The plebeians were people of general citizenship in Ancient Rome. The Plebeians were shorted out on a lot of stuff. From the clothing they could wear, to their living accomodations the plebeians had it rough. They couldn't do much in concerns to the government.
The Patricians and the plebeians agreed on the law of the twelve tables.
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The clothing that they could wear was usually made of cloth or whatever was available to them at the time unlike the expensive the linen the Patricians got to wear. The men wore two things; the tunica and the toga.
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In Ancient Roman government, pebeians didn't have much of a roll. They were originally excluded from being able to be in the Senate and almost everything else except the military tribune.
The distinction of being a plebeian was based on how wealthy you were, and who you were related to. A plebeian couldn't marry a patrician before the law known as Lex Canuleia. This law was established in 445 BC allowing patricians and plebeians to be wed. |
Plebeians typically lived in insulae (3-4 story apartment houses). One room was usually housing two families, which resulted in it being very crowded. The surrounding of the building were usually smelly and unsanitary due to the dumping of a pot they used as a bathroom. Slaves in Patrician households often lived better than these Plebs! Some of the poor people sold themselves and their families into slavery just to survive.
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