Running Head: THE STRUGGLE OF THE ORDERS 1

The Struggle of the Orders

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Introduction

The struggle of the orders was a political struggle in Rome pitting the Plebeians against

the Patricians. From the struggle, it was clear that the Plebeians were the commoners while the

Patricians were the aristocrats of the Roman Empire. The Patricians held high positions of

leadership including the positions of priesthood, while the Plebeians remained under their rule.

There was a general inequality in terms of the distribution of resources and most of the Plebeians

occupied the lowest social classes while there were still some of them who were rich enough.

Despite all these circumstances, the Plebeians put up a spirited fight to achieve political equality

with the Patricians (Raaflaub, 2008).

Main Events

The Plebeians ended up successfully seceding from Rome, leading to their formation of

their governance structures on the Janiculum Hill. This was the best move they could make

following the frustrations they experienced in the hands of the Patricians. They were nowhere in

terms of holding political offices or even running the judicial system. The Patricians relied on the

manpower that was supplied by the Plebeians and they were forced into a negotiation with the

Plebeians. It is clear that the Patricians fed out of the hard work put in by the Plebeians and they

were not able to manage their lives without their presence. There had to be people to do the hard

jobs to ensure that the Patricians continued enjoying the political class and other leadership roles

(Raaflaub, 2008).

The best approach in getting political equality, freedom, and justice required that they

create a crisis by opting to stay away from the government of the day. It was definitely better

than staging a fight with the Patricians. The fact is that they were able to make a statement that
The Struggle of the Orders 3

led to their recognition. The move was able to bring about the recognition of Plebeians leading to

their installations as officers. They were then allowed to serve in the senate upon achieving a

year of service. At least they had positions of which to be proud in the joint government and the

notion of their being debtors to the Patricians was well blanketed (Raaflaub, 2008).

Conclusion

The Plebeians used the power of their numbers to get what they wanted. They were able

to beat the monotony of leadership in Rome at the time. The move led to the Patricians

recognizing their individual weaknesses and capabilities. The struggle later ends in 287 B.C.

after it was passed that the Plebeians had the final say on matters of governance in Rome. They

were the majority and as such, were right to have the final say. Additionally, they did all the hard

labor in Rome at the time. There is more equality in Rome today compared to what was

witnessed after the struggle of the order given that all leadership positions are selected by a vote.

There is no idea of a ruling class and commoners as was the case during and just after the

struggle (Raaflaub, 2008).

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References

Raaflaub, K. A. (Ed.). (2008). Social Struggles in Archaic Rome: New Perspectives on the

Conflict of the Orders. John Wiley & Sons.