The Reformer Tiberius Gracchus and His Word on Land Reform and in the RomanSenate

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Tiberius Gracchus was a reformer in attempting to change and improve the situation of Rome through the use of land reform. Yet he can also be observed as a revolutionary through his rapid changes and reforms that challenged the Senate.

Tiberius Gracchus was born in 168 B.C along with his brother Gaius Gracchus into a family whose members had reached the highest positions in Rome. Tiberius’ father, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was an aristocrat and renowned for his honors and was one of the most powerful men in Rome. He was once a censor in 169 B.C, twice consul in 177 and 163 B.C and provincial governor in Spain. He married the daughter of Scipio Africanus, Tiberius’s mother Cornelia who was identified as a paragon of Roman womanly virtue. The Gracchi were greatly perceived as one of the most politically connected families of Rome. Tiberius Gracchus married the daughter of Appius Claudius Pulcher while Gaius was married to the daughter of another influential member of the same group, Crassus.

The Third Punic War was the beginning Tiberius Gracchus’ military career, promoted and appointed to the staff of his brother-in-law, Scipio Aemilianus as a military tribune. In 137 B.C he was appointed as quaester, a public official and served his term in Numantia, Spain to consul Mancinus. As quaester, Tiberius saved the army from destruction by signing a peace treaty with the Numantines. However, back in Rome the Senate who were the political institution in ancient Rome rejected the agreement, considering Tiberius’ actions as cowardly and disgraceful. It was a humiliation to Tiberius who saw it as an attack on the prestige and status of his family. This was the beginning of the political enmity between Tiberius and the Senate.

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...eans with which it was intended. Tiberius went further in his provocation of the Senate by deposing Octavius, a fellow tribune after the Senate attempted to use Octavius to veto Tiberius' land bill. Tiberius was perfectly within legal constraints, claiming that since the job of a tribune was to represent the people, he had done nothing illegal, and was justified in deposing Octavius because Tiberius believes he failed to do so.

Tiberius met great opposition and came into conflict with the Senate over his Lex Agrarian Bill and the deposition of Octavius. Tiberius was an incredibly powerful tribune with noble intentions of solving Rome’s tribulations. Yet consequently, Tiberius was battered to death by the Senate because of their misunderstanding and view of Tiberius attempting and undermining their power with his methods to take over and challenge their position.

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