This study, first published in German in 1975, addresses the need for a comprehensive account of Roman social history in a single volume. Specifically, Alfoldy attempts to answer three questions: What is the meaning of Roman "social "history? What is entailed in "Roman "social history? How is it to be conceived as "history"?

Alfoldy s approach brings social structure much closer to political development, following the changes in social institutions in parallel with the broader political milieu. He deals with specific problems in seven periods: Archaic Rome, the Republic down to the...