The correct answer is Patrician, they were the wealthiest members of society and they controlled trade and the military.
In Ancient Rome, Patricians were a social structure that was in the top of the social hierarchy, it was an elite very close to the Emperor in the times of the Empire. They were descendants from the founding fathers of Rome, hence they were called Patricians (from the Latin <em>Patres</em>, which means fathers). They conformed the Roman nobility, opposed to plebeians, who were not descendants of the original inhabitants of Rome. As a political and economic elite, Patricians were in charge of the trade of the ancient Rome, the military (most of Roman generals were Patricians), and the Roman Senate.
The plague help lead to an economic collapse in the third century is that it contributed to a sharp decline in the supply of labor , hurting the Roman economy
