When the Roman peasants all left the city

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Look, all the common people of Roma leaving the city and abandoning the rich behind while an enemy army is invading.

[00:00:05]In Rome's early history, wars were mostly fought by farmers. When the farmers returned from war, they often found their farms destroyed. They were then forced to borrow money to survive.

[00:00:14]If they could not repay, they were enslaved. This happened to many former Roman soldiers. At the same time, Rome's upper class of aristocrats were the only ones allowed to hold political office.

[00:00:23]However, when Rome was invaded once in the 5th century BC, the commoners refused to take up arms and fight.

[00:00:28]Desperate, the aristocrats offered commoners better conditions if they fought. They agreed and successfully defended the city, but once the war ended, the aristocrats did not do what they had promised. Soon, a new enemy army approached Rome. This time, the commoners had enough. They all left the city and set up camp on a nearby mountain. They refused to return until the Senate granted them rights. The wealthy aristocrats were scared.

[00:00:49]Finally, [music] they agreed to cancel much of the debt and created a new political office to represent the common people. The commoners repeated this strategy four more times over the next centuries.