Proletarii

• The Proletarii was the Fifth Century of the Five Centuries of Unarmed soldiers who formed part of the 193 Centuries of the Comitia Centuriata.
• They were recorded as having no or little Property.

Description

• This meant everyone whose net worth was less than 11,000 Asses.
• Under the Roman Republic, the Proletarii were not eligible for military service.
• They were registered not by the value of their Property, but as Heads of Family and by the number of children they had.
• ‘Proli’ means Progeny or Children in Latin. Their importance to the State was as future colonists of conquered Territories.

Karl Marx

• Karl Marx, the nineteenth century Social Philosopher, in his Work ‘The Manifesto of the Communist Party’, used a similar term ‘Proletariat’, to describe a Working Class holding no Property and ready for Revolution against Capitalism.
• Karl Marx studied Roman Law at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany.