Unequal+laws+in+the+Roman+Empire

Beginning with Hadrian, Roman law as it applied to the poor improved somewhat during the imperial age. Legal statues were enacted to control the treatment of slaves, not only for humane reasons, but also out of interest of those who profited from the slaves' well-being. However, laws did not change people's social status. Society was divided into two main groups, the upper class, or honestiores, and the lower class, the humiliores. The honestiores included the senators, high-ranking military officers, landowners, civil servants, and town counselors. Everyone else belonged to the lower class. The humiliores received heavier penalties in the courts and often were given harsher sentences than previously had been for noncitizens.