Social Inequality In The Roman Republic

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In each of the civilizations of the Roman Republic, Umayyad Caliphate, and Yuan dynasty, people of a certain social class were treated unequally to the rest of society by the governing bodies. The leaders of the Roman Republic treated the inferior Plebeians such because of their greed, and hunger for power, and the belief that they are inherently superior. The Yuan dynasty, on the other hand, feared the possible outcomes of the Chinese natives of their society acquiring too much power. Regardless of the means by which they discriminated, or the underlying incentives, social inequality was a common thread in these three civilizations.
In the Roman Republic, the Plebeians, members of the inferior social class, were treated unequally to the wealthy …show more content…
This group was referred to as Mawali, and it consisted of non-Arabs who voluntarily converted to Islam after the Islamic empire occupied their regions. Instead of being discriminated by wealth, such as the Plebeians were in the Roman Republic, the Mawali were separated from the Muslim community because they were not ethnic Arabs. They enjoyed fewer rights than the native Arabs of the empire. For example, Mawali were not allowed to serve in the elite cavalry units of the military, but rather only as foot soldiers. When a military unit conquered and looted a region, the Mawali soldiers often received less plunder than the equivalent Arab soldiers. Additionally, they received less pay for the same jobs, military-related and not, that Arabs conducted, and similar to the Plebeians, they could not serve in the high government positions. They Mawali were also required to pay an additional Jizyah tax to the government that was typically levied on dhimmis, the Jews and Christians of the Umayyad Caliphate. The exact reasons for this discrimination by the Umayyad government and army are not definitely known. However, feelings of superiority, entitlement, and greed of the Arabs in charge might have influenced …show more content…
However, while the governing body of the Umayyad Caliphate consisted of native Arabs and the discriminated class of foreign Mawali, the opposite was true in teh Yuan dynasty’s social structure. After Kublai Khan conquered all of China in an effort to extend his khanate, he established a government in which only Mongols and other non-Chinese occupied government positions. The natives, in this case, were the inferior peoples rather than the governors. The Chinese were not allowed to serve in major government positions because their local loyalties made them less trustworthy in the eyes of the Mongols. Though it is not known for sure, the Mongol leaders most likely feared possible conspiracies and revolts by the Chinese that might have resulted from them having too much power in the government. The Chinese were, however, allowed to administer at local levels. This privilege is similar to that of the Plebeians in the Roman Republic, as both served in minor government positions. The Mongols further distinguished themselves from the Chinese by making the Chinese follow a separate set of laws. The Chinese were also taxed more than the non-Chinese in the empire. No explicit reasons are given for these
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