Western Civilization

landowners, advised them. Thus, the Roman state was

an aristocratic republic controlled by a relatively small

group of privileged people.

THE STRUGGLE OF THE ORDERS:SOCIAL DIVISIONS IN THE ROMAN

REPUBLIC The most noticeable element in the social orga-

nization of early Rome was the division between two

groups—thepatriciansand theplebeians(pli-BEE-

unz). The patrician class in Rome consisted of families

who were descended from the original senators

appointed during the period of the kings. Their initial

prominence was probably due to their wealth as great

landowners. Thus, the patricians constituted an aris-

tocraticgoverningclass.Onlytheycouldbeconsuls,

magistrates, and senators. Through their patronage of

large numbers of dependent clients, they could con-

trol the centuriate assembly and many other facets of

Roman life.

The plebeians constituted the considerably larger

group of “independent, unprivileged, poorer, and vulner-

able men” as well as nonpatrician large landowners, less

wealthy landholders, craftspeople, merchants, and small

farmers. Although they were citizens, they did not pos-

sess the same rights as the patricians. Both patricians

and plebeians could vote, but only the patricians could

be elected to governmental offices. Both had the right to

make legal contracts and marriages, but intermarriage

between patricians and plebeians was forbidden. At the

beginning of the fifth centuryB.C.E., the plebeians began

a struggle to obtain both political and social equality

with the patricians.

The plebeians’ first success came in 494B.C.E., when

they withdrew physically from the state. The patri-

cians, realizing that they could not defend Rome by

themselves, were forced to compromise. Two new offi-

cials known astribunes of the plebswere instituted

(later the number was raised to five and then to ten).

These tribunes were given the power to protect plebe-

ians against arrest by patrician magistrates. Moreover,

after a new popular assembly for plebeians only, called

thecouncil of the plebs, was created in 471B.C.E., the

tribunes became responsible for convoking it and plac-

ing proposals before it. If adopted, these measures

becameplebiscita(pleb-i-SEE-tuh) (“it is the opinion of

the plebs”), but they were binding only on the plebe-

ians, not the patricians. Nevertheless, the council of

the plebs gave the plebeians considerable political

leverage. After 445B.C.E., when a law allowed patricians

and plebeians to intermarry, the division between the

two groups became less important. In the fourth cen-

turyB.C.E., the consulship was opened to plebeians. The

climax of the struggle between the orders came in 287

B.C.E. with the passage of a law that stipulated that all

plebiscita passed by the council of the plebs had the

force of law and were binding on the entire commu-

nity, including patricians.

The struggle between the orders had a significant

impact on the development of the Roman constitution.

Plebeians achieved the right to hold the highest offices

of state, to intermarry with the patricians, and to pass

laws binding on the entire Roman community.

Although the struggle had been long, the Romans had

handled it by compromise, not violent revolution. The-

oretically, by 287B.C.E., all Roman citizens were equal

under the law, and all could strive for political office.

But in reality, as a result of the right of intermarriage,

a select number of patrician and plebeian families

formed a new senatorial aristocracy that came to domi-

nate the political offices. The Roman republic had not

become a democracy.

The Roman Conquest of Italy

At the beginning of the republic, Rome was surrounded

by enemies, including the Etruscans to the north and the

Sabines (SAY-bynz), Volscians (VOL-shunz), and Aequi

(EYE-kweeorEE-kwy) to the east and south. The Latin

communities on the plain of Latium posed an even

more immediate threat. If we are to believe Livy, one

of the chief ancient sources for the history of the early

Roman republic, Rome was engaged in almost continu-

ous warfare with its neighbors for the next hundred

years.

In his account of these years, Livy provided a detailed

narrative of Roman efforts. Many of Livy’s stories

were legendary in character and indeed were modeled

on events in Greek history. But Livy, writing in the

first centuryB.C.E., used such stories to teach Romans

the moral values and virtues that had made Rome

great. These included tenacity, duty, courage, and

especially discipline (see the box on p. 100). Indeed,

Livy recounted stories of military leaders who exe-

cuted their own sons for leaving their place in battle,

a serious offense because the success of the hoplite

infantry depended on maintaining a precise order.

These stories had little basis in fact, but like the story

of George Washington and the cherry tree in American

history, they provided mythic images to reinforce

Roman patriotism.

By 338B.C.E., Rome had crushed the Latin states in

Latium. During the next fifty years, the Romans waged

a fierce struggle with the Samnites (SAM-nyts), a hill

The Roman Republic (ca. 509–264B.C.E.) 99

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