Securing the republic 1

• Conflict of orders


  Period of unrest and tension between the plebeians and patricians orders between 494 and 287
• The conflict of orders story is based upon events from the later Roman Republic due to scarcity of reliable records which meant writers like Livy had to rely on late republican politics to describe early republican politics
• The conflict of orders resulted in two plebeian secessions in Rome
• War against the Tarquins had heavily impacted the lives of plebeians
• Debt and poverty caused unrest which the senate refused to relive
• To address the secessions the tribunes and the twelve tables were introduced to improve the lives of plebeians
• Causes of plebeian unrest

  • Warfare
  • Decline of the patron-client relationship
• Livy suggested Rome's war of independence causes homelessness and debt among the plebeians
• With so many men being at war, farms and businesses struggled to make ends meet and many had to borrow money to keep these running
• This causes war veterans and plebeians to come back from war with homelessness or large amounts of debt
• Livy suggests that the relationship between the plebeians and patricians were strained as there was no system in place to allow plebeians to voice their concerns
• The patricians did not look favourably upon plebeians and demands for land and debt reform
• Patricians such as Appius Claudius and his descendants represent patrician greed
• Modern historians criticise Livy's claim that warfare caused the conflict of orders
• Livy's claim of the rich seizing land must be exaggerated or made up as if this claim was true there would be no land to seize by the early second century
• Livy had another flaw of having a very stereotypical view of war
• In Ancient Rome, warfare provided men with many opportunities like looting and the sale of slaves which were profitable so poverty possibly couldn't have been a problem for these men
• The story of the two secessions are also part legend so there's likely only a small amount of truth to the stories
• Plebeian secessions

  Nonviolent protests by plebeians to demand greater access in the political system
• Refusing to work or live on the city forced patricians to listen and introduce changes as without the plebeians Rome has no military or workforce
• The conflict of orders showed the patricians how they couldn't ignore plebeian needs as Rome's power depended upon a large amount of soldiers
• It needed to have a loyal army to defend and expand its empire
• Livy begins their story of the first succession with the case of a war veteran who visited the forum to ask for help telling passer-by's that he was a commander in the army but was now reduced to homelessness, his farm destroyed by the Sabines and his possessions stolen
• When the senate demanded he pay a new war tax he had to borrow money but his taxes were too high and his debts were unsettled
• His land was repossessed and the creditor demanded him to be tortured and whipped
• His story spread and caused outrage, the forum was overrun by an angry mob who demanded justice
• The consuls averted the riot but they couldn't stop sedition spreading
• The senate met to discuss war debt and civil unrest but they didn't have a quorum as senators stayed away as they didn't want to help the plebeians
• Livy describes a debate between Appius Claudius and Servilius and it's very unlikely that Livy had access to a copy of the debate or if it even happened
• Appius wanted to crush the plebeians while Servilius represents compromise and unity, wanting to avoid conflict by helping the poor with debt
• Servilius vowed to fight against debt if the plebeians would fight for him, and quickly assembled an army
• However Appius used his power as consul to punish debtors and he placed men who fought with Servilius in chains as they returned to Rome
• Appius told the war veterans that Servilius has no right to cancel debts without the senate's support, blaming him
• Debtors demanded Servilius' help but he did not intervene
• Why Are There Three

  Appius Claudius in this Period?

  Appius Claudius and his two descendants were probably invented by the Roman historians to show how greed and immorality led to civil strife.
• Secession

  A group of people withdrawing formally from an organization, especially a political state
• The first Secession

  1. Livy created a description of a city in turmoil and civil unrest due to Appius' actions

  2. Groups of plebeians would free debtors from their chains

  3. Senators were attacked

  4. Consuls couldn't assemble an army

  5. Plebeians would meet in secret on the Esquiline and Aventine hills

  6. Rome's enemies used the unrest as an opportunity to attack its Latin allies

  7. Senate organised an emergency meeting

  8. Titus Larcius took the case of the plebeians
• Dictator Valerius

  • Appius Claudius told the senate not to be bullied by the criminals in the unrest
  • Valerius appealed to the people, reassuring them that he did not seek power but give their cases and recommendations to the senate
  • Valerius managed to raise 10 legions of men to defeat the Sabine, Aqui and Volsci threat
  • Valerius asked the senate to consider debt relief but the senate refused his request and Valerius resigned from his position
• Sicinius and the first secession

  494BC
• Sicinius and the first secession

  1. The senate had pushed Rome to the brink of civil war

  2. The consuls had refused to immobilise the army and made them carry on marching pretending to still be at war

  3. Sicinius told the army to occupy the sacred mount and inspire seditious plebeians to join them

  4. Many citizens fled the city either to join the secession or to escape the imminent civil war

  5. The sacred mount settlement had raided surrounding farms to secure food and provisions for themselves

  6. The senate sent ambassadors to the Sacred mount to hear the plebeians' demands

  7. The plebeians demanded debt relief and refused to negotiate unless their requests were met

  8. Agrippa encouraged them to enter negotiations after telling them the story about the body politic

  9. Appius Claudius refused to compromise or negotiate

  10. Livy suggests harmony was restored after the creation of the tribunes