Editing Roman Republic (section)

====Rise of the plebeian nobility====
In the 4th century, plebeians gradually obtained political equality with patricians. The first plebeian consular tribunes were elected in 400. The reason behind this sudden gain is unknown,{{efn|It has nevertheless been speculated that [[Lucius Atilius Luscus]] in 444, and [[Quintus Antonius Meranda]] in 422 were also plebeian.{{sfn|Brennan|2000|p=50}} }} but it was limited as patrician tribunes retained preeminence over their plebeian colleagues.{{Sfn|Cornell|1989a|p=338}} In 385&nbsp;BC, the former consul and saviour of the besieged capital, [[Marcus Manlius Capitolinus]], is said to have sided with the plebeians, ruined by the sack and largely indebted to patricians. According to Livy, Capitolinus sold his estate to repay the debt of many of them, and even went over to the plebs, the first patrician to do so. Nevertheless, the growing unrest he had caused led to his trial for seeking kingly power; he was sentenced to death and thrown from the [[Tarpeian Rock]].{{sfn|Livy|loc=vi.11, 13–30}}{{Sfn|Cornell|1989a|pp=331–332}}

Between 376 and 367&nbsp;BC, the tribunes of the plebs [[Gaius Licinius Stolo]] and [[Lucius Sextius Lateranus]] continued the plebeian agitation and pushed for an ambitious legislation, known as the ''[[Leges Liciniae Sextiae]]''. The most important bill opened the consulship to plebeians.{{sfn|Cornell|1989a|loc=p. 337. Cornell believes Livy confused the contents of the ''lex Licinia Sextia'' of 366&nbsp;BC the ''lex Genucia'' of 342&nbsp;BC}} Other tribunes controlled by the patricians vetoed the bills, but Stolo and Lateranus retaliated by vetoing the elections for five years while being continuously reelected by the plebs, resulting in a stalemate.{{efn|Livy mentions at least two patricians favourable to the tribunes: [[Marcus Fabius Ambustus (consular tribune 381)|Marcus Fabius Ambustus]], Stolo's father-in-law, and the dictator for 368&nbsp;BC [[Publius Manlius Capitolinus]], who appointed the first plebeian ''magister equitum'', Gaius Licinius Calvus.}} In 367&nbsp;BC, they carried a bill creating the ''[[Decemviri sacris faciundis]]'', a college of ten priests, of whom five had to be plebeians, thereby breaking patricians' monopoly on priesthoods. The resolution of the crisis came from the dictator [[Marcus Furius Camillus|Camillus]], who made a compromise with the tribunes: he agreed to their bills, and they in return consented to the creation of the offices of praetor and curule aediles, both reserved to patricians. Lateranus became the first plebeian consul in 366&nbsp;BC; Stolo followed in 361&nbsp;BC.{{Sfn|Livy|loc=vi.36–42}}{{sfn|Broughton|1952–1986|loc=vol. 1 pp. 108–114}}{{sfn|Brennan|2000|pp=59–61}}

Soon after, plebeians were able to hold both the [[roman dictator|dictatorship]] and the censorship. The four-time consul [[Gaius Marcius Rutilus]] became the first plebeian dictator in 356&nbsp;BC and censor in 351&nbsp;BC. In 342&nbsp;BC, the tribune of the plebs Lucius Genucius passed his ''[[leges Genuciae]]'', which abolished interest on loans, in a renewed effort to tackle indebtedness; required the election of at least one plebeian consul each year; and prohibited magistrates from holding the same magistracy for the next ten years or two magistracies in the same year.{{sfn|Livy|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0154%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D42 vii.42]}}{{sfn|Cornell|1989a|p=337}}{{sfn|Brennan|2000|pp=65–67|ps=, showing that the ten-year rule was only temporary at this time.}} In 339&nbsp;BC, the plebeian consul and dictator [[Quintus Publilius Philo]] passed three laws extending the plebeians' powers. His first law followed the ''lex Genucia'' by reserving one censorship to plebeians, the second made plebiscites binding on all citizens (including patricians), and the third required the Senate to give its prior approval to plebiscites before they became binding on all citizens.{{Sfn|Cornell|1989a|pp=342–343}}

During the early Republic, consuls chose senators from among their supporters. Shortly before 312&nbsp;BC, the ''[[lex Ovinia]]'' transferred this power to the censors, who could only remove senators for misconduct, thus appointing them for life. This law strongly increased the power of the Senate, which was by now protected from the influence of the consuls and became the central organ of government.{{sfn|Cornell|1989b|pp=393–394|ps=, giving an earlier date, before 318&nbsp;BC.}}{{sfn|Humm|2005|pp=[https://books.openedition.org/efr/1613#bodyftn15 185–226]}}{{efn|Appius Caecus is a complex character whose reforms are difficult to interpret. For example, Mommsen considered he was a revolutionary, but was puzzled by his opposition to the ''lex Ogulnia'', which contradicts his previous "democratic" policies. Taylor on the contrary thought he defended patricians' interests, as freedmen remained in the clientele of their patrons. More recently, Humm described his activity as the continuation of the reforms undertaken since Stolo and Lateranus.}} In 312&nbsp;BC, following this law, the patrician censor [[Appius Claudius Caecus]] appointed many more senators to fill the new limit of 300, including descendants of freedmen, which was deemed scandalous. Caecus also launched a vast construction programmee, building the first [[Aqueduct (bridge)|aqueduct]], the ''[[Aqua Appia]]'', and the first Roman road, the ''[[Via Appia]]''.{{sfn|MacBain|1980}}

In 300&nbsp;BC, the two tribunes of the plebs Gnaeus and Quintus Ogulnius passed the ''[[lex Ogulnia]]'', which created four plebeian pontiffs, equalling the number of patrician pontiffs, and five plebeian augurs, outnumbering the four patricians in the college.{{sfn|Cornell|1989a|p=343}} The Conflict of the Orders ended with the last secession of the plebs around 287. The dictator [[Quintus Hortensius]] passed the ''lex Hortensia'', which reenacted the law of 339&nbsp;BC, making plebiscites binding on all citizens, while also removing the requirement for prior Senate approval.{{sfn|Develin|1978}} These events were a political victory of the wealthy plebeian elite, who exploited the economic difficulties of the plebs for their own gain: Stolo, Lateranus, and Genucius bound their bills attacking patricians' political supremacy with debt-relief measures.{{sfn|Cornell|1989a|pp=340–341}} As a result of the end of the patrician monopoly on senior magistracies, many small patrician ''gentes'' faded into history during the 4th and 3rd centuries&nbsp;BC due to the lack of available positions. About a dozen remaining patrician ''gentes'' and 20 plebeian ones thus formed a new elite, called the ''[[nobiles]]'', or ''Nobilitas''.{{sfn|Cornell|1995|p=342}}