We know of about fifty patrician clans in the fifth century B.C., but by the time of Caesar, in the later first century B.C., only fourteen of these had survived. The decay continued in imperial times. We know of the families of nearly four hundred Roman senators in A.D. sixty-five, but, just one generation later, all trace of half of these families had vanished.
By Augustus's reign (27 BC-AD 14) only about 15 patrician families were left, and by Trajan's (AD 98-117) just six. In Constantine I's time (AD 307-337) the title ‘patrician' had come to mean anyone who held high office in the imperial court.
Why they vanished? (1) Inbreeding. They had few children and many of them were defective. Like the Hapsburg dynasty. Pic.: Sulla. He suffered from severe pains in the legs. (2) Like today, educated classes frequently didnt marry and had children. In Imperial Rome, only the proletarians had two or three children.
8 comments:
Well, I'm sure Sulla's proscriptions helped to eliminate some of the competing patrician families, or at least thin them out. And Sulla's "leg pains" are so non-specific that it's not possible to ascribe that to a genetic malady caused by inbreeding with any confidence.
True, Sulla helped to put an end to a few competing clans, but lack of children was the main cause of their demise. Sulla almost ended the Julia clan, if not for Caesar's escape. There were almost no Julii left by that time.
Roman patricians left no successors, like those rich Parsis. I dont know if it is inbreeding, maybe it was the nefarious effect of wealth.
I was reading about the Manila Galleon trade, and it poured about 2 billion dollars worth a year into Spain in the 16th century. Spain's population decreased and the country became meaningless.
You are speaking of a span of 8 centuries - that's a very long time. If you look at the US founding fathers, there are no prominent Lincolns, Washingtons, Jefforsons, etc. There is regression toward the mean - eventually the descendants end up being quite ordinary and the line dies out completely.
Google "Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith" to learn the sad story of the last Lincoln.
K
Mr Berlusconi is proof positive that the best of classical Rome lives on, even today!
Koko
Does Silvio own a horse? He could make it a senator.
I think he owns some whores, but that is not quite the same thing.
Anon.
Nero saw that the Senate was full of whores, so he decided to give a try to a horse. It was a success: horses always vote yes with their heads. Unfortunately someone burned down the city and I am sure it was not the horse.
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