BIG CITY/BIG PROBLEMS

• Rome had a population of close to one million people and no police force or army garrison to keep the peace– Majority of these

people were Plebeians, freed slaves, and slaves

– Frequently formed “mobs” and rioted

PRIVATE ARMIES• Mobs were generally unarmed,

relying on sticks and stones as weapons

• Wealthy could get permission from Senate to issue weapons to their clients in an emergency– Wealthy also had

knowledge of strategy, tactics and logistics

– Kept poor down with private armies

• A small step from using private armies to keep peace to using them to weaken or eliminate a rival or advance a program

CROWDED CITY• Rome had a huge population

crammed together in a high density in a small geographic area– Streets were narrow and

winding– Rich lived in mansions on

Palatine Hill or in suburbs– Most other Romans lived in

small flats in rickety wooden apartment buildings• In lower part of city• Subject to periodic floods,

collapsing buildings, and almost daily fires

SLUMS• Apartment buildings were poorly

constructed and designed– Flats were poorly lit, poorly

ventilated, and unheated– Water had to be carried in from

public fountains– Not connected to the sewer system

• Most of Rome was an appalling slum– But landlords like Cicero made

good incomes from their property• Some reformers proposed suspending

rents for a time to help the poor– Always blocked by wealthy

landlords

LABOR FORCE• Most economic activity in

Rome revolved around supplying its population with food and other necessities and construction– Many workers were slaves

or men from slave origins– Advantages of slaves

• Slaves were cheap• Most came from the

East and had highly-developed skills

• They provided a stable labor force

HARD LIVES• Freeborn Romans plebeians were

mostly displaced small farmers– Generally performed unskilled labor

on irregular basis• Most Romans only worked periodically

at unskilled jobs for low pay– Yet they continued to pour into

Rome because it was even worse out in the countryside• Lived hard lives, dependent on

the voluntary generosity of the wealthy and occasional part-time employment

SUMMARY• Preconditions for political violence in Republican Rome– Governmental structure• Rigged in favor of the wealthy

– Large population and lack of official police force• Caused the wealthy to form private armies to protect

themselves and their interests– Misery and squalor of the majority of the Roman

population• Multiplied their grievances against the wealthy and the

government• Also fostered their dependence on the rich and powerful–Left them open to ruthless politicians who promised

them satisfaction of their complaints in exchange for support

WHY DID THE POOR RIOT?• Some historians have interpreted motivations of mobs in

class terms

– As a struggle between rich and poor• At other times, the mobs were motivated by grain

shortages or high grain prices• Unifying motivational factor was hunger

–Mobs were not out to overthrow the Roman government

–They were poor, hungry people who wanted food, who wanted to survive