Rome engaged in three pivotal wars with Etruscan city-state Veii during the 5th century.
Victory over Veii in 396 BCE resulted in considerable territorial expansion.
Marcus Furius Camillus celebrated as a significant hero in this victory.
Setbacks followed with the Gallic invasion in 387 BCE; Rome had to pay to secure peace.
Triumph: Ceremonial process for Roman generals acknowledging success, culminating at the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus.
Transition from military to social history.
Notable issues in the Conflict of the Orders:
Debt, food scarcity, land disputes.
Nexum: A type of debt bondage differing from chattel slavery.
Contrast with the client-patron relationship.
The Twelve Tables: Codification of Roman law crucial for patrician-plebeian relations.
Legislative reforms of the 4th and 3rd centuries empowered the plebs:
Licinio-Sextian Laws (367 BCE)
Hortensian Law (287 BCE)
Consequences of these laws included the emergence of a new nobility and enhanced Senate power.
Society divided primarily into patricians (nobility by birth) and plebs (a diverse group).
Patricians claimed descent from important ancestors; plebs included wealthy non-nobles, craftsmen, farmers, and the poor.
Patricians maintained exclusive priesthoods; initial doubt about plebs' eligibility for consulship.
Concession: First secession in 494 BCE allowed plebs to elect tribunes to represent them.
Plebs gained power, representation, and a role in legislation over time.
Initially, reforms tended to favor wealthier plebs. Gross inequalities persisted, leading to long-term instability.
Gracchi brothers' subsequent reforms (late 2nd century BCE) catalyzed civil wars, laying foundations for the Republic's decline.
Core issues motivating political action in Republican Rome:
Debt (nexum prevalent in early Republic)
Land monopolized by wealthy families.
Grain prices soared due to shortages, risking famine among the poor.
Interactions among these issues often heightened individual crises, leading to debt-bondage.
Nexum: A form of debt-bondage initiated when an indebted individual sold himself to creditors.
Seen as alternative measures to more brutal creditor options like execution or selling into slavery beyond Rome.
Most common slaves stemmed from war captives or their dependents; formal slavery within the city was limited.
Roman wars were primarily smaller scale, limiting the influx of war-captive slaves.
As Rome expanded, and military might grew, so did the population of slaves.
Nexum was increasingly viewed as a method for wealthy landowners to retain labor, reflecting social and economic realities of early Rome.
Defined as an exploitation mechanism in agrarian societies lacking free labor markets.
Cornell’s analysis positions nexum within archaic complex social structures characterized by poverty and inequality, aimed at providing labor for landowners.
Nexum not simply a coincidence; rather, an institutional measure to maintain labor for wealthy landowners.
Comparable practices existed in other agrarian societies like Athens, which outlawed nexum through Solonic reforms.
Differentiates from slavery; individuals in nexum retained citizenship and their homes.
Distinction between nexum and patronage:
Patronage: More informal relationships where wealthy patrons provided support to clients.
Clients expected to reciprocate by assisting patrons, including in electoral contexts.
Patronage was prevalent, allowing for complex tier relationships among individuals.
A non-hierarchical alliance termed amicitia indicated semi-formal friendships.
By the late Republic, patronage included relations with allied cities and within powerful states.
Patronage relationships, while voluntary, also had compulsory elements for freed slaves.
Post-first secession led to the formation of the decemviri in 451 BCE for law codification.
Alleged Athens trip influenced Roman legal sophistication, reflective of Greek models.
Appointment of decemviri viewed as a response to plebeian pressure; written laws provided leverage against arbitrary patrician rule.
Transformation from customary laws, previously manipulable by patricians.
Not a comprehensive legal code but covered significant areas:
Family, marriage, property transfer, personal injury, debt, and nexum.
Tables displayed publicly in the Forum to ensure visibility.
Only fragments survive today;
Examples appear cryptic yet insightful to understanding early law.
First decemviri produced 10 tables; second group produced 2 more with tyrannical reputation (e.g., Appius Claudius).
Notable narrative involving Verginia and parallels to earlier traditions of sacrifice for Roman integrity.
Plebeians likely disappointed by the Twelve Tables, as they mostly codified existing customs.
Formalized prohibitions on important social structures such as intermarriage, which was initially disliked by plebs but repealed in Lex Canuleia.
Continued grievances led to additional secessions in 449 and 287 BCE.
Ongoing legislative reform was necessary as grievances remained unaddressed.
Key laws included:
Licinio-Sextian Laws (367 BCE): Addressed consulship accessibility, land ownership, and debt repayment.
Hortensian Law (287 BCE): Established the binding nature of plebiscites without Senate approval.
Proposed by tribunes Lucius Sextius Lateranus and Gaius Licinius Stolo, addressed:
Loan payments structured for installments to aid debtors.
Regulation on public land ownership to curb monopolization.
Mandated annual plebeian consulship.
Notable opposition from patricians delayed legislation; tribune vetoes stalled consular elections resulting in effective "anarchy."
Consuls could veto lower magistrates, yet tribunes could veto consular elections.
Ultimately, all elements of the Licinio-Sextian Law passed in 367 BCE; transform consulship access become the core reform.
Despite reforms, debt remained a concern into the 4th century; nexum abolished only later.
Inequities persisted, leading to future legislation revisiting land-use concerns (e.g., Tiberius Gracchus).
Lex Hortensia (287 BCE) recognizes plebiscites binding on all Romans, ending initial Conflict of Orders.
Shift from earlier stipulations requiring senatorial approval for plebiscites.
Legislation in 300 BCE allowed plebs access to priestly positions.
By 287 BCE, plebs held key magistracies, and plebiscites became primary law-passing method in Rome.
Legislative advances did not translate to improved plebeian living standards.
Economic and political reality meant wealthier plebs benefit the most from reforms.
New legislation created a competitive oligarchy combining wealthy plebs and patricians, shifting political dynamics.
Beneficiaries of reforms often just a select group of influential plebeian leaders aligned with patricians.
Plebeians became politically absorbed in state mechanisms, with successful tribunes aligning with senatorial objectives.
Plebiscites became tools for new ruling class interests.
While plebiscites didn't require senate endorsement, political maneuvering remained.
Lex Genucia of 342 BCE limited consuls from serving consecutive terms, reducing plebeian influence.
Emergence of genuinely supportive tribunes would later affect the Republic's stability.