Patricians, in the early days of the city, had most of the wealth and most of the government positions. The Plebeians were the downtrodden and the working class until they revolted and gained their civil rights. There were other classes of people besides the patricians and plebeians. The class of the person depended a great deal upon the wealth of the person. The more wealth/money a person had, the higher his status. A person's wealth also gave him the option of entering a higher class if he could meat the financial requirements.
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Its leaders saw themselves as roman emperors, and theirand their government was in many ways a direct continuation of the eastern portion of the late roman empire
The Roman way of life and government was influenced by mos majorum (the ways of the ancestors); that is, tradition. The way of life of the Roman elites was also influenced by the Greeks.
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The empire of Charlemagne was in several ways a successor to the Roman Empire. Firstly, the Pope officially crowned him Emperor of the Romans". He took most of the former Roman lands in Europe, but expanded northward rater than to the south. He filled the power vacuum and drove away the barbarians who filled Europe when Rome fell. However, in most ways his empire was more akin the the Feudal kingdoms to come.
It had already been different before. The Greeks retained their culture an language, and this had been developing of its own accord, though they did get Roman influences. They also had their own version of Christianity.