The Aristocratic Class:

1. The Ruler
2. The Governing Class (= about 1% of population)-- received at least 25% of annual national income; with Ruler, usually received at least 50% of annual national income
3. The Retainer Class (= about 5% of population)-- included (e.g.) scribes, bureaucrats, soldiers, generals, all united in service to the political elite
4. The Merchant Class-- provided consumable goods for the governing class
5. The Priestly Class

The Plebian Class:

1. The Peasant Class (= vast majority of population)-- on average, may have been able to retain about 1/3 of the crop they produced, while paying 2/3 in taxes
2. The Artisan Class (= about 5% of population)
3. The Unclean/Degraded Classes-- those whose origins or occupations separated them from the peasants and artisans (e.g., porters, miners, prostitutes)
4. The Expendable Class (averaged 5-10% of population, in normal times)-- included those forced to live by charity or by their wits (e.g., petty criminals and outlaws, beggars, underemployed itinerant workers)

1. This is an outline of the model of Gerhard E. Lenski [from Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratification (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966), 215-290] as summarized by John Dominic Crossan in The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1991), 45-46.