Why Were Plebeians Important To Rome?
Why were plebeians so important to Rome?
The Roman Plebeians were members of the common population of Rome and where considered lower class. The word plebs is said to be derived from plere, 'to fill up'. Plebeians were, therefore, people who were considered to be an addition to the 'real' Roman population (livius, 2015). This unkind expression was used by the Roman aristocracy of the early republic, the patricians, who monopolized the magistracies and wanted to keep all others out of office (livius, 2015). They were very poor and consisted of farmers, craftsmen, bakers, and other every day profession.
The importance of Plebeians is identified even before the struggle of the two orders (Patricians and Plebeians) ended in ended in 287B.C.E, …show more content…
This strong sense of protection and defense is something that the people of Rome learned early on in their lives. In 494 BCE, feeling particularly dissatisfied with the consuls and patricians, the commoners of Rome (plebeians) abandoned the city and set up camp on the Sacred Mount. Terrified by the potential consequences of the secession, especially the city’s vulnerability to attack by foreign forces, the patricians quickly offered conditions for reconciliation (Fortuna, H., 2011). Over time as the city grew and Rome began to extend its borders, the plebeians tired of being considered second-class, rebelled, and went on strike, protesting their restriction from participating in their government; this was called the First Secession of the Plebs (Wasson ,D. L.,2014) . The patricians had little choice but to make certain compromises. The plebeians were permitted to create their own assembly called the Concilium Plebis or Council of Plebs. The Council of Plebs named their own magistrates called tribunes and had the power to make laws affecting the plebeians.( Wasson ,D. L.,2014) . According to Livius (2015), when they became tribunes for the first time in 376 VC, they demanded; an adjustment of the debts; this was to please the poor plebeians, an end to the rule by military tribunes and a limit to land ownership to be reviewed stating that no Roman was to possess
The Roman Plebeians were members of the common population of Rome and where considered lower class. The word plebs is said to be derived from plere, 'to fill up'. Plebeians were, therefore, people who were considered to be an addition to the 'real' Roman population (livius, 2015). This unkind expression was used by the Roman aristocracy of the early republic, the patricians, who monopolized the magistracies and wanted to keep all others out of office (livius, 2015). They were very poor and consisted of farmers, craftsmen, bakers, and other every day profession.
The importance of Plebeians is identified even before the struggle of the two orders (Patricians and Plebeians) ended in ended in 287B.C.E, …show more content…
This strong sense of protection and defense is something that the people of Rome learned early on in their lives. In 494 BCE, feeling particularly dissatisfied with the consuls and patricians, the commoners of Rome (plebeians) abandoned the city and set up camp on the Sacred Mount. Terrified by the potential consequences of the secession, especially the city’s vulnerability to attack by foreign forces, the patricians quickly offered conditions for reconciliation (Fortuna, H., 2011). Over time as the city grew and Rome began to extend its borders, the plebeians tired of being considered second-class, rebelled, and went on strike, protesting their restriction from participating in their government; this was called the First Secession of the Plebs (Wasson ,D. L.,2014) . The patricians had little choice but to make certain compromises. The plebeians were permitted to create their own assembly called the Concilium Plebis or Council of Plebs. The Council of Plebs named their own magistrates called tribunes and had the power to make laws affecting the plebeians.( Wasson ,D. L.,2014) . According to Livius (2015), when they became tribunes for the first time in 376 VC, they demanded; an adjustment of the debts; this was to please the poor plebeians, an end to the rule by military tribunes and a limit to land ownership to be reviewed stating that no Roman was to possess