Download The Gracchi Brothers

The Gracchi Brothers
Things Begin To Approach The Fan
Roman Power Grows
I. Problems in the Late Republic
By 133 BC, Rome was the supreme power in
the Mediterranean world
Rome Has Problems!
The biggest Rome’s
problems was the masses
of poor people created
by:
• Poor recruitment
practices (many
peasants lost their land)
• The rich taking over and
hoarding all this land
(used peasants as
slaves)
Who would stand up for the
common people????
Ironically, the very people
who stood up for the people
helped bring about the fall
of the Roman Republic
I. Problems in the Late Republic
Political and social revolution began because
of tensions between social classes
A. Social Unrest
Soldier/farmers returned from the Punic Wars
to find their homes and farms destroyed
A. Social Unrest
133 BC - The Gracchi, brothers Tiberius and
Gaius Gracchus, tried to resolve problems
TIBERIUS GRACCHUS (c.163-133 BC)
GAIUS GRACCHUS (c.153-121 BC)
A. Social Unrest
The Gracchi instituted public reforms such as
redistributing public land to the farmers
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
with their mother, Cornelia
Tiberius Gracchus
• Grandson of Scipio Africanus
• While serving as quaestor, noticed the plight
of the poor
• Gangs of poor slaves working on the
huge farms of the rich (Latifundia)
• Realized this was due to poor
recruitment practices and the abuses of
land policies by the wealthy
• Decided to fight back!
• 133 BC – Elected tribune
• Brought back old land policies
• Put limits on landholding – all extra
land to be divided among people
Tiberius Gracchus
• Challenged the Senate
• Did not seek Senate approval for bill –
skipped them
• Huge insult – Senate influences one
tribune to veto bill
• Tiberius persuades Assembly to eject this
tribune – unprecedented
• Senate keeps stalling – is uncooperative
• Tiberius responds by running for reelection – unprecedented
• Senate outraged – starts riot and
murders Tiberius and 300 supporters
Tiberius Proposes Lex Agraria
The Senate Responds
Gaius Gracchus Makes The Scene
What Does Gaius Gracchus Want?
• He wants to distribute
more public land to the
plebeians.
• He wants to make cheap
grain available to the
poor.
• He wants to limit the
power of the Senate.
Gaius Gracchus – Champion of the People
Tiberius’ younger brother Gaius was also loved by the people, very
charismatic
• Furious at his brother’s murder, continued in his footsteps
(“Those worst of men have murdered the best of men, my
brother!”)
• Also a quaestor, when running for tribune election, so many came to
vote that there was not
enough room in the city!
• Re-Elected without running
Gaius Gracchus – Champion of the People
More reforms:
• Improved roads to make transportation of grain
even cheaper
• Provided equipment and clothes for its
soldiers free of charge
These were excellent reforms and made him very
popular. Then he got controversial:
• Charged the Equestrians with forming the juries
to try extortion cases – instead of the Senate
• Equestrians were quick to prosecute the
upper class!
• Tried to grant full citizenship to Latin allies – but
this made everybody fear losing power
What Should We Do About Gaius?
The
Death Of
Gaius
• Killed by
Senate
along
with 3000
allies.
Irony: The very people who stood up for the common
people contributed to the destruction of the Roman
Republic
• Senate supposed to be a system of checks and
balances
• But Gracchus bros. alienated the Senate, divided it
from the people
• Split Rome apart, created class divisions, led to civil
violence
• Set the stage for the fall of the Republic
• Violence not law began to control politics.