PATRICIANS AND PLEBEIANS: THE FIGHT FOR THE CIVIL RIGHTS IN ANCIENT ROME |
The "elders" of the state delivered their wisdom collectively as the Senate. Although the new form of government allowed all free men to participate, the
reality was that only nobility had access to important political, military, and religious offices. After the expulsion of the kings, patricians controlled theseoffices (the former king's duties devolved for the most part into two elected officials called "consuls"), and dominated the Senate, Rome's most importantdecision-making body. By 287 B.C., that had changed. Roman historians call the struggle between patricians and plebeians for equal access the "conflict of the orders."
By 510 B.C., certain families had already become identified as 'patrician" (from "pater," or father). These fathers of their country gave advice collectively as the Senate. Roman citizens who were not patricians were plebeians, or plebs. Later on wealthy plebeians would constitute another order known as equnes. or knights. SPQR , which means "the Senate and the Roman People," is used to this day as the official designation of official Roman business. The order of these units, senate first, is no coincidence.
Patrician clans, like the Julians extended networks strengthened by marriages and adoptions. Traditional senatorial concerns included fiscal and foreign/military policy . As the Roman state grew, so did the complication of treaties, foreign relations, elections, taxes , military pay, and any other business routinely conducted by a state.
The plebeian order was not characterized by any particular birth or financial qualification, and it did not enjoy a unanimous political outlook. Nevertheless,the plebs demanded basic rights, Non-patricians who were the first consulars in their family were known as "new men." Their descendants would be able toenter the Senate without formality. Among other rights, the plebs at various times demanded the right to intermarry , the right to appeal, and the right to run for public offices.
One important victory for the plebs was the creation and publication of the Twelve Tables, some of the oldest remaining latin texts.C. Plebeian Secession , Their main weapon was secession , physically at first, as the plebs would relocate across the river Tiber. Their presence in the military , as well as in marketplaces and as clients to patrician patrons, was missed. During the Conflict of the Orders, or struggle for rights, the plebs wanted access most particularly to the Senate. Despite the fact that there had been plebeian consuls and senators in the past, general access was not common. While they waited for access to the offices from which they would retire to the sena te, the plebs created an officer, the tribune of the plebs.The plebian tribune not only could attend Senate meetings but exercise the veto.Ultimately the re would be ten, and they could veto one another in the Senate or Assembly. Because of the nature of his office , the plebeian tribune was physically protected by the plebs, who annually took an oath to protect his person with their lives. It was a capital offense to assault a tribune.