Republican Rome’s constitution encoded caste divisions through reserved offices

Evidence

But my resources are not exhausted. I will give evidence from the history of Rome. Here no one can say that any evil genius was at work. Anyone who has studied the history of Rome will know that the republican constitution of Rome bore marks having strong resemblance to the Communal Award. When the kingship in Rome was abolished, the kingly power or the Imperium was divided between the consuls and the Pontifex Maximus. In the consuls was vested the secular authority of the king, while the latter took over the religious authority of the king. This republican constitution had provided that of the two consuls, one was to be patrician and the other plebeian. The same constitution had also provided that of the priests under the Pontifex Maximus half were to be plebeians and the other half patricians. Why is it that the republican constitution of Rome had these provisions—which, as I said, resemble so strongly the provisions of the Communal Award? The only answer one can get is that the constitution of republican Rome had to take account of the social division between the patricians and the plebeians, who formed two distinct castes. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 842

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s ongoing theme: reserved seats and separate electorates as constitutional devices for divided societies — the Communal Award in India compared with Rome’s patrician-plebeian quotas.