The members of this class stood out for their wearing of distinctive clothes, their undertaking of public services, and their paying of the emergency tax on property for war. Politicians were also drawn from their ranks.
—>considering the context, politicians also got some benefits from their ranks? Or is it kind of a negative meaning?
"their ranks" means the people belonging to "this class" mentioned earlier. "drawn" means "taken" or "selected". In other words, it is saying that some members of this class became politicians (probably implying that most/many or even all politicians were from this class).
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"their ranks" means the people belonging to "this class" mentioned earlier. "drawn" means "taken" or "selected". In other words, it is saying that some members of this class became politicians (probably implying that most/many or even all politicians were from this class).