But what of Rome, that great power which will shortly dominate the whole Mediterranean, from Palestine to the Pillars of Hercules? The people of that city are a mere city-state now, and a subdued one at that. Always a backwater after its own right, the Italian peninsula is lagging far behind the other regions of the world in terms of achievement. Why, just back in 800 B.C. they finally exited pre-history! But the Romans are a rising force in the region and they do not like being controlled.
The people who master the Romans at this time are the Etruscans, a mysterious race that settled the Po river valley in times past. Like many conquering races, they have iron that gives them an edge over their enemies. Despite setbacks at the hands of the Celts, they have managed to eke out an imperial existence for themselves on the western side of the Apennines with Rome acting as a trading site along the border with Latium. But theirs is a precarious position, for though they are powerful, the Celts to the north, the Greeks to the south, and the competition over Corsica and Sardinia with the Greeks and the developing Carthaginian merchant empire puts undo strain upon them. What’s more, Rome is growing in power and will presently throw off the yoke.
Rome itself is just a protectorate at this time, governed by petty kings who look to Etruria for their authority. But power in Rome is not the rich versus the poor; it is much more dynamic. In this society, it is patrons and clients, those who can provide services in exchange for services. Nor are these two different classes, for every man (with exception of the poorest poor and the richest rich) is both a patron and a client. But if one must have a system of classes, then consider the patricians and the plebeians. Though the patricians were originally the blue bloods of society, the distinctions are much more muddled. Wealth has little to do with patricianhood, so much as a sense of place and the opinions of others. A family of Brutus might call itself patrician, but their proud Foucus neighbors may remember them better as plebeians, and so on. But please note: the kings are always drawn from the patrician families, no matter what the Foucuses say. These kings are granted “imperium,” a kind of power reserved for such men. These are classical tyrants, leaders by personality who are advised by the leaders of the other highest-ranking families in Rome, who form a body of councilors called the Senate. What powers do they have? They might proclaim a king, if they like, or call up the Public Assembly (the polite term for the mob gathered outside the palace for a show of community interest).
But as politics in Rome develop, more committees arise. There is the Generals Assembly (the Comitia Curiata), representative of the masses. Each of the thirty curia has one vote, and these curia stand for a gentes, or family, which actually comprises all those associated with a given clan, to include their clients. Further developments are influenced by the military.
The phalanx has come to Rome from the Greeks to the south, and the Romans find the military so attractive that one of their leaders, Servius Tullius, organizes a tax system around the formation of the army, based upon families and wealth. Patricians are to send cavalry to the new army, whilst the plebeians provide the foot soldiers. The horsemen are called equites and this title shall follow them into the new public assembly, the Comitia Centuriata. This body is made up of centuries, each of a hundred soldiers, though with the rich equites, this is not necessarily true. Each century is provided by a group based upon wealth and each century has one vote. Being liberal-minded people, the Romans also provide a century space for those people unable to provide any soldiers. This new governing body shall take the place of the kings shortly, but the power still remains with the upper classes within the patricians. It shall take the influence of the general assembly for that to change.
No comments:
Post a Comment