<P> In the Roman Kingdom and the early Roman Republic the most important division in Roman society was between the patricians and the plebeians . The patricians were a small elite whose ancestry was traced to the first Senate established by Romulus, who monopolised political power . The plebeians comprised the majority of Roman citizens (see below). Adult males who were not Roman citizens, whether free or slave, fall outside this division . Women and children were also not citizens, but took the social status of their father or husband, which granted them various rights and protections not available to the women and children of men of lower rank . </P> <P> The distinction between patricians and 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 . The first Roman Emperor, Augustus, was of plebeian origin, as were many of his successors . By the Late Empire, few members of the Senate were from the original patrician families, most of which had died out . Rome continued to have a hierarchical class system, but it was no longer dominated by the distinction between patricians and plebeians . </P> <P> Originally, all public offices were open only to patricians, and the classes could not intermarry . Plebeians and Patricians were always at odds due to the fact that Plebeians wanted to increase their power . A series of social struggles (see Conflict of the Orders) saw the plebs secede from the city on three occasions, the last in 297 BC, until their demands were met . They won the right to stand for office, the abolition of the intermarriage law, and the creation of office of tribune of the plebs . This office, founded in 494 BC as a result of a plebeian secession, was the main legal bulwark against the powers of the patrician class, and only plebeians were eligible . The tribunes originally had the power to protect any plebeian from a patrician magistrate . Later revolts forced the Senate to grant the tribunes additional powers, such as the right to veto legislation . A tribune's person was sacrosanct, and he was obliged to keep an open house at all times while in office . Some patricians, notably Clodius Pulcher in the late 60s BC, petitioned to be assigned plebeian status, in order to accumulate the political influence among the people that the office of tribune afforded . The conflict between the classes came to a climax in 287 BC when patricians and plebeians were declared equal under the law . </P> <P> Following these changes the distinction between patrician and plebeian status became less important, and by the Late Republic the only patrician prerogatives were certain priesthoods . Over time, some patrician families declined, some plebeian families rose in status, and the composition of the ruling class changed . A plebeian who was the first of his line to become consul was known as a novus homo ("new man"), and he and his descendants became "noble" (nobiles). Notable examples of novi homines are the seven - time consul Marius, and Cicero, whose rise was unusual in that it was driven by his oratorical and intellectual abilities rather than, as with Marius, military success . During the Empire, patricius became a title of nobility bestowed by emperors . </P>

The social class that struggled with plebeians for control of the roman empire