ROMCUL FINAL FLASHCARDS

Class vs. Status

Class referred to your wealth and status referred to your legal standing.

Two elements of class

Economic class and social sophistication.

Economic class

Concerned with how wealthy someone is.

Social sophistication

A person's actions that were stereotyped to be the direct result of their economic standing.

Class during the early republic

Army was divided into different parts based on wealth but became more political once the Centuriate assembly was formed.

Centuriate assembly

Assembly that heavily favoured the older, wealthier inhabitants of Rome because they believed that the greatest contributors to security should have more influence over the political process.

Centuriate assembly voting process

They voted consecutively, starting with the wealthiest to the lower class, until majority is reached. The middle/lower class rarely got to vote because majority would be reached before it reached them.

Two elements of status

Legal standing and social prestige.

Legal standing

· whether or not they were a citizen.

Social prestige

A more fluid term for your social status.

Level of status

Basically determined how much you, your rights, and privileges are protected under roman law. The higher status you have, the more you are protected.

Two DIVISIONS of status

Free or enslaved.

Free

Refers to either freeborns or freedpeople.

Ways of becoming a Roman citizen.

1. Being honorably discharged from the army
2. Enrolling into a legion.
3. Being born in Rome (as long as your parents were Roman).
4. Being free (after Caracalla's decree in 212 CE).

Privileges of citizenship

1. Could pass citizenship onto children.
2. Could make a will.
3. Could vote in popular assemblies (ONLY MEN).
4. Could wear a toga.
5. Legally protected from physical abuse without trial.
6. The right to use the three-name system.

Three-name system

(Praenomen) (Nomen) (Cognomen)

Praenomen

Given name. (Very few)

Nomen

Clan name.

Cognomen

Family name within a clan.

Nomina (Nomen)

Inherited name, similar to a surname.

Cognomina (Cognomen)

ORIGINALLY a family name shared by relatives within the same branch but eventually became as a way of distinguishing characteristics such as (appearance, place of birth, job, & etc.).

Name adoption

Would take the 3 names of his adopted father and then add his own nomen at the end.

Woman names

Their nomens were often the feminine form of their fathers. They rarely had praenomen but when they did, it was usually adjectives with literal meanings.

Slaves & legal rights

Protected against physical abuse (but to prevent masters from losses rather than for the slaves' safety). It was also automatic that any children would belong to the masters of the parents.

Slave names

Initially, known as PUER (boy) or attach it to their owner's name. Later, contains his nationality followed by SERVUS.

Freedpersons

A slave being freed from slavery. It is the only status that is not hereditary.

Freedpersons citizenships

Granted through freedom (manumission) but they had limited rights. However, any future children would have full citizenship rights.

Disadvantages of freedpersons

They were prohibited from running for office. Even though they were free, they continued to owe their ex-masters and they had to complete a certain amount of free labour per year.

Disadvantages of freedwomen

They were required to marry their masters if they were freed for that purpose. And they would not be able to divorce him.

Freedpersons name

Took the first two names of their master and used their slave name as the third. (Had LIBERTUS on their inscriptions).

Freedmen of the Imperial house

They were given administrative responsibilities and had the potential to become extremely wealthy and politically powerful.

Foreigner names

Their praenomen could have been anything, their nomen was the name of the person who granted them citizenship (usually governors or generals) and their cognomen was their original name.

Honestiores

More honourable (wealthy)

Humiliores

More humble (poor)

Honestiores vs. Humiliores

Became the only distinction between statuses. It was especially signified in the justice system. In which former would receive lighter punishments while the latter received harsher ones.

Patricians

Privileged clans/families who likely had special status during the monarchy.

Struggle of orders

Conflict between the patricians and plebians over the organization of the republic and society (because of uneven power distribution between the two).

Problem of the plebs

Sometimes they'd be forced to borrow from wealthy patricians, but it was most likely that they'd never to pay it off. So, DEBT was one of the reasons for them trying to gain more power. The other was wanting to have ACCESS TO CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS OFFICES.

Advantage of the plebs

They would stage successions (strikes) and cease all public aspects of life (including military service) until their conditions were met. The patricians would have no choice but to comply to their demands because they needed the plebians to fight for them.

The plebian assembly

Arose from the struggle of the orders. Their decisions initially only applied to plebeians, but it eventually became applicable to the entire population (including patricians)

Tribunes

An elected official whose job was to protect the plebeian assembly. It was a role for plebians, but it was most usually the elite who were elected for the position.

New men

Men who were wealthy, but their families had never held high political offices before. There were many of them who rose during Augustus because traditional political families were heavily damaged in the civil wars and proscriptions.

New men & the senate

Their aim was to raise their status by getting elected to public office and becoming a part of the senate, but they were always looked down upon by the senate. Which is why they constantly had to maintain support and standing.

New men examples

Gaius Marius & Cicero.

Equestrians in the Imperial period

They serves as salaried imperial administrators and military agents. Their prestige increased as the senatorial prestige decreased by there was essentially no difference between them by the fourth century.

Social mobility

A change in a person's social status situation, which was entirely possible within the Roman empire. Slaves could be freed and had the potential to become wealthy (but there is still some stigma if someone has it in their ancestry). Sons of equestrians could become senators. People in provinces could become citizens (despite the discrimination against them). Whichever one it was, it usually took generations.

Social status in public

It was recognized based on a person's outward appearance and behaviour. It was also established based on actions and circumstances, like how there were specific seating arrangements based on status in amphitheatres, circuses, and theatres. And of course, clothing.

Tunic

Regular clothing worn alone at home or at work but NEVER at social functions.

Equestrian vs. Senatorial tunics

Equestrians had narrow striped tunics while the senators had broad striped tunics.

Toga

Semicircular cloth (around 12 to 20 feet in length) made from unbleached wool, worn by male citizens only. Variations in colour depended on rank and distinctions. It was basically just draped around them, and it heavily restricted their movement.

Different types of togas

Toga virilis, Toga praetexta, Toga picta.

Toga virilis

Also known as Toga alba. A plain white toga worn by most male citizens during formal occasions.

Toga praetexta

White togas with purple stripes at the border that is worn over a tunic with two broad vertical stripes. It was worn by freeborn boys before maturity, senators of high positions and some priesthoods.

Toga picta

Known as the painted toga, which is dyed purple and embroidered with gold accents. It is generally worn by the emperor and by officials giving public games, consuls on special occasions, and generals during their triumphs. Became more elaborate over time.

The pilleus

A hat worn by freedmen on certain occasions such as at the funerals of their former masters. Associated with the goddess Libertas, as it represents freedom.

Fullers

It's where Romans got their dirty clothes to be cleaned (because they didn't clean their clothes at home). They didn't use soap (despite its existence) and opted to use ammonia, also known as pee.

Limitations of status restrictions

Women couldn't vote but they could influence those who did. Only men wore togas but only on special occasions. Senators weren't allowed to take part in trade, but they did so anyway through intermediaries.

Chattel slave

Applies to anyone who is SOCIALLY DEAD, meaning they are denied any physical autonomy over what they do and where they go. They are fully owned by their master, who has unconditional power over them.

Chattel slaves vs. regular citizens

They lacked any legal and social privileges that regular citizens possessed. Such as the freedom to marry, have a family, and form kinship ties.

Who were chattel slaves?

They were usually captives taken from another society or they had been born as slaves (i.e., their mother was a slave, and their father was her owner or another slave).

Chattel slaves under the law

They were referred to as both a person and a thing. They didn't see it as owning the person but the labour that they provided. However, they were often counted alongside material possessions like land and farm equipment.

Nexum

A debt bondage in which if the debtors failed to repay the money to their creditor (which is what happened a majority of the time), they (usually farmers) would pledge themselves, or specifically their labour, to their creditor. This is one of the reasons that the struggle of the orders occurred, in which plebians wanted to be free of this debt.

Sources of slaves

1. Captives from other regions that Rome had conquered during their expansion.
2. Children of slaves, which was more beneficial because they didn't need to buy them.
3. Taking abandoned and exposed children from the streets.
4. Trading with other groups of people from other regions such as, Western Europe, India, & etc.
5. Some would voluntarily sell themselves or their children to slavery, often dye to poverty and fear of starvation, both of which would be less of a problem after becoming a slave.

Punishing slaves

Owners were forbidden from killing their slaves during the imperial period, but corporal punishment was allowed and if the slaves died during the punishment, the owners would not be liable.

Manumission

"Hand to send" in which a slave would be freed. It was a sign of prestige, as it showed both how generous they are and how wealthy they are (because they could afford to free slaves).

When would manumission occur?

It could happen anytime, but it was common for a master to order the release of a certain number of slaves in his will after his death. It would also occur if the owner believed that a slave's abilities would be more useful if freed (better to have them as a client than slave).

After manumission

They would become citizens but with limitations and they still had certain obligations to their old masters. Some may have been able to achieve wealth but most remained in poverty.

Resistance to slavery

1. Setting fire to their owners' property.
2. Committing suicide.
3. Commit acts of "sabotage" (neglecting crops, selling their owners' livestock)

First slave war

Involved a large number of slaves located within the city of Enna in Sicily. It occurred just after the end of the third Punic war and the overthrow of Carthage.

First Slave war cause

It was during a time where the masters were really strict and failed to provide food and clothing to their slaves, forcing the slaves to steal in order to provide for themselves. It got to a point where they just couldn't handle it anymore.

Eunus

A Syrian slave that claimed to see visions and could make predictions. He encouraged slaves to start a revolt and led them when they were entering the city of Enna. He is depicted by sources as a conman who pretended to have visions to seek power.

Events of the first slave war

Slaves asked Eunus if they would succeed in revolting, to which he heavily encouraged them. Led to them entering the city of Enna where they slaughtered a bunch of people (both slave owners and civilians). Eunus was named a king by other slaves after killing Damophilus (harsh slave owner). This revolt caused smaller revolts in other regions. It got big enough that the Roman army had to get involved and the revolt was eventually put down by general Rupilius.

Roman reaction to first slave war

Roman sources found it justifiable for the slaves to revolt and want revenge on their slaves who had mistreated them, but their cruelty went too far when they killed innocent civilians. And so, Romans generally saw it as them causing more pain than they suffered.

First slave war outcomes

It didn't cause Romans to reconsider slavery because they didn't think it really counted as a revolt because it ended up being stopped by the Roman army.

Second slave war

Occurred while Marius was consul and was recruiting soldiers for a war against some northern tribes. He asked one of Rome's allies for support, but they decline, claiming many of their citizens had been enslaved. This causes the senate to forbid taking slaves from Roman allies.

Second slave war cause

Sicily governor released foreign slaves but revoked the manumission after non-foreign slaves got mad. This caused the slave population to cause a riot and capture the city of Morgantia.

Second slave war outcome

It took a praetor and a consul to be able to defeat the 20,000 soldiers the rebels accumulated. 1,000 of the slaves who surrender were sent to fight against beasts in the arena. But they refused and calmy kill each other, in order to spite the Romans.

Third slave war

Also known as the slave revolt of Spartacus. It began with Spartacus escaping a gladiator training school with several others. They only intended to free themselves, but they quickly started gathering more and more people. In the end, they were ultimately defeated by Crassus, with the help of Pompey.

Spartacus

A slave who escaped from a gladiator training school and led the revolt during the third slave war. He was ultimately defeated by Crassus.

The outcome of the third slave war

It ended with Crassus crucifying 6000 rebel slaves and Pompey executing the other 5000 slaves that escaped.

Crucifixion

A very painful and public punishment bestowed upon non-citizen members of the lower classes, specifically for those whose crimes threatened Roman authority (such as slaves from the third slave war).

Death at crucifixion

It was usually caused by suffocation and death could take hours or sometimes days. Even after death, they would leave the bodies up to warn those who passed of the consequences of going against Roman authority.

Familia

Members of the household under the legal power of the paterfamilias.

Paterfamilias

The father of the household who had power over all free and non-free members of the household.

Requirements for marriage

1. Roman citizens or belong to a community that allow them to marry Roman citizens.
2. Be of minimum age (14 for boys and 12 for girls).
3. Not be too closely related.

Two kinds of marriage

Cum manu & Sine manu

Cum manu

The woman is under the legal authority of her husband and is a legal member of his household.

Sine manu

A marriage where the woman remains under the legal authority of her father. This means that she is legally and financially independent of her husband and that she is not a legal member of his household. But since she is still under the power of her father, she could be forced to divorce her husband and marry another man.

Sine manu finances

The husband and wife would have separate finances within the marriage, but the woman would have to provide a dowry to her husband to cover her living expenses. The husband would have to pay this back to her or her father if they ever divorced.

Marriage ceremony

Part of finalizing the contract between the two families. Celebrated with singing, a banquet, and a procession where the bride would be brought from her parents' house to her new husband's house.

Roman marriage

Its purpose was for procreation and not love nor romance, but it could be present in some marriages.

Augustus' family laws

A legislative that encouraged people to have more children (because of the declining birth rate) by offering awards but was ineffective due to the many advantages of having no children.

Roman wives

To some degree, they are expected to have some visibility in the public sphere (such as working on different building projects if they were rich and working alongside their husbands if they were poor) but they are mainly seen operating in the domestic sphere, acting as household managers.

Wives as household managers

Managing a household applies to both elite and non-elite context.

Non-elite household managing

Requires them to have the ability to prioritize the use of family resources, which could be the difference between life and them.

Elite household managing

Required them to oversee the management of multiple homes, large numbers of slaves, and personal property.

Ideal characteristics of wives

Beauty, wisdom, chastity, taking care of their family and hard-working.

Adultery

It's okay for the husband to cheat but if a woman were to be caught, she'd be subject to punishment by the paterfamilias, such as having her property confiscated or being banned from remarrying. He could also kill her lover, as long as he wasn't a Roman citizen.

Motherhood

After marriage, wives were expected to start having children immediately but not only was the infant mortality rate high but so was the maternal death rate.

Breastfeeding

Lower class mothers would have no choice but to breastfeed their babies, but upper-class mothers had the option to breastfeed themselves or via a wet nurse, which the option that was much more common among mothers.