I have been watching some documentaries on Rome and many of them take the time to comment on the fact that Rome spent a lot of money giving bread and entertainment to its poor.

But why? The poor until later on could not serve in the military and later on when they could they wouldn't be "poor".

So why spend money on a class that was an economic burden and did not provide military service? Considering how they had no problem putting whole peoples to the sword why not just evict or kill them? Which seems more "Roman" to me.

Maybe Catholicism?

The mob is rome .

Ah thus my error. I was thinking the poor did not have citizenship.

#LOLpoors. Similarities between ancient Rome and TexAgs, with its occasional articles available to non-premium subscribers.

It was the ancient version of the welfare plantation that we have today

Keep the people from rioting in the streets


Then they overextended their military, went bankrupt, and let outside refugees from barbaric cultures come in and take over their culture.

Dr. Watson said:

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Killing people simply because of poverty, especially Roman citizens, would have gone over terribly. And it's not as if the poor didn't typically work. They just didn't make much doing the menial work that every city needs to survive.

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The History of Rome podcast implied that many of the poor didn't really work. They had rich "sponsors" who they would visit every day and the sponsor would give then a few coins for their daily expenses. I'm not sure exactly what the benefit was for the sponsors.

There was a certain point where the legions had brought in enough slaves that they took many of the poor's jobs.

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I'm not sure exactly what the benefit was for the sponsors.

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Votes. Same as today.

hennyj15 said:

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Dr. Watson said:

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Killing people simply because of poverty, especially Roman citizens, would have gone over terribly. And it's not as if the poor didn't typically work. They just didn't make much doing the menial work that every city needs to survive.

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The History of Rome podcast implied that many of the poor didn't really work. They had rich "sponsors" who they would visit every day and the sponsor would give then a few coins for their daily expenses. I'm not sure exactly what the benefit was for the sponsors.

There was a certain point where the legions had brought in enough slaves that they took many of the poor's jobs.

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Senators were something akin to Don Coleone. They supported a loyal following who would do their bidding.

Bread and circuses predates the official adoption of Christianity by about 230 years. So Christianity had little to do with it initially.