Name - Saikat Mondal

Class - Ug1
Semester - II
Class Roll Number - 20
Registration Number - 20106120020
Paper code -HIST02C4
Subject – Internal Assignment
Topic-Conflict of Orders
Mobile no – 6290303618
Email id - saikatmondal3832@gmail.com
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Conflict of the Orders

Introduction

Roman population from its earliest days is marked by forms of social differentiation which is

very much evident from the archeological remains of the Burials objects found alongside the

body of the deceased which are dated around 6th and 7th century BC. There was an upper layer of

aristocratic families who possessed a relatively large proportion of the available land and who

claimed to descend from the heroes of Roman legends along with them there was a class of more

or less affluent peasants, and below them was a class of poorer peasants may or may not be

owning a tiny plot of land. The farms were almost all self-sufficient family units, and the

shepherd based animal husbandry period has waned out some time ago. Craftsmen and artisans

lived and worked in the city of Rome.1 Based on the evidences of the later period it is assumed

that many of the peasants, even the more prosperous ones, were dependent on or protected by the

aristocrats. These dependant peasants were called clientes, their aristocratic protectors were

known as patroni. This led to development of client –patron relationship. The peasants and

craftsmen who did not enjoy the patronage or protection of the aristocrats were later to be

referred to as “plebeians.” The aristocrats themselves were “patricians”.

The word Patrician, is derived from the Latin word “Patricius”or “Pater” which means father

usually referring to the any member belonging to a group of citizen families who formed a

privileged class in early Rome and clearly distinguishes them from the Plebians. 2 Though the

origin of the class remain uncertain , but the patricians were probably leaders of the more

1 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ANCIENT WORLD, L. de Blois and R.J. van der Spek P-161
2 https://www.britannica.com/topic/patrician , The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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important families or clans who formed the majority , as well as the families from whom were

recruited the most distinguished part of the early cavalry force. They constituted nobility of

birth. We are unable to distinguish when the patricians segregated from the Plebian mass but the

effort by King Servius Tullius to register all citizens in regional tribes and in classes arranged

according to wealth in a way helped to codify the distinction between patrician and plebeian 3.

Main Segregations of Roman Society

The word Plebian is derived from the Latin word Plebs, usually refers to any member of the

general citizenry in ancient Rome as opposed to the privileged patrician class. The difference

was probably based on the wealth and influence of certain families who organized themselves

into patrician clans under the early stages of republic, during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.

Plebeians were at first refused admittance from the Senate and from all public offices of Roman

3 https://www.britannica.com/topic/patrician , The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Republic except that of military tribune. They were also not allowed to marry patricians until the

law known as the Lex Canuleia (445 BCE) was passed4. The plebeians undertook a campaign

known as Conflict of the Orders to have their civil disabilities nullified.

The Conflict or Struggle of the Orders was a political struggle that happened between

the Plebeians (commoners) and Patricians (aristocrats) of the early Roman Republic

which lasted from 500 BC to 287 BC, during which the Plebeians sought political equality with

the Patricians. It played a crucial role in the development of the Constitution of the Roman

Republic and also Roman law 5. This relentless struggle was brought about by the Plebeians

through a set of demands which were made to the Patrician class asking for corrections to the

wrongs that had been done to the plebeians and as a result of which they suffered. Throughout

these hundreds of years of the struggle Plebeians would make a series of demands for

rectification and improvement to their current status within the Republic. Through a lengthy

process of Secessions, revision and promulgation of laws, and openings to political positions and

posts like the post of Consul and others, Plebeians would finally get a chance to fulfill their

aspirations 6. The one advantage plebeians had over patricians lay in their numbers by virtue of

which they effectively used strategy of secession, withdrawal or the threat of withdrawal from

the Roman state during times of crisis.

Phases of The Conflict

In the traditional periodization of the history of ancient Rome, the two centuries or so from 510

to 287 BC are usually referred to as the period of ‘conflict of the orders’ (struggle that took place

between the patricians and plebeians). The recognition conferred to the Tribunes in 494 BC was

4 https://www.britannica.com/topic/plebeian , The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

5 A HISTORY OF ROME :DOWN TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE, M. CARY, H. H. SCULLARD, P -65
6 https://sites.psu.edu/struggleoftheorders/
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one important phase in this conflict. After this development there were mainly four other major

landmarks in the struggle of the plebeians to achieve political equality.

i) One of the foremost demands of the plebeians was that of be a written code of law so

that there was no arbitrary or abusive exercise of judicial authority and powers. The

plebeians threatened the Senate with secession if they don’t create a proper legal

framework within the Roman state. So the Senate set up a ten member commission

known as ‘decemvirs’ presided over by Appius Claudius. The commission prepared a

set of laws for the Romans citizens which came to be known as the Code of the

Twelve Tables were posted on the walls of Roman Senate

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Twelve Tables. It was introduced in c. 450 BC, around that time comitia centuriata

also got established . The Twelve Tables serve the basis of Roman law and this set of

laws decreased the scope for arbitrary exercise of judicial authority by the patricians 7.

ii) The second landmark was the law whereby one of the consulships was opened to the

plebeians in 367 BC. The actual election of a plebeian to the post of Consul came

much later. Since the Consuls were elected by the comitia centuriata (in which the

patricians held the majority of votes) and the names of candidates had to be proposed

by senators, it was quite difficult for a plebeian to be elected to the highest magistracy

of the Roman state. It was only in the last hundred years of the Republic that

plebeians began to regularly hold consulships.8

iii) Another crucial reform was introduced in 326 BC when the debt bondage was

abolished. Roman law had a very rigid provision which related to the strict

enforcement of formal contracts or nexum between the individuals so when Roman

entered into a formal agreement or nexum while contracting a loan in which the

debtor’s person himself was pledged as security, failure to honour the agreement

resulted in debt bondage. As a result the big landowners used Nexum as a device to

convert free peasants into unfree labour. The abolition of nexum was thus a crucial

issue for the plebeians. In 326 BC a law was enacted which prohibited the

enslavement of Roman citizens for non-repayment of debts.

iv) The fourth, and politically the most significant, landmark in the conflict of the orders

during the early Republic was a law that was passed in 287 BC which provided the

7 A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). P-43
8 http://vroma.org/vromans/bmcmanus/orders.html by Barbara F. McManus
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plebeian Tribunes with full-fledged magisterial powers. Again during this time the

plebeians seceded from military service and it coincided with time of fighting with

the Greek states of southern Italy. By a law of 287 BC the decisions of the concilium

plebis were made binding on the Roman state and the Tribunes were authorized to

enforce the decisions of the concilium plebis with the full sanction of the Roman

state, with appropriate punishments given against their violation. Correspondingly,

the tribuneship transformed into a powerful magistracy post in the Roman Republic.

The events of 287 BC are supposed to have brought to an end the conflict of the

orders.9

It needs to be emphasized that the Senate—the membership of which remained predominantly

patrician—never gave up its preeminent position within the Roman state. It made a few

concessions by allowing
Roman the assemblies
Senate where of Roman
the important citizens
discussion andand
thethe concilium
laws plebis
were passed to have some
during
ancient times.

9 A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Frank Frost Abbott (1901). P-62
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say in the affairs of the Roman state. But the Senate retained its overall control over the decision-

making process.

The Patrician era (494–367 BC)

The Conflict of the Orders began less than 20 years after the Republic was founded. Under the

existing system, the poorer plebeians comprised the bulk or majority of the Roman army. During

their military service, the farms on which their livelihood depended were left abandoned as result

productivity hampered and they were unable to pay the taxes and thus many turned to the

patricians for aid, which left them vulnerable to abuse and even enslavement. As the patricians

controlled Roman politics, the plebeians found demands remained unheard from within the

existing political system.

As a result they decided to secession and in 494 BC when Rome was at war with three Italic

tribes (the Aequi, Sabine and Volsci), the Plebeian soldiers advised by Lucius Sicinius Vellutus,

refused to march against the enemy, and they instead seceded to the Sacred Mount outside Rome

settlement . A truce was negotiated and the patricians agreed to give plebs the right to meet in

their own assembly, the Plebeian Council (Con cilium Plebs) was formed .They were also

allowed to elect their own officials to protect their rights, the Plebeian Tribunes 10(Tribune

Plebs).

During the 5th century BC, some unsuccessful attempts made by the plebian tribunes to reform

the agrarian laws but were turned down by the senate.

10 The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction, David Gywn p. 18.

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In 471 BC the Lex Publilia was passed which was an essential reform in shifting practical power

from the patricians to the plebeians. The law allowed the election of the tribunes of the plebs to

be transferred to the comitia tributa, thus freeing their election from the influence of the

patrician clients who exert their influence on the recommendations of their patrician patron .11

During the early years of the republic, the Plebeians were not allowed to hold any magisterial

office, though the plebeians got hold of the position of Tribunes and Aediles they were not

technically magistrates as they were only elected by the Plebeians and not by both Here the

Patricians would try to influence future elections by unsclupturous means , or by obtaining the

office for themselves thus obstructing the Plebeian Tribunes from exercising their powers,. It led

to the passage of the Lex Trebonia, which forbade the Plebeian Tribunes from co-opting their

colleagues in the future.12

In 445 BC, the Plebeians demanded the right to stand for election as consul (the chief-magistrate

of the Roman Republic), but the Roman senate refused to grant them this right. Ultimately, a

compromise was reached and negotiations was made with the plebeians , where the Consulship

remained closed to them. A post of so-called Consular Tribunes was established which granted

Consular command authority (imperium) to a select number of Military Tribune and these

individuals were elected by the Centuriate Assembly ,although the senate possessed the power

to veto any such election.13

A series of wars were fought against several near-by tribes like Aequi, the Volsci, the Latins,

and the Vii. The Plebeians fought in the army and suffered all the blows, while the Patrician

11 https://www.thoughtco.com/conflict-of-the-orders-patrician-plebeian-120763 by N.s Gill

12 Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, iii. 65
13 A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Frank Frost Abbott (1901). P-35
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aristocracy enjoyed the fruits of the expansionist conquests.The Plebeians, being exhausted by

the false hopes of Political equality , demanded real concessions, so the Tribunes Gaius Licinius

Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus passed a law in 367 BC named the Lex Licinia Sextia ,which

in a way dealt with the economic plight of the Plebeians.

Moreover another term of the law required the election of at least one Plebeian Consul each year.

The opening of the Consulship to the Plebeians was probably the cause behind the concession of

366 BC, in which the Praetorship and Curule aedile were both created, but opened only to

Patricians.14

Shortly after the foundation of the republic, the Centurion Assembly became the

principal Roman assembly in which magistrates were elected, laws were passed, and trials

conducted. Around this time, the Plebeians assembled into an informal Plebeian Curiae

Assembly, which was the original Plebeian Council. Since they were organized on the basis of

the Curia (and thus by clan), they remained dependent on their Patrician patrons. In 471 BC, a

law was passed due to the efforts of the Tribune Volero Publilius, which allowed the Plebeians to

organize by Tribe, rather than by Curia. Thus, the Plebeian Curiae Assembly became the

Plebeian Tribal Assembly, and the Plebeians became politically independent.

The distinction between the joint Tribal Assembly (composed of both Patricians and Plebeians)

and the Plebeian Council (composed only of Plebeians) is not well defined in the contemporary

accounts Most contemporary accounts of an assembly of the Tribes refer specifically to

the Plebeian Council and because of this, the very existence of a joint Tribal Assembly can only

be assumed through indirect evidence. 15

14 Ibid 37
15 A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Frank Frost Abbott (1901). P-33
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During the 5th century BC, a series of reforms were passed which provided the Tribunes of the

Plebian council to pass laws that applied over both patricians and plebeians but the final say

remained with the senate. Therefore this period is marked by the patrician supremacy in the

political sphere and the plebeians showly raising the ranks to achieve political equality nut their

visison is somewhat far from being accomplished .

The end of the Conflict of the Orders (367–287 BC)

The passage of the Licinio-Sextian law of 367 BC has a far reaching consequences . Following

decades of this saw , a series of laws being passed which ultimately granted Plebeians political

equality with Patricians.16 The Patrician era can be said came to a complete end in 287 BC, with

the passage of the Hortensian law.

Proposals Discussion by the Tribunes

When the post of Curule Aedileship had been created, it was at first only been opened to

Patricians. However, an unusual unique agreement was ultimately secured between the Plebeians

16https://web.archive.org/web/20150520004912/http://theapollonianrevolt.com/patricians-plebeians-early-
rome/ by Michael Shindler
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and the Patricians which ensured one year, the Curule Aedileship to be open to Plebeians, and

the followed year, it was only to be open to Patricians.Eventually, however, this agreement was

abandoned and the Plebeians won full admission to the Curule Aedileship. In addition, after the

Consulship had been opened to the Plebeians, wich resulted in the Plebeians acquiring a de

facto right to hold both the Roman Dictatorship and the Roman Censorship since only former

Consuls could hold either office and in 356 BC first Plebeian Dictator was appointed .In 339

BC the Plebeians a law named the lex Publilia was passed , which required the election of at

least one Plebeian Censor for each five-year term. In 337 BC, the first Plebeian Praetor (Q.

Publilius Philo) was elected. 17

Moreover, during these years, the Plebeian Tribunes and the senators grew increasingly

close. The senate realized the necessity of the Plebeian officials and how they can be used to

accomplish desired goals 18.So to win over the Tribunes, the senators gave the Tribunes a great

deal of power, and as a result the tribunes feel obligated to the senate . Thus Tribunes and the

senators grew closer to each other by dint of which Plebeian senators were often able to secure

the Tribunate for members of their own families .In time, the Tribunate became a stepping stone

to higher office.

By this point, Plebeians were already holding a considerable number of magisterial offices

under the republic , and resulting to increase in the number of Plebeian senators at a rapid pace.

It was, probably quite apparent that in a matter of time before the Plebeians came to dominate the

senate.

17 A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Frank Frost Abbott (1901). P-42
18 Ibid 44
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Although the conflict of orders was finally

coming to an end it created a group of

wealthy plebian families who reaped out the

majority of the rewards of these political

equality, in generally, the economic condition

of the average and normal Plebeian had

become poor by 287 BC. The problem

appears to have centered around widespread

indebtedness, and the Plebeians quickly

demanded relief. The senators, most of whom

belonged to the creditor class, refused to

abide by the demands of the Plebeians, and

the result was the final Plebeian secession.

The Plebeians seceded to the Janiculum hill,

and to end the secession, a Dictator

named Quintus Hortensius was appointed.

Hortensius, a Plebeian, passed a law called

the "Hortensian Law" also known as Lex

Hortensia, which ended the requirement that

an auctoritas partum (the Practice of giving nod by the senate) passed before any bill could be

considered by either the Plebeian Council or the Tribal Assembly. 19 The requirement was not

changed for the Centuriate Assembly. The Hortensian Law also reaffirmed the principle that any

19 A HISTORY OF ROME :DOWN TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE, M. CARY, H. H. SCULLARD, P -81

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act of the Plebeian Council would have the full force of law over both Plebeians and Patricians,

which it had originally acquired as early as 449 BC. The importance of the Hortensian Law was

in that it removed from the Patrician senators their final check over the Plebeian Council. It

should therefore not be viewed as the final triumph of democracy over aristocracy, since, through

the Tribunes, the senate could still control the Plebeian Council. Thus, the ultimate significance

of this law was in the fact that it robbed the Patricians of their final weapon over the Plebeians.

The result was that the ultimate control over the state fell, not onto the shoulders of democracy,

but onto the shoulders of the new Patricio-Plebeian aristocracy.

Aftermath

Following to the end of conflict of orders the political equality was established between the

Patricians and the plebeians on pen and paper although it was not the true reality , actually

through these the wealthy plebeians got promotion and represented in the political Structure

although it remained difficult for a Plebeian from an unknown family to enter the senate. On the

rare and few occasions that an individual of an unknown family (ignobilis) was elected to high

office, it was usually done on the behalf of extraordinary character of that individual, as was the

case for both Gaius Marius and Marcus Cicero.20 Several factors made it problematic for

individuals from unknown families to be elected or get a chance to be to the high office, due to

very presence of a long-standing nobility, which appealed to the deeply rooted Roman respect

for the past. Moreover, elections were expensive and the senators nor magistrates were paid for

the election expenses and the senate often failed to reimburse magistrates for expenses associated

with their official duties which they serve . Therefore, an individual usually had to be

independently wealthy before seeking high office which ultimately resulted in the creation of a

20 A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Frank Frost Abbott (1901). P-47
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new Patricio-Plebeian aristocracy (nobilitas) emerged out of the contemporary social structure

which replaced the old Patrician nobility. The new nobility, however, was fundamentally

different from the old nobility.

In this way, a small number of Plebeian families had achieved the same standing with the old

aristocratic Patrician families, but even these new Plebeian aristocrats were uninterested in the

plight of the average Plebeian of the times. During this time period, the Plebeian plight had been

mitigated due to the constant state of war that Rome was in. These wars provided employment,

income, and glory for the average Plebeian, and the sense of patriotism that resulted from these

wars also eliminated any real threat of Plebeian unrest.

By the late Republic, numerous wealthy plebeian gentes (the plebeian nobility) had effectively

merged with the remaining few patrician ones and formed a new functional aristocracy. It may

surprise many readers that the following were plebeian: the Gracchi brothers, Brutus, Cicero,

Crassus, Pompey, Marc Antony, and Octavius and we know how important roles they played in

the history of Rome. It is often claimed that The fall of the republic is closely related to the fall

and disappearance of the old layer of patricians. Moreover the Gracchus reforms and the military

reforms of Marius sowed the seeds to destroy the republic's system from the inside.

Conclusion

The Struggle of the Orders though an event in history that has its areas of uncertainty and confusion was a

colossal event. It showed the people of state uniting together to address wrongs done towards them and

demand reparations from a wealthier and more powerful class. From shadowy origins of the two groups

we do know that the Patricians clearly had a position of power and wealth which they abused over the

Plebeian class to increase their own greed.

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It spanned out for two centuries from 510 BCE to 287 BCE where the plebeians through a series of

protest and secession were able to achieve political equality with the patricians and ultimately resulting in

the formation of a wealthier plebian class only getting a chance to be represented in the plebeians.

Although the struggle between Patricians and Plebeians would never fully go away either. With

subsequent events that would follow in the course of the Republic the feud between the two classes would

eventually become a major part in the downfall and destruction of the Republic.

References

1. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ANCIENT WORLD, L. de Blois and R.J. van der Spek

2. A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions. Frank Frost Abott

(1901). Elibron Classics

3. A HISTORY OF ROME :DOWN TO THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE, M. CARY, H. H.

SCULLARD

4. The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press , Andrew Lintott

5. Social Struggles in Archaic Rome: New Perspectives on the Conflict of Orders , Kurt

Raaflaub

6. POLITICS IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, Henrik Mouritsen

7. Ancient and Medival World , Rakesh Kumar

8. Amar Farooqui, Early Social Formations, Delhi, 2001