Instead, the noble houses of Rome and the principal allies of the various political leaders enter into their own at last. […] Licinius Murena, descendants of ancient and famous houses of praetorian rank.) […] Simplified history, at Rome and elsewhere, tells of cities or nations, often with neglect of the dynastic houses that ruled them in a feudal fashion. […] The governing oligarchy, not least the dynastic houses of the plebeian nobility, had been growing ever closer and more exclusive. […] In fear for their lives, the Liberators barricaded themselves in their houses.