[Music] broan was one of the longest-lasting societies in the history of the world arguably lasting for 2206 years from 753 BC with the founding of Rome to 1453 ad and the fall of Constantinople with many of its institutions even lasting into the modern age Confucius the ancient Chinese philosopher was once asked which single word was wisest to live his life by he answered simply reciprocity doing unto others as you would have them do to you this would be one of the Keystone's of Roman life and was arguably the glue which bound Roman society together for hundreds of years welcome to our video on the institution of patronage in the Roman world like many things in Roman society the origins of the fabled patron client relationship began with the very earliest founder of the city Romulus the myths concerning those enigmatic days are likely just that but they state that soon after the city's creation Romulus distinguished between the more powerful members of society the patricians and those who were less powerful the plebeians the former were appointed to functions which would run society such as priests magistrates and judges while the latter were prohibited from this they would perform the basest tasks such as farming and trading however unlike most cities the founder pushed the plebeians in the guardianship of the less numerous patricians allowing each per bian to choose their patron this would grow into the sacred institution of client alia and Patrick in iam which was essentially a series of reciprocal relations between richer and more prestigious citizens of the Roman state and the poorer disenfranchised masses the give-and-take nature of these reciprocal interactions would provide both the patron and the client with benefits in their specific lives those granted to the client from the patron in an individual sense would usually be material perhaps a donation of food to a poor client or even cash itself which was called a Sports Allah as the patrician class were also magistrates and judges at the appointment of Romulus they would offer legal advice in court cases which involved their clients and even represent them in court using their oratory skills meanwhile the duties of clients could be many things which are primarily oriented around increasing the prestige or Dignitas of their patron although there are exceptions for instance the foundational relationship between an individual patron and client might consist of the client performing a morning salute a co or greeting in front of patrons residence from their the many clients would follow their patron to their daily business perhaps in the forum or the law courts regardless of their personal opinions on a particular matter the client would be expected to applaud and promote the interests of their patron honoring the reciprocal relationship the more clients seen under the guardianship of a patron the more Dignitas they would accumulate among their peers rather than being an isolated relationship between one citizen and another a patron of many clients may have a patron of their own of an even higher social status creating a network comprised of many of these inter-linkages as the Republican period went on the nature of the Roman patron client relationship changed and expanded being seen in many areas of life some examples of this enlargement of the client system will be shown now perhaps the most prominent and visible of these relations during the turbulent late Republican period was that of the Conqueror and the kingdoms which were conquered instead of direct integration as a Roman province Pompey initially installed client kings in those eastern regions subjugated during his command such as Crimea Armenia and Judea these Kings would rally for their illustrious patron at the Battle of Pharsalus against Caesar in 48 BC Caesar himself also functioned as the patron of his palace modern-day Siviglia where he gave many benefits and tax reductions to its citizens during his role as cuesta this made it even more galling and insulting when during the caesarian civil war this region sided with his enemy Pompey breaking the sacred patron client relationship the writings of cicero also give us an idea of the extent that patronage reached during the late Republic he interceded many times on behalf of clients in his hometown are Panem for which he functioned as a collective patron of the entire settlement they would sometimes request Oratory genius for assistance in court cases or financial assistance in various matters Cicero benefited politically by the many good relations he nurtured in the provinces he governed Sicily had been one of the richest provinces in the empire but a corrupt governor named varies changed all this under his administration prosperous cities were sacked and positions were appointed through nepotism and bribery this course poverty to become widespread in the region until Cicero intervened he used his skills to prosecute and removed the corrupt Very's which eventually led Sicily to prosperity again in addition to his own good governorship of the province in gratitude the Sicilians would always support Cicero in his political career and played a significant role in his becoming console during 63 BC in addition to these various types of patron and client a freed slave and his former master often also adopted this position with the ex master functioning as the patron to his client ex-slaves the profound impact of this system of mutual kinship among the Roman people was outlined by Dionysus and as his clay in his writing that he believes patronage was one of the most important Roman institutions being directly responsible for six hundred and thirty years of peace and harmony in public life up until the violent suppression of the great brothers it did this in several key ways more educated and sophisticated patrons would be expected to explain the laws to their clients if they had no knowledge of them hopefully making them into a better law-abiding citizen and functioning much as a father's tutelage to their son in gratitude for their legal and financial intercessions on behalf of the client patrons would receive collective funds from their many clients for causes such as ransoming family members who had been kidnapped and raising galleries for prestigious marriages these reciprocal links between specific clans and fan were not especially individual and often continued down many generations it was possible that even the grandson of a client could still be patronized by the same man or family if they lived long enough and because of this they often developed fierce loyalty to their patrons the progression of the Patrick inium system into the post Augustin era is controversial and debatable did the system decline and eventually disappear along with the significance of elections in the newly monarchical Empire or did the institution merely evolve and morph into a new form to match the new political reality of the Roman state while it is possible that the traditional patron client relationships in the political sphere broke down others argue that the Emperor's position at the head of the Empire was purely based on patronal ties to their various supporters meaning that the Emperor's position as a great patron was a key to their imperial power the system of patronage also acquired another prevalent aspects during this time benefit the granting of benefits by the Roman Emperor to their various subordinate clients such as the remaining senatorial class equities and military commanders in the provinces an example of this type of relationship was Nerva the first of the five good emperors who once stated that he had assumed responsibility for the empire in order that I might confer new beneficia and preserve those already granted by my predecessors this seems like an odd thing to proclaim at first until the dependence of the Emperor on those below him is understood he naturally would wish to signal to the aristocracy and powerful men in the Empire that he would maintain and even heighten their status so that they would support him the continuity offered by Nerva to his aristocratic senatorial clients would also have made them realize this Emperor was reliable and would not arbitrarily remove their position or property Imperial benefit qiyam related to the imperial patron client system had many different categories of wide-ranging actions upon many different parties in the empire pliny outlines an example of a few of them emergency grain shipments to the suffering province of Egypt the establishment of courts more sympathetic to the people citizenship grants and immunity from inheritance tax many profitable governorships were also established in the empire at the sole jurisdiction of the emperor and his generosity his clients and favored individuals would be the main beneficiaries of these bonuses in return one possible reciprocal benefit given back to the emperor could be the naming of the emperor in their will and it is possible that these material legacies comprised a significant portion of Imperial incomes the Imperator would grant positions and favors on to his nominal subordinates and in return they would grant him wealth upon their deaths so that the cycle of reciprocity might continue the head of the Roman state was not the only highly positioned individual capable of granting boons to their favorites their wives and female family members also possessed this ability due to their proximity to the center of imperial power many occasions in the reign of Augustus were noted in which his sister Octavia was thanked by various highly positioned men of the Empire for her favour that had assisted them in receiving their position moreover Livia was said to consistently assist in the career advancement of many favorites we will continue covering various topics on Roman history so make sure you are subscribed to our channel and have pressed 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