Roman society

Question 1

Criteria to be a senator:

Answer 1

1,000,000 sesterces
Born into senatorial class
or elevated to that class by the emperor

Question 2

Criteria to be an equestrian:

Answer 2

400,000 sesterces

Question 3

Roles for senators: consuls

Answer 3

2 elected every year

Most important officials after the emperor

Question 4

Roles for senators: praetors

Answer 4

12 elected every year
Responsible for legal system
and imperial administration

Question 5

Roles for senators: other than praetor/consul

Answer 5

Commanding a legion
Governing a province
Holding an important priesthood
Supervising public services in Rome

Question 6

Privileges for senators:

Answer 6

Reserved seating at public games

Broad purple stripe on toga

Question 7

Roles for equestrians:

Answer 7

Often successful businessmen
Jobs in civil service eg managing financial affairs
Governing a small province

Question 8

Privileges for equestrians:

Answer 8

Narrow purple stripe on toga

Gold ring

Question 9

Privileges for citizens:

Answer 9

Protection of the law
Free entry to public games
Free or subsidised entry to baths
Free corn for poorer citizens

Question 10

How did citizenship differ for men and women?

Answer 10

Men were full citizens

Women were regarded as minors: they could not vote and had no say in the political system

Question 11

How did people become slaves?

Answer 11

Born a slave
Prisoner of war
Kidnapping
Criminals
Exposure

Question 12

Typical jobs for a domestic slave:

Answer 12

Tutor for children
Cooking
Weaving
Shopping
Cleaning
Personal attendant
Helping with accounts
Doorkeeper

Question 13

All slaves were equally badly off: true or false?

Answer 13

False: a well-educated (expensive) slave with a kind master/mistress could live a reasonably comfortable life

Question 14

Typical jobs for an industrial slave:

Answer 14

Mines
Factories eg bricks for building work
State-run farms
Galleys

Question 15

Typical jobs for a publicly owned slave:

Answer 15

Depended on skills:
maintenance of public buildings - baths, temples, roads etc
construction of public buildings
scribes for civil service

Question 16

What rights did a slave have?

Answer 16

None - they were legally classified as property
They had no legal or political rights
They couldn’t marry
They couldn’t own property
Evidence from a slave was only accepted if obtained under torture
If a master was killed by his slave, all of his slaves were put to death

Question 17

How could a slave gain his freedom?

Answer 17

Buy himself (money earned from bribes, running errands)
Be set free by his master (for good work, often in a will)
Slave-girls were often freed so their ex-master could marry them

Question 18

For what selfish reasons might a master free a slave?

Answer 18

If a slave could no longer work (illness, old age) it was cheaper to free him

Question 19

What rights did a freedman have?

Answer 19

Allowed to wear a pileus to symbolise his freedom

Classified as Roman citizens

Question 20

What restrictions were imposed on freedmen?

Answer 20

They couldn’t run for public office (with one exception)

They couldn’t become equestrians or senators even if they had enough money

Question 21

What was an Augustalis?

Answer 21

A public official connected with preserving the honour of the emperor
Usually elected from the ranks of freedmen

Question 22

What were the benefits of being an Augustalis?

Answer 22

Status:
they were the 2nd highest ranking officials
they had the right to display the symbols of a magistrate, including a purple bordered toga

Question 23

What duties was an Augustalis expected to perform?

Answer 23

Pay for buildings to be repaired
Pay for statues to be erected
Pay for games
Perform religious duties