TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > History > The Classes of Late Antique Society
- Western senatorial class success from disturbances in 3rd century. Unsettled areas easier to get land also have a townhouse etc Mutual exchange between the landowners and within estates. Land on hands of great proprietors (potentes) increased overall markets may have diminished in a corresponding fashion due to reciprocal exchanges between the estates of the rich.
- Senatorial class gets much larger from time of Constantine especially as senate on Constantinople. Valentinian I lays new layers of senator; clarissimi then spectabiles the illustres. Eastern senate full of new men whilst West still essentially landowners both heavily under taxed. Essential a service aristocracy social patterns maintained.
- High degree of competition for status and access to wealth and privilege Curiales wanted to get out of the city and into the imperial service status and financial rewards. Government tried every hard to stop this happening economic and administrative needs. Curialses could buy themselves into office
- Wanted to stop abuse of selling government offices used it as a financial tool and as a selection mechanism. 439 AD oath to say they had not paid for their office.
- Zeno and Justinian guilty of selling offices - weakness of government and lack of effective remedies another result was extortion by officials to recoup their money, a powerful allure in the first place. Corruption, buying favours, rapacious behaviour of office holders. Not necessarily a huge reason for decline modern moral views on traditional society.
- Patronage recently shown as increasingly important in understanding the Roman Empire. Protection of the poor, especially when the states provision is so bad. Traditional patrons supplanted and impeded as landlords and tax collectors by men with local authority, whether religious or secular new patrons entered scene equilibrium was broken. Poor and helpless looked where they could for protection. State disliked this as illicit appropriation of authority 0 some Emperors allowed it if all taxes paid, but Marcian forbade all patronage contract from 427 in Thrace and form 441 in East. The problem and governments failure to deal with it effectively shows weakness of bureaucratic system in comparison to vast and fragmented areas it was trying to control.
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