The life of a wealthy Roman citizen

by BaldoDegliUbaldi

Let us take as a hypothesis the case of a pater familias of the late republic/prince belonging to the equestrian class. This person has some very successful business, perhaps large agricultural estates, mines, or a profitable slave trade. The children have good careers, perhaps in the army, at the bar or the cursus honorum. What kind of lifestyle would this person have? How big would his house in Rome be? Would he have clients or his own? What luxuries would he be able to afford compared to the plebeian, and which would be precluded to him because he is not a patrician? Finally, in the case of the principality, could this person have contacts with the imperial family, or was the dynasty of Augustus only accessible to patricians and high ranks in the army?

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These are all good questions, but I'm afraid there are too many for me to answer effectively in one swoop. I'll pick a few I can answer.

  1. Finally, in the case of the principality, could this person have contacts with the imperial family, or was the dynasty of Augustus only accessible to patricians and high ranks in the army? This depends a lot on the time period. In the Republic, it was very, very difficult and mighty expensive for someone not from Rome to attain any position in the cursus or a high rank in the army. Cicero and Gaius Marius are the notable exceptions. In the early-ish imperial period, the world opened up a bit, provided you were wealthy and talented. Total outsiders, like Seneca, could rise to positions of power with relative ease. By about the 1st- 2nd c. AD, things became even more open, as freedmen became more numerous and more wealthy. We know this because the Patricians and nobiles resisted the rise of freedmen as best they could, passing multiple laws under Augustus to limit their ability to hold public office even after manumission and receiving citizenship. The cena trimalchionis is a satirical literary response to this whole situation.
  2. How big would his house in Rome be? Would he have clients or his own? What luxuries would he be able to afford compared to the plebeian, and which would be precluded to him because he is not a patrician? He might not live in Rome, but I think the freedman Trimalchio can answer your questions better than I ever could. The short answer is: Money was really the only limiting factor.