The Early Conflict of the Orders
Had the revolt against king Tarquinius and Porsenna been led entirely by the Roman nobility, then it was essentially only the Roman aristocrats (the patricii), who held any power. All decision of note were taken in their assembly, the senate. Real power rested perhaps with little more or less than fifty men. Within the nobility of Rome power itself centered around a few select families. For large part of the fifth century BC names such as Aemilius, Claudius, Cornelius and Fabius would dominate politics.
There was indeed an assembly for the people, the comitia centuriata, but its decisions all needed the approval of the patrician nobles.
The economic situation of early Rome was dire. Many poor peasant fell into ruin and was taken into slavery for nonpayment of debt by the privileged classes.
Against such a background of hardship and helplessness at the hands of the nobles, the commoners (called the 'plebeians ' (plebeii) organized themselves against the patricians. And so arose what is traditionally called 'the Conflict of the Orders'.
One believes that the plebeians were partly inspired by Greek merchants, who most likely had brought with them tales of the overthrow of the aristocracy in some Greek cities and the creation of Greek democracy.
If inspiration came from Greek traders within Rome's walls, then the power the plebeians possessed stemmed from Rome's need for soldiers. The patricians alone could not fight all the wars which Rome was almost constantly involved in. This power was indeed demonstrated in the First Secession, when the plebeians withdrew to a hill three miles north east of Rome, the Mons Sacer.
Several such secessions are recorded (five in total, between 494 and 287 BC, although each one is disputed).
Leadership of the plebeians was largely provided by those among them, perhaps wealthy landowners with no noble blood, who served as tribunes in the military. Accustomed to leading the men in war, they now did the same in politics.
It was either after the First Secession in 494 BC or a little later, in 471 BC, that the patricians recognized the plebeians rights to hold meetings and to elect their officers, the 'tribunes of the people' (tribuni plebis). Such 'tribunes of the people' were to represent the grievances of ordinary people to the consuls and the senate. But apart from such a diplomatic role, he also possessed extraordinary powers. He possessed the power of veto over any new law the consuls wanted to introduce. His duty was to be on call day and night to any citizen who required his help.
The fact that plebeian demands didn't seem to go further than adequate protection from the excesses of patrician power, seems to suggest that the people were largely satisfied with the leadership which the nobility provided. And it should be reasonable to suppose that, despite the differences voiced in the Conflict of the Orders', Rome's patricians and plebeians stood united when facing any outside influence.
The Decemviri
One demand voiced by the plebeians as part of the Conflict of the Orders was that of written law. For as long as there was no simply code of written rules, the plebeians remained virtually at the mercy of the patrician consuls who decided what the law was.
And so a commission was set up in 451 BC. It consisted of ten patricians. They were called the decemviri ('the ten men'). They were charged with creating a simple code of laws within a year. And after the year had passed, they had produced ten tables, listing the laws which should govern Rome.
But their work was deemed unfinished and so another ten men were appointed, this time consisting of five patricians and five plebeians, to complete the work. They held office for another year, in which they produced two more tables, completing the work which was to become famous as 'the Twelve Tables'.
However, during the time in which the decemviri were in office the Roman constitution was no longer in place. And so they ruled in place of the consuls. But when their year was up, they refused to resign and instead chose to rule by tyranny.
But their attempt to take over the state failed. The Second Secession had the plebeians walk out on Rome again, forcing the tyrannical decemviri to resign (449 BC).
It is worth mentioning that, apart from the above version of the tale, some historians believe that the same ten patrician devemviri ruled for two years, preparing the Twelve Tables. But when the plebeians deemed the laws not far-reaching enough, they forced them to resign and instead brought about the appointment of two more radically-minded consuls.
The Twelve Tables
And so came about the famous written Roman law, the Twelve Tables. The laws were engraved in copper and permanently displayed to public view. The twelve copper tables were a simple set of rules governing the public, private and political behaviour of every Roman.
Here are some examples:
Death sentences now were only allowed to be issued by the law courts. And the final court of appeal in death penalties would be the Comitia Centuriata. Previously some lenders had seen it fit to condemn some debtors to death who failed to pay. Regarding the problem of debt the law now stated that there was a maximum rate of interest. Anyone confirmed by the courts as owing a debt would be given thirty days to pay. After this he could be sold into slavery by his creditors.
Regarding theft; if a thief was a freeman he was flogged and then handed to the person from whom he stolen to repay what damage he'd done, if necessary by working for him. If the thief however was a slave he was flogged and then thrown to his death off the cliff of the Capitoline Hill known as the Tarpeian Rock.
No burials or cremations were allowed within the city walls.
The maintainance of roads was the responsibility of those on whose property they bordered.
It was an offence to cast or have a which cast any spells on someone else.
Marriage between patricians and plebeians was forbidden.
To demonstrate in the streets against an another person was forbidden. One was allowed to demonstrate for or against a particular cause, but not against a specific person.
One was permitted to remove a branch from a neighbour's tree which overhung one's property.
For the theft of crops there was the death penalty (clubbing to death).
For slander there was the death penalty (clubbing to death).
The levels of punishment for assault were also defined; the level varied according to the status of the person who had committed the crime. Harsher for a plebeian, milder for a patrician. And should the victim of the crime be a mere slave, the sentence was reduced yet further.
The laws also distinguished between an intentional and an accidental killing.
A father had to right to kill his deformed child.
And the historian Pliny the Elder tells us that the penalty for murder according to the Twelve Tables was less than that for stealing crops.
The Roman code of the Twelve Tables lasted as long as the Roman Empire itself. Though more importantly, it was the first time that written code was put down which applied right across the social scale from the patricians to the plebeians. The Twelve Tables are generally seen as the beginning of European law and are hence seen as a milestone in history.
The Later Conflict of the Orders
The Gauls having withdrawn and Rome being the confirmed leader of Latium, the old struggle between the patricians and the plebeians renewed in intensity again.
Naturally, it had in effect never gone away but had continued on as a process which now came to a head.
The small plebeian landowners ached under the strain of military service and the losses they had incurred during the invasion of the Gauls.
They looked with resentment upon the patricians who still commanded the consulship and so had access to decisions regarding what should happen to conquered land. Land no doubt many plebeians hoped for receiving a share of in order to alleviate their hardships.
And one major effect the wars had had on Roman society was to reduce the number of patricians significantly. Having a share of the army beyond their proportion of the populace, the patricians had had to suffer terrible losses during the wars.
Apart from this, several patrician families saw political advantages in championing the cause of the plebeians, so gaining vast popularity, but serving to further undermine the status of the patrician class. Largely these will have been the families of those who had intermarried between the classes, ever since it had been allowed in 445 BC.
Aside from this the wealthier plebeians now had their eyes on power, seeking to hold office themselves in which they should be able to propose laws rather then only being able to oppose them as tribunes of the people.
With the patricians weakened and the aspirations of the plebeians on the rise, the erosion of the constitutional differences between the two was inevitable.
The patricians put up a brave struggle, fighting in turn to keep each office exclusive to their kind. But once in 367 BC, with the passing of the 'Licinian Rogations' their cause was effectively lost. The Conflict of the Orders should last for several decades thereafter, but the winners were inevitably going to be the plebeians.
The 'Licinian Rogations'
Had the patricians put up of brave fight to defend their privileges, then it was their leader Camillus, the hero of patrician conservatism, who alas saw there was no other way. Camillus had even been appointed dictator twice to quell disorder. Or, as some might say, to enable the patricians to hang on to power for that little bit longer, in spite of the powerful tribunes of the people.
But the struggle was futile and so the Licinian Rogations, a bill combining the agrarian and constitutional demands of the plebeians, were passed in 367 BC.
The agrarian part of the Licinian Rogations was too easily evaded to be effective in the long run. But the enactment that thenceforth one of the consuls must be a plebeian was the death-blow to the privileges of the old aristocracy.
However, by that time the office of consul was largely a formal position. Varro describes the consul being called so, "as he consults the senate".
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