1. What complaints did the Roman plebeians have at the start of the fifth centur
ID: 131830 • Letter: 1
Question
1. What complaints did the Roman plebeians have at the start of the fifth century B.C.? What was the outcome of the patrician - plebeian conflict?
2. What were the consequences of Roman expansion? Cite the domestic, social, and economic effects of Rome's Mediterranean conquests and describe the general policy Rome followed in governing its overseas territories.
3. How did the Roman Empire’s organizational structure facilitate the spread of Christianity? Who was Paul of Tarsus? What challenges did this new religion present to Rome?
Explanation / Answer
Ans 1
Complaints of Roman plebeians at the start of the fifth century B.C.were as follows
In Ancient Rome, the plebs was the general body of Roman citizens, distinct from the privileged class of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian (Latin: plebeius).
The true origin of the distinction between plebeians and patricians is unknown; there is little evidence for any sort of a racial basis, nor many signs of a distinction during the time of the kings. However, the populace of the city of Rome during the reigns of Romulus, Numa Pompilius, and Tullus Hostilius were all called patrician as they were the only inhabitants of Rome. It is during the reign of Ancus Marcius that the plebeians came to Rome from diplomatic alliances as secondary citizens. In any case, around the time of the foundation of the Roman Republic, the plebeians were excluded from religious colleges and magistracies, and the law of the Twelve Tables disallowed intermarriage (which was finally allowed by the Lex Canuleia.) At the same time, plebeians were enrolled in the gentes and tribes, served in the army, and could become military tribunes.
Even so, the "Conflict of the Orders" over the political status of the plebeians went on for the first two centuries of the Republic, ending with the formal equality of plebeians and patricians in 287 BC. The plebeians achieved this by developing their own organizations (the concilium plebis), leaders (the tribunes and plebeian aediles), and as the ultimate weapon used the secessio, by which the plebeians would literally leave Rome, effectively boycotting the city. This is recorded to have happened five times, although only the last (in 287) is believed to be accurately documented.
After this period, the wealthier plebeians were gradually incorporated into the Senatorial elite. The distinction between members of patrician families and members of wealthy senatorial plebeian families became essentially a legal, rather than a social one - at least one consul each year had to be a plebeian, and only plebeians had the right to act as Tribune of the People and to vote in the Plebeian Council. By the first century BC, many of the wealthiest and most prominent senatorial figures were actually plebeians, as many of the old patrician families died out.
Ans 2
Roman expansion and especially the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean changed the character of Roman political power. Having to participate in ongoing warfare and often sacrifice their lives for the republic was an enormous burden on Roman peasants. Meanwhile, the aristocracy accumulated most of the benefits that the expansion brought; they acquired new wealth, slaves and social contacts. An extensive network of patron-client relationships developed between Roman senatorial families and wealthy provincials
Ans 3
Saul of Tarsus (c. 5-c.67 C.E.), "ST. PAUL," was perhaps the decisive figure in the development of early Christianity and its separation from the Jewish religion. Paul was a Jew and a Roman citizen who was grew up in a Hellenistic city and was greatly influenced by Hellenistic culture. (He embodied the essence of the Pax Romana.) The importance of Paul's contribution to the development of Christianity cannot be overemphasized. He brought the fledgling religion to "gentiles," i.e. non Jews, and shaped its theology by emphasizing 1) Jesus's death and resurrection, explaining the paradox of a crucified "messiah" in spiritual terms so that his death became the instrument of salvation for those who believed in him, 2) the primacy of faith over "works" (i.e., following the Jewish laws of the Torah) for justificaton, 3) the inability to justify oneself before God because of "Original Sin" (a doctrine that Paul may have created), and, nonetheless, 3) the necessity of Christian's practicing ethical behavior, not to "earn" salvation but from love of God as a fruit of their faith. Paul also contributed to the Augustinian-Lutheran-Calvinist concept of "predestination," in which God alone chooses according to His own predetermined plan those to whom He will grant faith/grace. This idea possibly derived from Paul's personal experience of conversion, in which he was "called" by God without seeking God. (The story of Paul's miraculous conversion while he was on the road to Damascus where he was going to persecute Christians is told in Acts 9.)
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