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Belonging to one of these upper classes had many significant consequences for Romans besides prestige, for social class determined one's economic and political opportunities, as well as legal rights, benefits and penalties. Rome had nothing comparable to our middle class; the gulf between these two upper classes and the much larger lower classes was immense.

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The military of ancient Rome, according to Titus Livius, one of the more illustrious historians of Rome over the centuries, was a key element in the rise of Rome over "above seven hundred years" from a small settlement in Latium to the capital of an empire governing a wide region around the shores of the Mediterranean, or, as the Romans themselves said, ''mare nostrum'', "our sea."

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The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Social Order. Slaves & Freemen | PBS

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The Roman Empire Republic to Empire Age of Augustus Years of Trial Empire Reborn Emperors Social Order - Patricians - Senators - Equestrians - Plebians - Slaves & Freemen - Soldiers - Women - On The Frontiers Life in Roman Times Writers Enemies and Rebels Religion

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John North examines how genuine democracy was in Republican Rome, and the perils and pleasures of being a citizen and/or running for office.

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The Twelve Tables: Basis of Roman Law

In the history of governments, the Twelve Tables occupy a special place. At once, they are the basis of the Roman Republic, the basis of Roman Law for centuries, and the germ of the idea that evolved into humanism, the philosophy of John Locke, and the Declaration if Independence.

We're talking about, of course, the protection of certain rights.

By about the 6th century B.C., Roman people (who weren't slaves) could be divided into two classes: patricians and plebeians. The former were wealthy, landowning citizens who had money and power and wealth and the right to vote. The latter were none of the above (or very little) but were not slaves. Since the patricians made up most of the ruling class and made the laws, they tended to make laws to protect their own interests. If the interests of the plebeians got in the way, then the laws came first--at least that's what the patricians thought.

The plebeians had other ideas. They wanted certain basic rights, and they were willing to cause civil disturbances to get it. They even threatened to secede, in 494. By this time, the sheer numbers of the plebeian class made the patricians sit up in their governing chairs and take notice. The result was the Twelve Tables.

The Tables themselves, which were finalized in the mid-5th century, were pieces of stone with writing carved into them. The main benefit of having laws written down was that the lawmakers and law-enforcers couldn't change them to suit their whims. Once a law was made public (and carving it into stone was about as public as it got), the law was known to everyone. This also had the benefit for the lawmakers and law-enforcers of ruling out a lawbreaker's protestation that he or she didn't know that what he or she was doing was against the law. If a law was made public, then it was everyone's responsibility to know and obey.

Specifically , of the fragments of the Twelve Tables we have remaining, here are some points of interest:

Table I mandates that when a person is accused of something, both accused and accuser must be present at a hearing or trial on the matter. Also, if both parties don't show up for a court date, the judge is free to rule in favor of the party that did show up.

Table III gives debtors 30 days to pay off a debt. After that, a creditor is free to seize the debtor and make him or her a prisoner.

Table IV makes a man's will binding.

Table VIII lists specific punishments for certain crimes. It also says that if a person fails to show up as a trial witness, then that person will never again be allowed to be a witness. Most importantly, it says that a person shown to have lied in court will be put to death.

Table IX specifies capital punishment for judges who have taken bribes and for people who have committed treason.

It's also interesting to note that Table XI prohibits marriages between plebeians and patricians. So, even though the plebeians got some very important rights through the Twelve Tables, they couldn't marry into the upper class. The ruling class had to keep the other hand, after all.

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The Twelve Tables: Basis of Roman Law In the history of governments, the Twelve Tables occupy a special place. At once, they are the basis of the Roman Republic, the basis of Roman Law for centuries, and the germ of the idea that evolved into humanism, the philosophy of John Locke, and the Declaration if Independence.

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For the Romans, it was not true that all people are created equal. Roman society, like most ancient societies, was heavily stratified. Some of the people resident in ancient Rome were slaves, who lacked any power of their own. Unlike modern era slaves, however, Roman slaves could win or earn their freedom.

In the early years, at the top of Roman Society were kings who held supreme power, but soon enough the kings were thrown out. Likewise, the rest of the social hierarchy was also adaptable:

The lower, plebeian class, by nature the majority of the Roman population, wanted, demanded, and got more.

A wealthy class developed between the nobles and plebeians.

Roman Picture Gallery

Newly freed slaves could become part of the plebeian class if they were citizens. Whether or not a manumitted (freed) slave became a citizen depended on whether the slave was of age, his master was a citizen, and whether the ceremony was formal. Libertinus is the Latin term for a freedman. A freedman would remain a client of his former master.

What Is the Difference Between Freedman/Freedwoman and Free Born? More "

Equites were wealthy Roman horsemen or knights. The name is derived from the Latin for horse, equus. The equites came to be a social class just under the patricians. Their number included Rome's successful businessmen. More "

The king was the head of the people, chief priest, a leader in war, and the judge whose sentence couldn't be appealed. He convened the Roman Senate. He was accompanied by 12 lictors who carried a bundle of rods with a symbolic death-wielding axe in the center of the bundle. However much power he had, he could be kicked out. After the expulsion of the last of the Tarquins, the 7 kings of Rome were remembered with such hatred that there were never again kings in Rome. This is true despite the fact that there were Roman emperors who were monarchs with as much power as the kings. More "

Romans could be either patrons or clients. This was a mutually beneficial relationship.

The number of clients and sometimes the status of clients conferred prestige on the patron. Roman clients owed their votes to the patron. Roman patrons protected their clients, gave legal advice, and helped the clients financially or in other ways.

A patron could have a patron of his own; therefore, a client, could have his own clients, but when two high status Romans had a relationship of mutual benefit, they were likely to choose the label amicus 'friend' to describe the relationship since amicus did not imply stratification.

It is always interesting to speculate on the extent to which (the media portrayal of) the mafia is dependent on this ancient mutually beneficial Roman institution. More "

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From Kings to Slaves: Explore Roman Class Structure

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For the Romans, it was not true that all people are created equal. Roman society, like most ancient societies, was heavily stratified. Some of the people resident in ancient Rome were slaves, who lacked any power of their own. Unlike modern era slaves, however, Roman slaves could win or earn their freedom.

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they teched wealthy boys and girls.

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Citation: C N Trueman "Roman Education"
historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 16 Mar 2015. 23 Feb 2018.

Education was very important to the Ancient Romans. The rich people in Ancient Rome put a great deal of faith in education. While the poor in Ancient Rome did not receive a formal education, many still learned to read and write. Children from rich families, however, were well schooled and were taught by a private tutor at home or went to what we would recognise as schools. In general, schools as we would recognise them, were for boys only. Also, Roman schools were rarely an individual building but an extension of a shop - separated from the crowd by a mere curtain!

Boys being educated
Learning in Roman schools was based on fear. Boys were beaten for the slightest offence as a belief existed that a boy would learn correctly and accurately if he feared being caned if he got something wrong. For boys who continued to get things wrong, some schools had a policy of having pupils held down by two slaves while his tutor beat him with a leather whip.

There was not a great deal of subject choice in a Roman school. Therefore a boredom threshold must have been quickly reached by children. This must have been made worse, by the fact that the school day was longer than children now are used to. It seems likely that during the school day, a child would rise at sunrise (not wanting to be late as this would lead to a caning), work all day with a short break at lunch, and then home to be in bed by sunset for the next day. Lessons were simply learned by heart. Children did not need to know why something was right - only to know that it was right and that they would escape a beating. Lessons were also simply dictated as there were no books as they were simply too expensive.

There were two types of schools in Ancient Rome. The first type of school was for younger children aged up to 11 or 12 where they learned to read and write and to do basic mathematics. At these schools, children worked on an abacus to learn basic mathematics. For writing, they used a stylus and a wax tablet. Older children would go to more advanced schools where they did specific studies on topics such as public speaking. They would also study the writings of the great intellects of Ancient Rome such as Cicero. Girls rarely went to these schools as they were allowed to get married at the age of 12 whereas boys had to wait until they were 14 to get married.

Children worked a seven-day week - there was no break for the weekend! However, this was not as dire as it appears. There were many school holidays - religious holidays (and there were many of them) meant that children did not have to go to school. Market days also resulted in school closures and children also had a summer holiday!

In general, girls did not go to school. Girls from rich families did receive an education, but this was done at home. Here they were taught how to run a good household and how to be a good wife in general - in preparation for the time they got married. Part of their education would have been music, sewing and the competent running of a kitchen.

For boys, practice made perfect. They were not allowed to write on what we would consider to be paper as it was very expensive. Boys first practised on a wax tablet. Only when they had shown that they could write well, were they allowed to write on paper - which was made on the Ancient Egyptian method of papyrus reeds. Their 'pens' were quills and their ink was a mixture of gum, soot and, sometimes, the ink from an octopus.

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Education was very important to the Ancient Romans. The rich people in Ancient Rome put a great deal of faith in education. While the poor in Ancient Rome did not receive a formal education, many still learned to read and write. Children from rich families, however, were well schooled and were taught by a private ...

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The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Life In Roman Times. Family Life | PBS

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The Roman Empire Republic to Empire Age of Augustus Years of Trial Empire Reborn Emperors Social Order Life in Roman Times - Family Life - Weddings, Marriages and Divorce - Home Life - Baths - Gladiators - Chariot Races Writers Enemies and Rebels Religion

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27 BC to 1453 AD

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Romulus, the year 753 b.c.e he was the first king of Rome