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B.A. History (Hons.) Sem. II Social Formations and Cultural Patterns of the Ancient and Medieval World : Dr. Richa Malhotra Date: 23th March 2020

Dear Students,

Hope you all are fine and taking all precautions to stay safe and healthy. I have sent on two online Sofo books in Hindi to Sofo WhatsApp group and email group, one by S.R. Goyal and second by R.N. Tripathy.

Today, we are discussing unit I topic - : Imperial Expansion and Social Tension in the Roman .

Important terms related with Conflict of Orders

• Patricians: In early , the patricians (patricii) were a highly privileged aristocratic class of Roman citizens; membership in this class was hereditary and could be achieved only by birth until the end of the Republic. The name probably stems from the word patres, “fathers,” which was applied to the earliest members of the , from whom the clans claimed descent. • : The plebeians (plebei, from plebs, “common people”) were all the Roman citizens who were not patricians. Originally, patricians were forbidden to marry plebeians, so there was no possibility of movement from one order to another. • Order – Groups • – Lowest class of citizens, property less citizens • Secessio/ secession - Withdrawal or the threat of withdrawal from the Roman during times of crisis. • – highest official of • Gentes – kinship group- clan • Comitia - assembly • Comitia Curiata – assembly of all • Comitia Centuriata – assembly of all Roman citizens (Patricians and Plebeians) • Comitia Tributa – assembly • Councilium Plebis – assembly of Plebeians • – elected officials of Roman Republic • Censors – one of the two powerful magistrates • Decemvir - one of the ten magistrates to rule in Rome • - junior magistrates • Nexum- • Assidui- Small

Summary of the topic: The story of the conflict of Orders begins with the beginning of the Republic in Rome in 509 BCE. The year 509 BCE, is important when the ended and Republican form of began which was ruled by senators and a . These senators were aristocrats (Patricians) who misused their privileges. They exploited the people (Plebeians) who were oppressed, had no privileges, no political rights /voice and were stricken with hunger, and powerlessness. This conflict continued roughly from 494 BCE to 287 CE. This led to a struggle between the people (plebeians) and the aristocrats (Patricians) that is called the Conflict of the Orders. The term "Orders" mean groups, it refers to the patrician and plebeian groups of Roman citizens. To help resolve the conflict between the orders, the patrician order gradually gave up most of their privileges and gradually introduced various reforms (code of the -450 BCE, Nexum abolition -326BCE and Lex Hortensia- 287 BCE) but retained vestigial and religious one.

Conflict of the Orders: Patricians and Plebeians During the time of the and the Roman Republic, Roman society was divided between two important classes – the patricians and the plebeians. Originally, the patricians were part of the and enjoyed greater privileges and rights than the plebeians. Following the Conflict of the Orders, however, the distinction between patrician and plebeian lost importance, as the plebeians (at least the wealthiest among them) could now aspire to political power. According to roman historian , after Rome was founded, selected 100 men to form the Roman Senate, which would govern the newly-formed city. By virtue of their rank, these men were called ‘patres’ (meaning ‘fathers’), and their descendants formed the patrician class. As the ruling class of Rome, the patricians enjoyed a variety of privileges. For example, it was only members of the patricians who were allowed to hold political and religious offices.

Unlike the patricians, the origin of the plebeian class was not recorded by the ancient authors. This is not surprising since in ancient period no one recorded the history of common people and the plebeians were not part of Rome’s ruling but were members of the general citizenry. The plebeians were powerless citizens of Rome and they wanted to change the status quo. This resulted in the Conflict of the Orders, a struggle between the patrician and the plebeian classes that lasted from 500 to 287 BC.

The Conflict of the Orders began as a result of the dissatisfaction felt by the plebeians regarding the status quo in Rome. Till then, political power was monopolized by the patrician class. The situation deteriorated further around the end of the 6 th century BC. In 509 BC, Tarquinius Superbus, the last Roman was deposed, and the Roman Republic was founded. One of the consequences of this change from monarchy to republic was the increase in the power held by the patricians. An example of this is the loss of access by the plebeians to public land (which had been regal domain during the Roman Kingdom). In order to increase their wealth, the patricians seized these lands and either rented them out, or had slaves work on them.

The plebeians were oppressed by hunger, poverty, and powerlessness. Allotments of land didn't solve the problems of poor farmers whose tiny plots stopped producing when overworked. Some plebeians whose land had been sacked by the couldn't afford to rebuild, so they were forced to borrow. Interest rates were exorbitant, but since land couldn't be used for security, farmers in need of loans had to enter into contracts (nexa), pledging personal service. Farmers who defaulted (addicti), could be sold into or even killed. Grain shortages led to famine, which repeatedly (among other years: 496, 492, 486, 477, 476, 456 and 453 B.C.) compounded the problems of the poor.

Some patricians were making a profit and gaining slaves, even if the people to whom they lent money defaulted. But Rome was more than just the patricians. It was becoming the main power in and would soon become the dominant Mediterranean power. What it needed was a fighting force. Referring back to the similarity with Greece mentioned earlier, Greece had needed its fighters, too, and made concessions to the lower classes in order to get bodies. Since there weren't enough patricians in Rome to do all the fighting the young Roman Republic engaged in with its neighbors, the patricians soon realized they needed strong, healthy, young plebeian bodies to defend Rome. In the first few decades following the expulsion of the last king, the plebeians had to create ways of dealing with problems caused or exacerbated by the patricians like poverty, occasional famine and lack of political clout.

Their solution to at least the third problem was to set up their own separate, plebeian assemblies, and secede. Since the patricians needed the physical bodies of the plebeians as fighting men, the plebeian secession was a serious problem. The patricians had to yield to some of the plebeian demands.

Codified

After inclusion in the ranks of the ruling class via the office of and the vote, the next step was for the plebeians to demand codified law. Without a written law, individual magistrates could interpret tradition however they wished. This resulted in unfair and seemingly arbitrary decisions. The plebeians insisted that this custom end. If were written down, magistrates could no longer be so arbitrary. There is a tradition that in 454 B.C. three commissioners went to Greece to study its written legal documents.

In 451, upon the return of the commission of three to Rome, a group of 10 men was established to write down the laws. These 10, all patricians according to the ancient tradition (although one appears to have had a plebeian name), were the [decem=10; viri=men]. They replaced the year's and tribunes and were given additional powers. One of these extra powers was that the Decemviri's decisions could not be appealed. The 10 men wrote down laws on 10 tablets. At the end of their term, the first 10 men were replaced by another group of 10 in order to finish the task. This time, half the members may have been plebeian.

Cicero, writing some 3 centuries later, refers to the 2 new tablets, created by the second set of Decemviri (Decemvirs), as "unjust laws." Not only were their laws unjust, but the Decemvirs who wouldn't step down from office began to abuse their power. Although failure to step down at the end of the year had always been a possibility with the consuls and dictators, it hadn't happened. Appius , who had served on both decemvirates, acted despotically. This early despotic Appius Claudius pursued and brought a fraudulent legal decision against a free woman, , daughter of a high ranking soldier, Lucius Verginius. As a result of Appius Claudius' lustful, self-serving actions, the plebeians seceded again. To restore order, the Decemvirs finally abdicated, as they should have done earlier.

The 12 tablets were an important move in the direction of what we would call equal rights for the plebeians, but there was still much to do. The law against intermarriage between the classes was repealed in 445. When the plebeians proposed that they should be eligible for the highest office, the consulship, the Senate wouldn't completely oblige, but instead created what we might call a "separate, but equal" new office known as with consular power. This office effectively meant plebeians could wield the same power as the patricians. According to Cornell the "code" was a list of injunctions and prohibitions. There are specific areas of concern: family, marriage, divorce, inheritance, property, assault, debt, debt-bondage (nexum), freeing of slaves, summonses, funeral behaviour and more.

In the early years of the Roman Republic, patricians controlled all the religious and political offices; plebeians had no right of appeal against decisions of the patrician government, since no laws were codified or published. The struggle of the plebeians to gain rights and an opportunity for advancement within Roman society and political structures is known as “the conflict of orders.” The one advantage plebeians had over patricians lay in their numbers, and they used this effectively through the strategy of secession (secessio), withdrawal or the threat of withdrawal from the Roman state during times of crisis. Here are some of the major landmarks in the conflict of orders, which was largely bloodless and free of violence:

• 494 BCE: traditional date of the First Secession of the Plebs, during which they established their own assembly (Councilium Plebis) and elected their own magistrates, the Tribunes and the Plebeian Aediles. • 450 BCE: traditional date of the Law of the Twelve Tables, the first codification of . • 445 BCE: patricians and plebeians were permitted to intermarry. • 367 BCE: plebeians became eligible for the consulship. • 342 BCE: law passed making it mandatory that one of the two Consuls must be a plebeian. • 339 BCE: law passed making it mandatory that one of the two Censors must be a plebeian. • 300 BCE: half of the priesthoods (which were also state offices) must be plebeian. • 287 BCE: Third Secession, won the concession that all plebiscites, measures passed in the Councilium Plebis, had the force of laws for the whole Roman state.

The plebeians grew increasingly displeased with this inequity and began making demands to right these wrongs. The first important incident in the Conflict of the Orders occurred in 494 BC. In that year, Rome was at war with the Italic tribes. Instead of fighting the enemy, however, the plebeians seceded from Rome to the Sacred Mountain outside the city. The patricians were aware that the secession of the plebs would have dire consequences for Rome’s military might, as there would not be enough fighting men to defend Rome. Therefore, they decided to negotiate with the plebeians, which resulted in the plebeians being granted the right to elect their own officials, who were known as the Plebeian Tribunes.

As the plebeians formed the majority of Rome’s citizenry, secession was a powerful weapon at their disposal and was used several times more after 494 BC. Each time the plebeians seceded, the patricians were forced to negotiate, and to concede to their demands. In 451 BC, for example, the secession by the plebeians resulted in the appointment of the decemvirate, a commission of ten men. Another secession occurred in 445 BC, which resulted in the passing of the Canuleian Law. This law allowed the patricians and plebeians to inter marry.

Nevertheless, secession was not always necessary for the plebeians to obtain what they wanted. Without the use of secession, the plebeians were still able to make demands on the patricians and negotiate with them. In 367 BC, for instance, the plebeians won the right to be elected consul, and the first consul from the plebeian class was chosen in the following year. From 300 BC onwards, the plebeians were also allowed to serve in the priesthoods. As the Conflict of the Orders dragged on, the gap between the patricians and plebeians, in terms of privileges and rights, decreased. As the Conflict of the Orders began with a plebeian secession, so was it ended by another. In 287 BC, the plebeians seceded for the last time. The result of the secession was the passing of the Hortensian Law, which made all resolutions passed by the binding on all Roman citizens, thus placing the plebeians, politically speaking, on equal footing with the patricians. Repercussions of the Conflict of Orders were:

 Breakdown of an of birth  Replacement of Patrician aristocracy with an aristocracy based on the holding of political offices and land-based wealth.  The assemblies of Roman citizens (comitia curiata, comitia centuriata and comitia tribute), the councilium plebis and tribunes have some voice in the affairs of the Roman state.  New institutions were created but the old were not formally abandoned.  The senate coexisted with councilium plebis, comitia curiata and comitia centuriata with comitia tribute and the consuls with the tribunes.  The hierarchical, class-based nature of Roman society was not destroyed completely. The senate consisting of Patricians never gave up its dominant position within the Roman state. The Patricians retained its overall control over the decision making process.  The mid Republic had multiple centers of power which created political chaos and instability amidst territorial expansion.  The lives and the prospects of the poorer segments of society did not improve much. New groups became powerful and condition of common people remained largely the same.

Sources: Recommended reading list

• Anderson, P. (1988). Passages from Antiquity to . London and New York: Verso, (Rome) Part One/I/ Chapters 1, 4 (pp. 18-28 and 53-103). • Scarre, C. and B. Fagan. (2008). Ancient Civilisations. New Jersey: Pearson, (on Rome) Chapter 11, pp. 278-303. • Bradley, K. (1994). Slavery and Society at Rome, Cambridge: Cambridge Press, Chapter 2, pp. 10-30. • Brunt, P.A. (1966). “The Roman Mob,” Past and Present, No. 35, Dec. 1966, pp. 3- 27 • Hopkins, K. (1978). Conquerors and Slaves. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978, Chapter 2, pp. 99-132. • Joshel, S. R. (2010). Slavery in the Roman World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Chapters 1, 2 and 5, pp.18-76 and 161-214. • Scullard, H. H. A History of the Roman World, 753 to 146 BC. Routledge, 2008. • फ़ा셂की, ए. (2015). प्राचीन और मध्यकालीन सामजिक संरचनाएं और संस्कृजिया更, जिल्ली, मानक प्रकाशन. • गोयल, एस. आर. (2011). जिश्व की प्राचीन सभ्यिाएं , बनारस, जिश्वजिद्यालय प्रकाशन.

Dr. Richa Malhotra, Associate , Department of History, CVS ……………………………………………………………………………………………..