*dumb* questions on roman society (1 Viewer)

[ay_caramba]

questions on roman society

ok this is gonna sound fairly stupid..
but what is an equite?
whats an equestrian??
what are the social groups in late roman society? is it just plebs and patricians?
what are the political groups???

um thanx

 

[ay_caramba]

plz help me.. not knowing this stuff is killing me.. KILLING ME ....AAAAARGh

 

[randhi]

social groups you have the plebs, equestrians, the senatorial, patricians.

 

[Plebeian]

Well we haven't done Roman society yet but we learnt a bit in Augustus and the Julio-Claudians..

An equite is the same thing as an equestrian..basically they are businessmen, middle-upper class - merchants, etc. Under Augustus they began to participate in the Imperial bureacracy.

Senatorial is not a separate group to the patricians, senators were selected from the patrician class.

The three main social classes are plebeians, equites (aka equestrians), and patricians.

I'm not sure about political groups but possibly: populares (senators who support the interests of the common people) vs. optimates (senators who support the interests of the rich ie themselves)

 

[ay_caramba]

thanx so much , i understand what equestrians r now! just one more thing, could plebeians become senators at all?? or was that just restricted to patricians?
thanx again

 

[Plebeian]

I'm pretty sure plebeians couldn't become senators - if they could (legally) it would have been extremely rare.

 

[olay]

Originally posted by Techie

An equite is the same thing as an equestrian..basically they are businessmen, middle-upper class - merchants, etc. Under Augustus they began to participate in the Imperial bureacracy.

Senatorial is not a separate group to the patricians, senators were selected from the patrician class.

The three main social classes are plebeians, equites (aka equestrians), and patricians.

^^^ thats the right answer.

as for political parties, theres the senate and the tribune of the plebs.

The tribunate of the plebs formed in the early republic when the consulship was exclusive to patricians. They excluded Patricians from the tribunate and plebian assemblies. Later though, the magistracies that were once exclusively patrician were open to the plebs. regardless, patricians were still excluded from the tribunate. technically, tribunes weren't members of the Senate, but they could go to the Senate's meetings and had the right of veto over 'em.

hope that helps i think i made it sound kinda confusing....but if u read it slow enough i think it makes sense

 

[ay_caramba]

woohoo i get it!! thanx guys!

 

[AsyLum]

it differs between which period you are studying in

 

[olay]

oops asylum is right. 'late roman society'.... i took that as the end of the roman republic, right before it became a principate. is that what you're after? cos thereafter the dynamics completely change.

 

[ay_caramba]

k im studying Roman society 78-28 BC... so were tribunes not members of the senate?? i looked over my notes and it seems to imply plebeians could become senators- my teacher drew up this pyramid diagram thing with plebs on one end of the base, and patricians on the other end- and diagram basically showed the progression of offices in the senate... so plebs could become senators in this period??
thanx

 

[Plebeian]

Late reply here, but:

No. Plebs couldn't become senators. It was usually just patricians, but later on it was possible for equestrians and rich provincials (basically foreign patricians) to join the Senate.

Tribunes aren't senators, but they can veto senate legislation and summon the senate to vote.

 

[ay_caramba]

k, sorry im a bit confused now.. coz in class my teacher was mentioning something abt how there had to be atleast one plebeian consul (we're doing the period 78-28 B.C) and this seems to contrast with plebeians not being in the senate

would appreciate if someone could clear it up, thanx

 

[Plebeian]

Whoa, sorry! I always assumed it was just patricians and equestrians, and tribune was the only office for plebeians. It seems like that is wrong.

Visit:
http://www.btinternet.com/~caractacus.bear/html/julius_2.html
for some more info.

 

[ay_caramba]

no probs, i was just a bit confused
thanx for the link, it really helped clear it up

 

[virgin^sexy]

i'm needing similar information to ay_caramba but up mainly for Pompeii til the volcanic eruption of AD79. would the stuff in this thread apply to me also? and did anything dramatic happen between ay_'s time period and the eruption of vesuvius?