- Unit 3. Rome, the Global Empire
- Getting Started
  - What Are We Learning?
  - Observe and Think
  - Map Your Mind
- Rome, the Global Empire
  - The History of Ancient Rome
    - A Little City Become Empire
    - The Legendary Origins
    - The Monarchy (753-509 BC)
    - The Republic (509-27 BC)
      - The Fight for Political Rights
      - Major Conquests during the Republic
      - The Crisis of the Republic
    - The Roman Empire (27-476 AD)
      - The Crisis of the Third Century
      - The Recovery of the 4th Century
      - The Fall of the Roman Empire
  - The Roman Society
    - Women in Rome
    - Slaves
  - The Roman Economy
  - The Roman Law
  - The Roman Army
- Self-Evaluation Quiz
- Complementary Activities
  - The Greek and Latin Roots of English
  - One Myth, One Song
  - Games, Comics and Stuff
- References

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# The Roman Society

The Roman society was divided into two main groups: the citizens and the non-citizens.

The citizens

At the time of the Monarchy and in the early years of the Republic, social division was based on political rights. When the plebeians were given the same political rights as the patricians, social division was based on wealth.
Citizens were free men who had all political and civil rights. They were divided into:

> - honestiores, the wealthiest
> - humiliores, plebeians having a much lower social status, both in the city and in the country

Female citizens had fewer rights than a man of the same status.
The non-citizens

This was a large and mixed group. It was formed by all the people who had no right to citizenship:

> - conquered populations were non-citizens until 212 AD, when, thanks to the Edict of Caracalla, they became citizens
> - foreigners coming from beyond the Empire's borders who were usually traders or artisans
> - freedmen were slaves that had been freed by their owners (manumissio) or who had bought their freedom
> - slaves had no rights; they were considered the property of their master. People could become slaves
> - if they had been conquered in war
> - as a punishment for not paying debts
> - because they had a parent who was a slave.

## Activity

Draw a pyramid shape. In this pyramid, write the social groups of Ancient Rome. The nicest ones will be uploaded to our classroom blog landofpotters.

## Activity

Classify these Roman individuals into two groups: citizens / non-citizens.

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