technical term for this protection was patrocinium. Although typically the client was of inferior social class, a patron and client might even hold the same social rank, but the former would possess greater wealth, power, or prestige that enabled him to help or do favors for the client.

From the emperor at the top to the commoner at the bottom, the bonds between these groups found formal expression in the legal definition of patrons' responsibilities to clients. Patronage relationships were not exclusively between two people and also