Question

Explain basic features of roman society and econo my

Answer 1

Ancient Roman society changed out of all recognition as the Romans conquered first Italy and then the Mediterranean world, and the very notion of what it was to be a Roman came to embrace all the peoples of the empire.

As in all pre-modern societies the economic base of the Roman society at all stages of its history remained agriculture; but on top of this an ever-more elaborate social organization grew up, to create one of the largest and most complex societies in the pre-industrial world.

The society of early Rome
Roman society originally grew out of several small farming communities in central Italy. Under a line of kings, and under the heavy influence, if not the outright political domination, of the advanced civilization of the Etruscans, to the north, the Romans formed themselves into a city-state, probably in the 7th or 6th centuries BCE.

The early city-state of Ancient Rome, under the kings and early Republic, was composed of a small urban hub, consisting of a central area of temples, forum (central square), public buildings, and a few streets bordered by shops, craft workshops and fast-food premises. Here were also the houses of the wealthier and more important families. The huts of poorer folk, the traders and craftsmen, would have surrounded this core, and so too would the dwellings of many farmers, who worked plots both outside and inside the city walls. These walls would have enclosed a much greater area than the size of the city’s population would have required, as its footprint would have been chosen for defensive purposes, utilising the lie of the land.

Small farming communities would have been scattered throughout Rome’s territory, which would have encircled the small city for about ten miles around. These hamlets housed those whose land was too far from the city core to walk to and from on a daily basis.

Ordinary citizens
The bulk of the Roman citizens were independent farmers, owning the land they farmed. By the time of the early Republic, all male citizens had to do military service in the army, and the variable size of their farms is reflected in the citizens’ military obligations. Some had to provide full armour for themselves, a considerable expense. These formed the elite vanguard of the early Roman army, standing in the front line of battle. To go with this more dangerous position was a privileged position in the citizen body: for example they had a disproportionately more effective voice in Rome’s popular assemblies.

Other citizens had lesser military obligations, implying ownership of smaller farms, right down to the landless proletariat – poor day-labourers in town or countryside but still full citizens – who brought no armour and served as scouts and slingsmen rather than in the line of battle.