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Oppian Law Essay

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The Oppian Law and its Parallels to the Fall of the Roman Republic
The passive uprising of Roman women to repeal the Oppian law parallels many of the mounting internal pressures that contributed to the subsequent fall of the Roman Republic and rise of the Roman Empire. The rigid and inflexible hierarchy of Roman society and the failure of the Republic to pass meaningful legislation to stymie unrest among the plebian classes The Roman Republic expanded rapidly through a quick succession of wars. Rome established itself in the Mediterranean and spread it borders to encompass a massive and diverse empire including parts of northern Africa the Iberian Peninsula, and Asia. Class tensions mounted with rampant unemployment among the plebeians and many soldiers returned home from war to find their families sold into slavery after defaulting on debt. (French & Poska, 75, 85) The need to maintain military presence in the furthest reaches of the colonies further taxed and destabilized the Republic. …show more content…

The law limited the amount of gold that women could carry forcing them to deposit whatever excess they had with the state. Though women had no authority within the government, they were executors of their husbands’ estates while they served at war seasonally. This decentralized power away from Roman men prompting the Oppian law. Debate over the law pitted together two diametrically opposed visions for the future of Rome. Consul Cato spoke stalwartly in defense of the law, his conservative views on the role of women encapsulating his dedication to the current power structure of Rome. Plebian tribunes M. Fundanius and L. Valerius spoke on behalf of the women and by extension a broader diffusion of

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