Editing Patrician (ancient Rome) (section)

== Roman Republic and Empire ==
{{further|Social class in ancient Rome}}
===Status===
Patricians historically had more privileges and rights than plebeians. This status difference was marked at the beginning of the [[Roman Republic|Republic]]: patricians were better represented in the [[Roman assemblies]], and only patricians could hold high political offices, such as [[Roman dictator|dictator]], [[Roman consul|consul]], and [[Roman censor|censor]], and all priesthoods (such as [[pontifex maximus]]) were closed to non-patricians. There was a belief that patricians communicated better with the [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman gods]], so they alone could perform the sacred rites and take the [[Augury|auspices]].

Additionally, not only were the patricians of higher status in political offices but they also had the best land in ancient Rome.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|title=Ancient Roman civilization: history and sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE|year=2019|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-084960-3|oclc=1137838429}}</ref> Having the best land allowed the patrician class to have more opportunities, such as being able to produce better agriculture. This view had political consequences, since in the beginning of the year or before a military campaign, Roman magistrates used to consult the gods. Livy reports that the first admission of plebeians into a priestly college happened in 300 BC with the passage of the [[Lex Ogulnia]] when the [[College of Augurs]] raised their number from four to nine. After that, plebeians were accepted into the other religious colleges. By the end of the Republic, only priesthoods with limited political importance, such as the [[Salii]], the [[Flamen|Flamines]], and the [[Rex Sacrorum]], were filled exclusively by patricians.

While it was not illegal for a plebeian to run for political office, a plebeian would not have had the backing needed to win a seat.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|title=Ancient Roman civilization: history and sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE|year=2019|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-084960-3|oclc=1137838429}}</ref> Since society was organized in this way, the patrician class was essentially in control of ancient Rome's government.<ref name=":03" /> In Cassius' accounts of ancient Rome, he details how important and advantaged the patrician class was over the plebeian class.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/2*.html|title=Cassius Dio — Fragments of Book 2|website=penelope.uchicago.edu|access-date=2020-02-23}}</ref> He indicates the status difference between patricians and plebeians by detailing the specific shoes the patricians wore. Cassius states, "For the shoes worn by the patricians in the city were ornamented with laced straps and the design of the letter, to signify that they were descended from the original hundred men that had been senators."<ref name=":2" /> It is clear through Cassius' account that these details mattered and represented the differentiation between classes.

Few plebeian names appear in lists of [[Roman magistrate]]s during the early Republic. Two laws passed during the fourth century BC began the gradual opening of magistrates to the plebeians: the [[Lex Licinia Sextia]] of 367 BC, which established the right of plebeians to hold the consulship; and the [[Leges Genuciae|Genucian Law]] of 342 BC, which required that at least one of the consuls be a plebeian (although this law was frequently violated for several decades).

Many of the ancient patrician gentes whose members appear in the founding legends of Rome disappeared as Rome acquired its empire, and new plebeian families rose to prominence. A number of patrician families such as the Horatii, Lucretii, Verginii and Menenii rarely appear in positions of importance during the later republic. Many old families had patrician and plebeian branches, of which the patrician lines frequently faded into obscurity, and were eclipsed by their plebeian namesakes.

The decline accelerated toward the end of the Republic, principally because of the civil wars, from the [[Social War (91–88 BC)|Social War]] to the proscriptions of the [[Triumviri rei publicae constituendae|Triumvirs]], which took a heavy toll on them. As a result, several illustrious patrician houses were on the verge of extinction during the first century BC, sometimes only surviving through adoptions, such as:

* [[Claudius Caesar|Julii Caesares]]
* [[Manlia gens#Manlii Torquati|Manlii Torquatii]]
* [[Cornelii Scipiones]]
* [[Papiria gens#Papirii Masones|Papirii Masones]]
* [[Postumia gens#Postumii Albi et Albini|Postumii Albini]]
* [[Servilii Caepiones]]

However, large gentes with multiple {{lang|la|stirpes}} seem to have coped better; the [[Aemilia gens|Aemilii]], [[Claudia gens|Claudii]], [[Cornelia gens|Cornelii]], [[Fabia gens|Fabii]], [[Sulpicia gens|Sulpicii]], and [[Valeria gens|Valerii]] all continued to thrive under the [[Principate]].

=== Patricians vs. plebeians ===
The distinction between patricians and [[Plebs|plebeians]] in ancient Rome was based purely on birth. Although modern writers often portray patricians as rich and powerful families who managed to secure power over the less-fortunate plebeian families, plebeians and patricians among the senatorial class were equally wealthy. As civil rights for plebeians increased during the middle and late [[Roman Republic]], many plebeian families had attained wealth and power while some traditionally patrician families had fallen into poverty and obscurity. However, no amount of wealth could change one's class.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|title=Ancient Roman civilization : history and sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE|year=2019|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-084960-3|oclc=1137838429}}</ref>

=== Marriage ===
A marriage between a patrician and a plebeian was the only way to legally integrate the two classes. However, when the [[Twelve Tables]] were written down, the marriage between the two classes was prohibited.<ref name=":06">{{Cite book|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|title=Ancient Roman civilization : history and sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE|year=2019|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-084960-3|oclc=1137838429}}</ref> 
This was repealed in 445 BC with the [[Lex Canuleia]].<ref name="livy4">[[Livy|Titus Livius]], ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab Urbe Condita]]'', Book IV, 1-6</ref> If a marriage was to occur between a patrician and a plebeian, the children of that marriage would then be given patrician status. This law was created to prevent the classes from mixing. In ancient Rome women did not have power in the household. However, according to Mathisen, having a recognized marriage, so not illegally marrying into the other class, was important.<ref name=":06" /> Having a legally recognized marriage ensured that the children born from the marriage were given Roman citizenship and any property they might inherit.<ref name=":06" />

===  Conflict of the Orders ===
Eventually, the plebeians became unsatisfied with being the lower class and not having the same rights and privileges as the patricians.<ref name=":05">{{Cite book|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|title=Ancient Roman civilization : history and sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE|year=2019|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-084960-3|oclc=1137838429}}</ref> This time in Roman history is called the [[Conflict of the Orders]], which took place between 500 and 287 BC.<ref name=":05" /> Due to the patricians having the political status, the plebeian class had no representation in the government to advocate for their interests.<ref name=":05" /> By not having anyone advocating for their interests, this also meant that the plebeians did not always know the laws by which they had to abide.<ref name=":05" /> Since the patricians were of high social status, they did not want to lose this status; they were not in agreement with changing the structure of society by giving plebeians more status.<ref name=":05" /> Eventually, the plebeian class created their own governing body, the [[Plebeian Council|Council of the Plebs]].<ref name=":05" /> 

Another advancement that came from the Conflict of the Orders was the Twelve Tables. At this time in ancient Rome, the monarchy had been overthrown.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Steinberg|first=Michael|date=1982|title=The Twelve Tables and Their Origins: An Eighteenth-Century Debate|journal=Journal of the History of Ideas|volume=43|issue=3|pages=379–396|doi=10.2307/2709429|jstor=2709429|issn=0022-5037}}</ref> The plebeians wanted to know the laws, which resulted in the written form of laws: the Twelve Tables.<ref name=":05" /> Even once these laws were written down, and the new Centuriate Assembly was created, the patrician class remained in power. The assembly separated citizens into classes, however, the top two classes, [[Equites]] and Patricians, controlled the majority of the vote.<ref name=":05" /> This meant, that while the plebeians were able to vote, if the patrician classes voted together, they could control the vote.<ref name=":05" /> Ancient Rome, according to Ralph Mathisen, author of ''Ancient Roman Civilization: History and Sources,'' made political reforms, such as the introduction of the Council of the Plebs and the tribunes of the plebs. These two political bodies were created to give the plebeians a voice. After the Conflict of the Orders, according to Mathisen, Plebeians were able to rise in politics and become members of the Senate, which previously had been exclusively for patricians.<ref name=":05" />

=== Fading of distinction ===
A series of laws diminished the distinction between the two classes, including ''[[Lex Canuleia]]'' (445 BC; which allowed the marriage—''ius connubii''—between patricians and [[Plebeian|plebeians]]), ''[[Lex Licinia Sextia|Leges Liciniae Sextiae]]'' (367 BC; which made restrictions on possession of public lands—''ager publicus''—and also made sure that one of the consuls was plebeian), ''[[Lex Ogulnia]]'' (300 BC; plebeians received access to priest posts), and ''[[Lex Hortensia]]'' (287 BC; verdicts of plebeian assemblies—''plebiscita''—now bind all people). Gradually, by the late Republic, most distinctions between patricians and plebeians had faded away.<ref>Tellegen-Couperus, O. E. (1993). ''A short history of Roman law''. Psychology Press.</ref>

By [[Julius Caesar]]'s time so few of the patriciate were left that a special law was made, the ''Lex Cassia'', for the enrollment of new patricians. This was followed by [[Augustus]] under the ''Lex Saenia'', and continued by later emperors such as [[Claudius]].<ref name=":3" /> The last patrician families of the Republic went extinct in the Imperial period, and the latest known members of the "original" patrician houses are [[Servius Cornelius Dolabella Metilianus Pompeius Marcellus]] or possibly the [[Servius Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus|Cornelii Scipiones Salvidieni Orfiti]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hammond |first=Mason |date=1957 |title=Composition of the Senate, A.D. 68-235 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/298569 |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |volume=47 |issue=1/2 |pages=74–81 |doi=10.2307/298569 |jstor=298569 |s2cid=162954014 |issn=0075-4358}}</ref>

=== Modern day ===
"Patrician" and "plebeian" are still used today to refer to groups of people of high and lower classes.<ref name=":07">{{Cite book|last=Mathisen|first=Ralph W.|title=Ancient Roman civilization : history and sources, 753 BCE to 640 CE|year=2019|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-084960-3|oclc=1137838429}}</ref>

===Patrician families===
The following {{lang|la|gentes}} were regarded as patrician, although they may have had plebeian members or branches.
{{div col|colwidth=7em}}
* [[Aebutia gens|Aebutia]]
* [[Aemilia gens|Aemilia]]
* [[Aquillia gens|Aquillia]]
* [[Aternia gens|Aternia]]
* [[Atilia gens|Atilia]]
* [[Claudia gens|Claudia]]
* [[Cloelia gens|Cloelia]]
* [[Cornelia gens|Cornelia]]
* [[Curtia gens|Curtia]]
* [[Fabia gens|Fabia]]
* [[Foslia gens|Foslia]]
* [[Furia gens|Furia]]
* [[Gegania gens|Gegania]]
* [[Genucia gens|Genucia]]
* [[Herminia gens|Herminia]]
* [[Horatia gens|Horatia]]
* [[Julia gens|Julia]]
* [[Lartia gens|Lartia]]
* [[Lucretia gens|Lucretia]]
* [[Manlia gens|Manlia]]
* [[Menenia gens|Menenia]]
* [[Metilia gens|Metilia]]
* [[Minucia gens|Minucia]]
* [[Mucia gens|Mucia]]
* [[Nautia gens|Nautia]]
* [[Numicia gens|Numicia]]
* [[Papiria gens|Papiria]]
* [[Pinaria gens|Pinaria]]
* [[Pollia gens|Pollia]]
* [[Postumia gens|Postumia]]
* [[Potitia gens|Potitia]]
* [[Quinctia gens|Quinctia]]
* [[Quinctilia gens|Quinctilia]]
* [[Romilia gens|Romilia]]
* [[Sempronia gens|Sempronia]]
* [[Sergia gens|Sergia]]
* [[Servilia gens|Servilia]]
* [[Sestia gens|Sestia]]
* [[Siccia gens|Siccia]]
* [[Sulpicia gens|Sulpicia]]
* [[Tarpeia gens|Tarpeia]]
* [[Tarquinia gens|Tarquinia]]
* [[Tarquitia gens|Tarquitia]]
* [[Tullia gens|Tullia]]
* [[Valeria gens|Valeria]]
* [[Verginia gens|Verginia]]
* [[Veturia gens|Veturia]]
* [[Vitellia gens|Vitellia]]
* [[Volumnia gens|Volumnia]]
{{div col end}}
A number of other {{lang|la|gentes}} originally belonged to the patricians but were known chiefly for their plebeian branches.

* [[Antonia gens|Antonia]]
* [[Cassia gens|Cassia]]
* [[Cominia gens|Cominia]]
* [[Curiatia gens|Curiatia]]
* [[Hostilia gens|Hostilia]]
* [[Junia gens|Junia]]
* [[Marcia gens|Marcia]]

====Gentes maiores et minores====
Among the patricians, certain families were known as the {{lang|la|gentes maiores}}, the greatest or perhaps the most noble houses. The other patrician families were called the {{lang|la|gentes minores}}. Whether this distinction had any legal significance is not known, but it has been suggested that the {{lang|la|princeps senatus}}, or Speaker of the Senate, was traditionally chosen from the {{lang|la|gentes maiores}}.

No list of the gentes maiores has been discovered, and even their number is unknown. It has been suggested that the Aemilii, Claudii, Cornelii, Fabii, Manlii, and Valerii were amongst them. The ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'' suggests that the gentes maiores consisted of families that settled at Rome in the time of [[Romulus]], or at least before the destruction of [[Alba Longa]]. The noble Alban families that settled in Rome in the time of [[Tullus Hostilius]] then formed the nucleus of the gentes minores. These included the Julii, Tulii, Servilii, Quinctii, Geganii, Curtii, and Cloelii.<ref name="OCD">''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', 2nd ed. (1970).</ref><ref>Greenidge, Abel Hendy Jones, ''Roman Public Life'' (London: MacMillan, 1901), page 12.</ref>

However, ''[[Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities]]'' suggests that the Alban families were also included among the gentes maiores, and that the gentes minores consisted of the families admitted to the patriciate under the [[King of Rome|Tarquins]] and in the early years of the [[Roman Republic|Republic]]. In any case, the distinction cannot have been based entirely on priority, because the Claudii did not arrive at Rome until after the expulsion of the kings.<ref name="OCD"/><ref name=":3">''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', [[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]], Editor.</ref><ref>[[Livy|Titus Livius]], ''[[Ab Urbe Condita (book)|Ab Urbe Condita]]'', i. 30, ii. 16.</ref><ref>''[[Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities|Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities]]'', Second Edition, [[Harry Thurston Peck]], Editor (1897)</ref>