The Gracchus brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, served as tribunes in Rome at the end of the second century BC. They attempted to carry out large-scale agrarian reform aimed at the redistribution of a significant part of the land holdings of the aristocratic class among the poor inhabitants of cities and army veterans. After some success in implementing these transformations, both brothers were killed by political opponents. Reforms of the Gracchus brothers became an important episode in the history of Ancient Rome.
Origin
Tiberius and Guy by birth belonged to the plebeian branch of the old and noble Semproniev family. Their father was Tiberius Gracchus the Elder, who served as a tribune, praetor, consul and censor. Cornelia's mother came from a patrician clan. She was the daughter of the famous commander of Scipio Africanus, whom the Romans considered a hero for his exploits in the war against the Carthaginians. Of the 12 children born in the family, only three survived - Tiberius, Guy and their sister Sempronia.
early years
Father died when the brothers were still very young. Responsibility for their education lay on the shoulders of the mother. She made sure that the best Greek teachers taught their sons oratory and politics. The brothers received excellent military training. None of their peers could compare with them in possession of weapons and horseback riding. The older brother, Tiberius, at the age of 16 was elected Augur (the official state priest who conducted traditional ceremonies to predict the future). During the third and last military campaign against the Carthaginians, he was universally recognized as the most outstanding young officer in the Roman army. Due to its origin, Tiberius and Guy had already established close relations with the ruling elite at a young age.
Reasons for Transformation
The essence and significance of the reform of the Gracchus brothers was to overcome the economic decline and its negative impact on the military power of Rome. A large number of public land owned by the state was divided between large owners and speculators, who expanded their territories, crowding out small farmers. In agriculture, free peasants were gradually replaced by slaves. Small landowners who lost their plots were forced to lead an idle life in Rome, receiving alms from the state. Lack of work in the city did not allow them to find a new source of income. Landless peasants could not join the army, because they did not meet the requirements of the property qualification. The state did not have enough free land to distribute to retired legionnaires as a reward for military service.
Reforms of the Gracchus brothers were aimed at solving these problems. They provided for the removal of excess land from wealthy aristocrats with a view to transferring to army veterans and peasants driven out of their plots.
The beginning of the reign of Tiberius
The elder Gracchus was elected to the post of people's tribune in 133 BC. He immediately made a proposal to carry out large-scale agrarian transformations. Arguing his position, Tiberius referred to an ancient law that limited the amount of land that could be in the possession of one person. The position of the people's tribune allowed us to begin the implementation of the reforms of the Gracchus brothers without coordination with the senators. Tiberius created a special commission to oversee the redistribution of agricultural land. Guy became one of its members.
The appearance of the opposition
The land reform of the Gracchus brothers caused a panic even among liberal-minded senators who were frightened by the prospect of confiscation of their property. They attempted to organize opposition and enlist the support of other tribunes in the fight against the introduction of the new law. Tiberius decided to appeal directly to the people. The words of the eldest of the Gracchus brothers about democracy and reform made a deep impression. He said that the stands, which oppose the will of Roman citizens in order to protect the interests of a rich minority, are not credible.
The opposition senators have the only means of struggle - the threat of cracking down on Tiberius after he resigns. They prevented his election for a second term. Senators gathered their supporters, who came to the Forum and beat to death not only Tiberius himself, but also about 300 of his associates. This was the first open domestic bloodshed in ancient Rome in four centuries. Reforms of the Gracchus brothers did not stop after the death of Tiberius. The commission he created continued to redistribute the land, but this process was slow due to resistance from the senators.
Guy's election
Ten years later, the post of the people's tribune was taken by the younger brother of Tiberius. Guy had a practical mindset, which is why senators considered him more dangerous. The new stands received the support of small farmers and the urban poor, reviving the land reform of the Gracchus brothers. Briefly, the political activities of Guy can be described as an attempt to find the maximum number of allies.
He sought to gain the support of the so-called estate of equites (riders). Representatives of this privileged part of Roman society were a kind of financial aristocracy and were the main rivals of the senators in the struggle for power. Equites were engaged in trade, and also lent taxes from the state to the provinces. Relying on the estate of horsemen, Guy resisted the influence of senators.
During his career as a tribune, the main essence of the reform of the Gracchus brothers did not change. In addition to the redistribution of land, Guy carried out a number of other transformations. He set low fixed prices for bread for the urban population and extended some of the rights of Roman citizens to representatives of Latin tribes. With the support of a broad coalition of supporters and sympathizers, Guy successfully implemented most of his projects in two years.
Defeat
For the poor, the privileges granted by Roman citizenship were very important. The younger Gracchus made a dramatic mistake, insisting on the expansion of the rights of the Latin tribes. Because of this, he lost the sympathy of a large part of the people. This situation was seized by one of Guy's opponents, Consul Lucius Opimius. The political struggle has again turned into bloodshed. On the Aventine hill, a full-scale battle took place, in which hundreds of people died. Once in a hopeless situation, Guy committed suicide. Three thousand of his supporters were subsequently executed. The victory of the senators and consul Opimia destroyed the reform of the Gracchus brothers. Briefly, the fate of innovations can be described as follows: all of them were canceled, with the exception of the law on the low fixed cost of bread for the poor.
Reasons for failure
Some historians believe that because of their Greek education, Tiberius and Gaius significantly overestimated the influence of the people. Even under the leadership of a bold tribune, the Romans did not possess even half of the power that Athenian citizens could boast of during the heyday of democracy. The progress of the Gracchus brothers' reforms and their results clearly demonstrated this. Another problem was that Roman laws were aimed at curbing the excessive concentration of power in the hands of one person.
Tiberius and Guy fell victim to their own idealism. They did not realize the real depth of corruption, greed and selfishness, which at that time were characteristic of all layers of Roman society. The answer to the question of why the Gracchus brothers' reforms could not prevent the political crisis in the republic is quite simple. Their good intentions clashed with the interests of the ruling elite, who knew how to manipulate people perfectly.
Of particular note are the changes made by the brothers to the legal system. They passed a law according to which senators accused of abuse of power should not be judged by representatives of their own class, but by equities. This reform violated the balance of power existing in the republic and completely destabilized the domestic political situation.
Summary
The Gracchus rule can be called populist. Carrying out their transformations, they sought to please the most numerous sections of Roman society. Tiberius and Guy not only eased the situation of the poorest citizens and landless peasants, but also democratized the judiciary by prohibiting the imposition of death sentences without a decision of the national assembly. Limiting the power of senators, the Gracchi relied on ancient traditions, which ordered the authorities to listen to the opinion of the Romans.
The activities of Tiberius and Gaius led to the emergence of new forces in the political arena. However, small farmers, poor urban dwellers, retired legionnaires and equities gaining additional power fought only for their own interests. The Gracchus rule was put to an end by violence and bloodshed. This set a precedent that was repeated many times in the subsequent history of Rome.