Rome Social Hierarchies

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The Roman Empire had a unique system of social classes compared to the social classes of other empires of its time. It was a very large empire that covered the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa and is known for its very extreme social structure. Within this large empire there were many different types of people from rich businessmen and senators to poor slaves and foreigners. This provided for a very diverse empire. It also raises many questions. How was this diverse empire ruled? How did the different classes of people act toward people of a different class? How were the classes ordered? Many of the answers about the social classes are closely tied with the government and leaders of the Roman Empire. The Roman class structure was very large and diverse, but allowed for some mobility between classes. The Romans had a unique social class structure. They contained many classes and is known as one of the most extreme governments. Legal status marked fundamental boundaries in the life of a Roman man or woman such as whether a person was a senator or a slave, and arguably it was at these extremes that legal status mattered the most to the Roman people (Hope). The social structure of ancient Rome was based on heredity, property, wealth, citizenship and freedom (Donegan). The Romans used clothing to show the separation of the classes. Admission into a class usually depended on birth, but unlike other civilizations of its time, the Roman class structure did allow for some movement from one class to another (Pagán 32). Slaves could be moved into higher classes and senators could be moved into lower classes. There was and upper class and a lower class, but the Roman system lacked a middle class. This was due to the extreme diversity and separation of their class system (Garnsey 1). The Roman social class structure was very extreme and diverse. The
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