Ancient Roman Businesses: Jobs in Ancient Rome were similar to those needed in ancient towns and countries. The jobs that differed vastly were those in political areas and the military which were specific to Roman society and their vast empire.
The obvious other difference was the Romans dependence on slaves. The majority of Roman slaves were placed in positions where they had to undertake the most menial, arduous and unpleasant tasks, however, slaves with suitable backgrounds were given the roles such as teachers and artists.
Ancient Roman Businesses, Jobs
Ancient Roman Businesses, Jobs fell into various categories like Political, Administration, Military, Farming, Trades, Merchants, Construction, Religious, Entertainment, Artists, Lawyers, Teachers to name a few.
The politicians of Ancient Rome held the power and at first, consisted of only Patricians. As time went by the Plebians were also allowed to take political office. Some of the jobs or Roman Businesses included the following:
Senators who sat on the Chief Council of Rome. There were about 600 members who reported directly to the emperor, Provincial Governors, Magistrates, Quaestor, Aedile, Praetor, Consul, Equities also known as ‘knights’ and had control over administration and finance, Censor – maintain the census of citizens and senators and collected taxes.
The politicians in ancient Rome were unequivocally and solely Patricians. They enjoyed tremendous power and authority in the ancient Roman Empire. Gradually, the Plebeians were also permitted to enter into office. Some of the jobs in ancient Rome comprised of Senators, Magistrates and Provincial Governors.
Administrators, Lawyers, and Teachers
Many administrators were required to maintain the Government of Ancient Rome, some of them are detailed as follows:
Procurator was an agent who could hold a variety of posts and jobs from finance to administration, Publicanus was the tax collector, Notarii were clerks who kept the minutes of meetings while Rationalis was A high ranking administrator in the finance office
Magistrates included Consul, Quaestors, Aedile, Praetor, Equities, popularly called knights and finally the finance Censor, who was responsible for maintaining the census of the Roman citizens and the senators and also collected the state taxes.
Apart from this, there were also jobs for the lawyers, the police, the firemen and the law enforces such as jailors, torturers, and executioners as well. Teachers were also required. Some of these were well-educated slaves but others assumed these positions. One of the educational jobs was that of a Rhetor a teacher who was a master of public speaking.
It took a lot of soldiers and a lot of military expertise to control the lands, provinces, and countries held by the Roman Empire. The Roman army was a well-oiled fighting machine, but the soldiers were also expected to build roads and forts.
There were numerous ranks in the Roman Army, some such as General can be compared to the modern day. Other ranks included Centurion, Tribune, and Legionaries.
There were also craftsmen who supplied services to the military such as blacksmiths and metal workers. In ancient Rome, the army was an unalienable part of the Empire. A slew of soldiers was recruited to the army personnel. There were several ranks in the ancient Roman army like Centurion, Legionaries, and Tribune.