Grain dole

History of the grain dole

The city of Rome grew rapidly in the centuries of the Roman Republic and Empire, reaching a population approaching 1,000,000 in the 2nd century AD. The wars of the early Republic led directly to the expansion of Roman territory, the acquisition of arable land, and land hunger for Rome's least powerful, impoverished citizens. Landholding was the material basis of male Roman citizenship, and land distribution remained a major issue throughout Rome's history. Most commoner-citizens were also farmers, either as small landowners or as tenants. They could be conscripted to serve in the military, with minimal recompense, on campaigns that could last for years. In peacetime, the same commoner-soldiers relied on whatever crops they could raise on their own land, weather permitting, with very little capacity to produce a surplus for trading.