Upon expansion of the Roman Empire, lie trials and tribulations for the government to rule the foreign lands and keep the population in check. The Gracchi brothers grew up during a time when the Roman Empire was still under civil unrest. The Roman people were divided, lands were unevenly distributed, the government was disorderly, patriotism ceased to exist, and slave labor made it harder for citizens to uproot themselves from poverty. Tiberius, the elder brother, was the first to bring up the agrarian laws, and was followed after his death by his younger brother, Gaius Gracchus. The brothers knew of the significance of winning the side of the commoners to assert their power over the empire. By ways of the agrarian laws, and other reforms, the two brothers were able to win control of the masses, leaving the senate to fear what could happen if these two rise in power. According to Gaius Gracchus, “in a certain pamphlet, has written that as Tiberius was passing through Tuscany on his way to Numantia, and observed the dearth of inhabitants in the country, and that those who tilled its soil or tended its flocks there were imported barbarian slaves, he then first conceived the public policy which was the cause of countless ills to the two brothers.” (Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 8.7)
Tiberius was a man of just reasoning and great honor. To have been a son of Tiberius Gracchus the elder, virtue was one of the traits that would pass along with his name. Tiberius married the daughter of the great Scipio who defeated Hannibal. This not only added to his fame, but also provided support. “We are told, moreover, that he once caught a pair of serpents on his bed, and that the soothsayers, after considering the prodigy, forbade him ...
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“Having first stirred up the people with such words as these (and he had a very loud voice, and was most vigorous in his speaking), he introduced two laws, one providing that if the people had deprived any magistrate of his office, such magistrate should not be allowed to hold office a second time; and another providing that if any magistrate had banished a citizen without trial, such magistrate should be liable to public prosecution.” (Plutarch, Caius Gracchus 4.1)
Works Cited
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Around the time of which Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi gained power through being voted by the popular assembly, Rome was already in crisis, one of the reasons owing to the shrinking army force. Thus although the Gracchi were motivated by a genuine concern for the welfare of Rome, ultimately their actions (and the events surrounding these) contributed to the decline of the Republic, but did not play a significant part. These ambitious brothers saw that changes must be made before the situation got worse; their land reform ideas were of the many goals/ideas and thus turned actions they undertook in an attempt to improve the general structure of their state’s society. Some of these even marked a turning point in Roman political history, ultimately making the Gracchi brothers revolutionists of Rome.
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
The Gracchan Reforms, written in the mid-second century BCE, was about the attempted reforms of brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Both tried to reform the republic by taking from the wealthy and distributing to the poor. The Roman Senate, controlled by the elite at the time, were vehemently against this reform, but they had popular support from the rest of the republic. As a result of their passionate political stances, both brothers died and the republic split into two factions. People in the populares faction were new to the Roman elite and reliant on political support from the people, and the optimates faction had people who came from rich, old-name families. This first split in Roman politics
Tiberius Gracchus tried to reform laws of landowners for plebeians. After his death, his younger brother Graius Gracchus attempted to continue his work. The senators of Rome were illegally taking land at the time to better themselves, and the Gracchi brothers goal was to create laws to put an end to this. Both brothers even renounced their status as patricians in order to try to accomplish this. The government was against the work of Gracchi brothers because it would involve them giving up the land they illegally acquired. Tiberius was assassinated because of this. Graius then continued the work of his brother has his assassination. On top of the land reform laws, Graius also tried to pass laws regulating the price of grain. I do not think
Early in Tiberius' life, he had already become unpopular in Roman society. However, although he was sometimes accused of being over-cautious, he led the Roman army to several victories over the Germans, and became a national figure. But, as it was common with the Claudian family, Tiberius turned out to be one of the bad Claudians. Although being a celebrated general worked wonders for his political career, Claudius states that, on a personal basis, he was "morose, reserved and cruel." An excellent general, he won the respect of his soldiers by living as they did on a campaign. He seldom slept in a tent, and he ate and drank often no better than the rest of his troops. ...
As the Roman Republic began expanding further and further, land distribution issues arose within the society. Rich aristocrats acquired lands from their plebeian neighbors, creating expansive latifundia throughout Rome, while the voiceless plebeian class shrunk smaller and smaller. Amidst the unrest, two brothers, each elected as tribune, arose to give the lower class a voice against the wealthy aristocrats. Both Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, fought so persistently that their opposition of the Roman government led to their respective assassinations. The assassinations of the impactful brothers led to a period of unrest and civil war in Ancient Rome, forever impacting the history of Rome. The Gracchi brothers were historically significant
Where it seems Tiberius Gracchus focused on one heavily disputed piece of legislation, Gaius focused on many. One piece of legislation centered around limiting the power of the senate, while another forbade the banishment of a citizen without a proper trial. Similarly to his brother’s political career, Gaius threatened the power of the upper class. In a later election for Tribune, it was believed that the votes were purposefully miscounted so as to keep Gaius Gracchus out of the senate. After his unlawful expulsion from senate, Gaius Gracchus and Marcus Fulvius launched a rebellion. As an ultimate result of the senate versus Marcus Fulvius and Gaius Gracchus, Fulvius and his followers were killed and Gracchus took his own
Livy. The Early History of Rome: Books I-V of The History of Rome from its
Kleiner, Fred S. A History of Roman Art. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
The great many changes that came about within Greece’s history were due mainly to political and moral reformers. Solon, an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet who is still well known for his efforts to legislate against political, economic, and moral decline in Athens. Draco, a legislator, who established a set of harsh but just laws in the city of Athens and there are many more. Rome also had its share of reformers, some more successful than others. In this essay I will be talking about a, particularly famous, pair of reformers in Rome’s history, the Gracchus brothers.
1. Tim Cornell, John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World, Facts On File Inc, 1982. (pg.216)
1)De, Selincourt Aubrey. Livy, the Early History of Rome: Book I - V of the History of Rome from Its Foundation. London: Penguin, 1960. Print.
Despite his initial appearance of modesty, Tiberius was a tyrant and enjoyed watching other people suffer. However, his actions, in themselves, did not make Tiberius a bad ruler as much as his intentions behind them. Tiberius was a bad emperor because his actions were driven by his own desire for pleasure, which is evident in his cruelty, his sexual endeavors and his alcoholism.
For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people.
He is praised up to date for his reign as the best Rome ever had. As an emperor, he was tasked with the responsibility of expanding his territories and he did this by defeating his enemies and conquering their states. He also left a legacy of being a peaceful leader in his land and ruling with great wisdom. Tiberius again ruled the Roman Empire from 13AD to 15AD and during this time he made a big name for himself by conquering his enemies and expanding the territories through the treason law against his enemies (Garnsey et al., 2013).