freed, or who had purchased their freedom. Freed People were not eligible to hold public office, regardless of their wealth (and some were very wealthy!). Any children born after they had achieved their freedom, however, were freeborn citizens and as such were Plebians and could become Equites if they became wealthy enough. There was some social stigma attached to being the son of a freed slave, so it was not realistically possible to become a Senator, though a freedman’s grandson or great-grandson might be able to make that transition.
• The women and children of the lower classes were automatically included in the social class of their fathers or husbands, except in the case of Latins, Foreigners, and Slaves. In those cases, the children took the social status of their mother, even if their father was a freeborn Roman citizen.

SERVI (slaves) were the lowest class of Roman society, though slavery in the Roman Empire was not exactly like the slavery most modern people think of today. Slavery was regarded as a circumstance of birth, misfortune, or war and was not limited to, or defined by, gender, ethnicity, or race. It was also not regarded as an inescapably permanent condition. The majority of slaves were debtors or prisoners of war, or their descendants. All children born to a female slave were slaves, though if she obtained her freedom there were many ways to obtain the freedom of her children as well.

There were several paths to freedom:

• Many slave owners freed any slaves whom they believed to be their own natural children
• Some slaves were rewarded for their faithful service with their freedom, often as a condition of their owner’s will.
• Although slaves were the property of their owners, by custom they could earn small amounts of money and build their own savings, called peculium, which they could use to purchase their own freedom.

Slaves in ancient Rome had no special distinction in the way they dressed. Their appearance depended largely on the generosity (or lack thereof) of their owners, though among the rich it was considered a display of wealth to have your slaves appear well dressed. The only caveat was that slaves were expressly forbidden to wear the clothing reserved for Roman citizens - the toga for adult male slaves and children, and the stola for adult female slaves. Slaves who had run away several times might be made to wear metal collars to make them easier to identify.

Slaves were not exclusively owned by the upper classes. Many Plebeians owned slaves, and it was common for soldiers serving in the provinces to own slaves as well. It was not uncommon for soldiers retiring from service to grant freedom to their favorite female slave and then marry her. Many of the tombstones in Britannia and Gaul are dedicated to the freed wives of retired legionaries.

Roman Social Hierarchies:

• GENUS (Ancestry) - Patricians vs. Plebeians. As discussed above, it's mostly a "snob" thing at this point.
• CENSUS ORDO (Rank) - as discussed above, the levels of the Census Ordo were based principally on wealth and political power/privilege. The ranks were: The Ruler & his family, the SENATUS ROMANUS, the EQUITES, the PLEBEIANS, the PROLES, and the SERVI.
• CURSUS HONORUM (Course of Offices) - this is the sequential order of public offices held by politicians in the Republic and Empire. The Cursus Honorum was a mixture of military and political administrative posts touched on earlier that were designed to gradually increase the rank and political importance of young men of senatorial rank.
  • Each post had a minimum age for election to the post, with rules prescribing the minimum time between holding successive offices. There were also laws the were supposed to forbid holding an office repeatedly, although these were not always applied. The offices, in order, were:
    1. Military Tribune - minimum age of 20 years
    2. Quaestor - minimum age of 30 years
    3. Aedile - minimum age of 36 years
    4. Praetor - minimum age of 39 years
    5. Consul - minimum age of 40 years for Patricians and 42 for Plebeians
    6. Propraetor for a province - following service as a Consul
    7. Proconsul for a province - following service as a Consul, and typically also a Propraetor
    8. Censor - following service as a Proconsul for a province
• CIVITAS (Citizenship) - grades of citizenship with varying rights and privileges:
  • CIVES ROMANI: full Roman citizens who enjoyed full legal protection under Roman law. There were two sub-classes:
    1. OPTIMO IURE - Citizens with the slate of Roman rights under law. The men of the Patrician, Senatorial, Equites, and Plebeian classes made up the Optimo Iure. The list of rights included:
       • Ius gentium - the codification in Roman law of the widely accepted international law of the time which was based on the commercial law of the Greek city-states. The Ius gentium was considered to be held by all people, citizens, non-citizens, and visitors alike. It was more of a basic concept of human rights, rather than a right attached to citizenship.
       • Ius commercii - the right to make legal contracts and to own property.
       • Ius conubii - the right to have a legal marriage with a Roman citizen, to have the legal rights of the PATER FAMILIAS over the family (if you were male), and for all children resulting from the marriage to be Roman citizens.
       • Ius haereditatis - the right of inheritance.
       • Ius honorum - the right the run for, and hold, civil and public offices.
       • Ius imaginis - the right to use or display pictures or statues of of ancestors.
       • Ius migrationis - the right to preserve one's level of citizenship upon relocation to another city or state of comparable status under Roman jurisdiction. For example, a citizen could emigrate to a Roman colony without any loss of status, but if they emigrated to a colonia (an area with Roman outposts but which was not under full Roman jurisdiction) they would be reduced to the same non-citizen status as the local inhabitants.
       • Ius suffragii - the right to vote in Roman assemblies.
       • Ius trium liberorum - during the Empire, the right of a parent of three or more children to be exempted from some taxes, to receive a triple allowance of grain, to have priority in bearing offices, and exemption from certain provisions of guardianship.
       • Additional rights included immunity from some taxes, legal obligations and local rules, the right to sue or be sued in court, the right to a legal trial and to defend oneself in court, the right to appeal the decisions of magistrates and the lower courts, the right to commute a death sentence to voluntary exile from Rome (except when convicted of treason) and, if accused of treason, the right to be tried in Rome. In addition, Roman citizens could not be whipped or tortured and, if given a death sentence, could not be sentenced to die on the cross.
    2. NON OPTIMO IURE - Citizens who held all the rights of citizenship except the right to vote or hold public office. The wives, daughters, and underage sons of the Optimo Iure fell into this category.
    3. LATINI - The Latini held many of the rights of citizenship, but were specifically denied the right to have a legal marriage with a Roman citizen. Although the term "Latini" was originally an ethnic description used for the citizens of the Latin League who came under Roman control at the close of the Latin War in 338 BC, by the mid Republic era it had become a legal description for those people with some, but not full, citizenship rights. Freedmen, Roman citizens convicted of crimes, and citizens willingly settling in coloniae all held this status under the law.
    4. SOCII - Citizens of states which had treaty obligations with Rome which typically granted certain legal rights to these citizens under Roman law in exchange for specified military service.
    5. PEREGRINI or PROVINCIALES (Foreigners) – free-born foreigners living within areas governed by Rome. They typically received only the rights of the Ius gentium. Special laws could also be enacted to govern their conduct and resolve their disputes. In 212 CE, Emperor Caracalla extended full Roman citizenship to all the freeborn men in the Empire.

SERVI (Slaves) – Slaves were not citizens, and were considered legal property, though legislation was passed to protect the lives and health of slaves. The Servi did not have any of the rights of Roman citizens.