Upper Classes
The Senatorial class (senators): The basis for this class was political. It included all men who served in the Senate, and their families. This class was controlled by the nobles, families whose ancestors included at least one consul, and the higher ups. The first man in his family to be elected consul, thus qualifying his family for noble status. Senators had to prove that they had expensive property; there was no salary attached to service in the Senate, and senators were prohibited from engaging personally in non-agricultural business, trade or public contracts.
The Equestrian class: The foundation for this class was economic. A man could be formally enrolled in the Equestrian order if he could prove that he possessed a stable minimum amount of wealth; his family members were also considered equestrians. However, if an equestrian was elected to a magistracy and entered the Senate, he moved up to the senatorial class; this was not easy or frequent. They were primarily involved in the types of business prohibited to senators.
Women: Even though membership in these classes was dominated by the same families over many generations, the classes were defined according to male activities rather than birth. The women's place in these classes caused a problem. They were only suppose to be in public for festivals and funerals. Hower, there came to be an acceptance that women belonged to the social class of their fathers and then of their husbands. The women had no special dress for their status. This female sharing in social status began to form under Augustus's rule, who explicitly included the daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of senators in his laws.
Lower Classes
The Commons: They are all the other freeborn Roman citizens. The special mark of dress attire for citizen males was the toga. Every Roman citizen had conubium, the right to contract a legal marriage with another Roman citizen and have legitimate children who were Roman citizens.
The Latins: Latins are freeborn residents of Italy (until 89 BCE, when they were all granted full citizenship) and of other Roman municipalities who had some legal rights but were not full Roman citizens. They were also former slaves who had been informally freed by Roman citizens.
The Foreigners: They are other freeborn men and women who lived in Roman territories. In 212 CE, most freeborn people living within the Roman empire were granted Roman citizenship.
The Freedpeople: Freedpeople are men and women who had been slaves but had bought their freedom or been manumitted. They were not fully free because they had various restrictions on their rights and owed specific duties to their former masters. They were not, however, qualified for public office. This was the one class it was not possible to leave, though the class only had one generation. The next generation, their freeborn children, became full citizens and could even become equestrians if rich enough. Freedpeople had low social status, and most were probably fairly poor, but it was possible for them to achieve some success in a trade, and a few might become wealthy. They had no special distinction of dress, though their names indicated their status as freedpeople.
Slaves: The system of chattel slavery where human beings were born into slavery or sold into slavery through war or piracy. Slaves were the property of their owners by law, but by tradition some slaves might be allowed their own savings. They might could buy their freedom later, or their masters could free them. Roman slavery was not racially based, and slaves had no special difference of dress, though slaves who had run away were sometimes made to wear metal collars with inscriptions to lead to captors to their owners.
Women and Children: Since the lower classes were not defined by the male activities and there was no problem including women. The children were automatically members of their parent's social class; except for freedpeople because the next generation could be free. If the parents were Roman citizens and had a legal marriage, the children pursued the social status of their father. In cases of Latins, foreigners, and slaves, children took the social status of their mother, even if their father was a freedborn Roman citizen.
The Senatorial class (senators): The basis for this class was political. It included all men who served in the Senate, and their families. This class was controlled by the nobles, families whose ancestors included at least one consul, and the higher ups. The first man in his family to be elected consul, thus qualifying his family for noble status. Senators had to prove that they had expensive property; there was no salary attached to service in the Senate, and senators were prohibited from engaging personally in non-agricultural business, trade or public contracts.
The Equestrian class: The foundation for this class was economic. A man could be formally enrolled in the Equestrian order if he could prove that he possessed a stable minimum amount of wealth; his family members were also considered equestrians. However, if an equestrian was elected to a magistracy and entered the Senate, he moved up to the senatorial class; this was not easy or frequent. They were primarily involved in the types of business prohibited to senators.
Women: Even though membership in these classes was dominated by the same families over many generations, the classes were defined according to male activities rather than birth. The women's place in these classes caused a problem. They were only suppose to be in public for festivals and funerals. Hower, there came to be an acceptance that women belonged to the social class of their fathers and then of their husbands. The women had no special dress for their status. This female sharing in social status began to form under Augustus's rule, who explicitly included the daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of senators in his laws.
Lower Classes
The Commons: They are all the other freeborn Roman citizens. The special mark of dress attire for citizen males was the toga. Every Roman citizen had conubium, the right to contract a legal marriage with another Roman citizen and have legitimate children who were Roman citizens.
The Latins: Latins are freeborn residents of Italy (until 89 BCE, when they were all granted full citizenship) and of other Roman municipalities who had some legal rights but were not full Roman citizens. They were also former slaves who had been informally freed by Roman citizens.
The Foreigners: They are other freeborn men and women who lived in Roman territories. In 212 CE, most freeborn people living within the Roman empire were granted Roman citizenship.
The Freedpeople: Freedpeople are men and women who had been slaves but had bought their freedom or been manumitted. They were not fully free because they had various restrictions on their rights and owed specific duties to their former masters. They were not, however, qualified for public office. This was the one class it was not possible to leave, though the class only had one generation. The next generation, their freeborn children, became full citizens and could even become equestrians if rich enough. Freedpeople had low social status, and most were probably fairly poor, but it was possible for them to achieve some success in a trade, and a few might become wealthy. They had no special distinction of dress, though their names indicated their status as freedpeople.
Slaves: The system of chattel slavery where human beings were born into slavery or sold into slavery through war or piracy. Slaves were the property of their owners by law, but by tradition some slaves might be allowed their own savings. They might could buy their freedom later, or their masters could free them. Roman slavery was not racially based, and slaves had no special difference of dress, though slaves who had run away were sometimes made to wear metal collars with inscriptions to lead to captors to their owners.
Women and Children: Since the lower classes were not defined by the male activities and there was no problem including women. The children were automatically members of their parent's social class; except for freedpeople because the next generation could be free. If the parents were Roman citizens and had a legal marriage, the children pursued the social status of their father. In cases of Latins, foreigners, and slaves, children took the social status of their mother, even if their father was a freedborn Roman citizen.