Question

Who were Plebeians in the ancient Roman world?
A. Common citizens
B. Royal guards
C. Rich landlords
D. Landless laborers

Answer 1

Hint The Roman empire was one of the most powerful empires in world history. It was a vast empire spread across the region around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia.

Complete step by step solution
The social class in ancient Rome followed hierarchy and had multiple overlapping social hierarchies. It was a rather unclear and confusing system. A person could be superior to another in one social hierarchy while inferior to them in another. The deciding factors in these hierarchies were ancestry, census rank based on wealth and political benefits, gender, and a complicated system of granting citizenships.
The different classes based on these criteria were given different social, political, voting, and marriage rights. The upper class of the society was called the Patricians while the lower class was known as the Plebians.
The plebeians were members belonging to the lower strata of society. It mainly consisted of farmers and common men. These worked on the fields owned by the Patricians. These were tied to their patricians through the clientele system. They often had to assist their patricians in wars, augmented their social status, and raised dowries and ransoms. These sometimes owned small plots of land but it was rather uncommon.

Hence, the correct answer to this question is option A.

Note The patricians were wealthy members of society. The patricians were originally given the status according to their wealth during the economic differentiation in Rome. Later the class became hierarchical, based strictly on social stature and status.