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The Significance of the Gracchi


"When Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus sought to establish the liberty of the common people and expose the crimes of the oligarchs, the guilty nobles took fright and opposed their proceedings by every means at their disposal" - Cicero. The Gracchi brothers were clearly well intentioned men who had the interests of Rome at heart, instead of their own, which was a common attitude amongst the other senators. The reforms of the Gracchi were long over-due and their programs were genuine attempts to deal with Rome's problems. During the Gracchi's existence, Rome was facing a number of social, political and economic problems. They were frustrated with the conservatism and selfishness of the oligarchy and so adopted methods which threatened the balance between the senate, the magistrates and the people which had existed for a very long time - in this way they can be regarded as revolutionary. It is likely that they interpreted the problems far too simply, and they failed to see that Roman society had changed. The Senate also failed to see these changes and reacted to the Gracchi's actions in the only way they could - violence. The senate felt threatened by the Gracchi's methods, and as a result violence was used for the first time in Roman politics.

In order to understand why the Gracchi attempted to solve these problems, one must examine the circumstances of Rome at the time, as well as the background of the two brothers. After the Second Punic War, the Senate became the supreme power and as a result, many changes occurred throughout Rome. Most notably, the ruling Oligarchy (specifically the nobiles) abused their power, caring more for their own material interests and gloria than the welfare of the republic. As a result major problems occurred throughout Rome. Serious economic social problems occurred, both rural and urban, causing grave distress among many Roman citizens. There was a military crisis, with lack of eligible recruits for the legions, aggravated by the Spanish and Sicilian wars. There was tension in the oligarchy between leading factions (Claudii / Sempronii and the Scipios) as they struggled for political superiority. And amongst all these problems was the failure of the ruling nobility within the senate to deal with these problems.

In order to determine the significance of both Gracchi, one must examine both Tiberius' and Gaius' actions and the effects they had at the time. In 133, Tiberius Gracchus attempted to solve Rome's problems, specifically the land crisis. He introduced the Lex Agraria, a bill for land reform, which proposed that a commission of three people should allocate small holdings of land owned by the state (ager publicus) to landless citizens. The bill was met with great controversy, however, it wasn't the content of the bill that provoked the reaction, rather the means with which it was proposed. As Stockton notes "It ceased to be a struggle about the rights and wrongs of a particular land bill and became a fundamental question about the true nature of Roman politics". Tiberius met great opposition to the bill itself because the ruling Nobiles were those benefiting the most from the current situation. Therefore, Tiberius used his tribunate in an unprecedented manner, and in proposing his bill, bypassed the senate going directly to the concilium plebis. Whilst technically legal, this action threatened the senate's auctoritas and dignitas, and their superiority with regards to legislation and matters concerning the state.

Tiberius also went further in his provocation of the senate by deposing Octavius after the senate attempted to use Octavius to veto Tiberius' land bill. Again, 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. Previously, Tribunes such as Octavius had been used as tools of the senate but after the revolutionary manner in which Tiberius proposed his bill (as well as Gaius' services), it became possible to use tribunes as instruments of change, undermining the traditional powers of the senate as well as providing potential for ambitious men to promote their own political careers. As Scullard notes, "the original function of the tribunes had been to protect the people against patrician domination, but this need had long passed and they had become useful agents for the nobility, often using their veto to check the popular assemblies". Whilst Tiberius was eventually killed by the senate before he could pass his three other revolutionary reforms, Tiberius was an incredibly powerful tribune, and as Cicero notes "was not a mere plaything of oligarchic government". As stated by Cicero, "Tiberius Gracchus shattered the stability of the state". It is also important to note that Tiberius Gracchus laid the groundwork for his brother Gaius to achieve considerable success.

In the year 123, Gaius Gracchus became tribune, and took over his brother's quest to solve the problems that plagued Rome at the time. However, Gaius learned from his brother's mistakes in realising that in order to overcome the senate's opposition, he would have to gain far more support than his brother Tiberius did, appealing to the classes of the equites, allies and plebs. Gaius was also a superb orator, which is particularly pertinent in the example of his speech to the senate, where as Plutarch notes, "he roused the people's emotions with sentiments and he possessed a powerful voice and spoke with overwhelming conviction". Gaius Gracchus covered a broader area than his brother did, dealing with the subject of the Italian and Latin allies. Gaius attempted to further the Agrarian settlements initiated by Tiberius, to relieve the suffering of the urban unemployed and poor, to reduce the power of the ruling nobility and to resolve the increasing discontent of the Latin and Italian allies by offering them Roman citizenship.
All the above-mentioned laws in one way or another, weakened or undermined the power of the senate. The harshest law in this respect was the Lex Acilia, which highlighted the Senate's corruption and incompetence. According to Plutarch the law "more than any other reduced the power of the senate" and formed the basis for the struggle over law courts which was to continue in future years. Gaius also introduced the Equestrian class as a third political force, which would further balance the government and weaken the power of the senate, and within ten years of the Gracchi's death they would ally themselves with either the senate or the people for their own political gain.

Gaius also dealt with the increasing discontent of the Italian and Latin Allies by offering them Roman citizenship. This proposal was vetoed by Livius Drusus (a tribune who was used by the senate to outbid Gaius for the support of the people) and opposed by a large section of society; the Nobiles feared that this would jeopardise their control of the assemblies, whilst the equites wanted to avoid giving any advantages to their Italian commercial rivals. Although this law ended up unsuccessful in the short term, the long term effects of this resulted in the Allies becoming more aware of their rights which would then lead to a war in which the outcome had Latin and Italian Allies receiving Roman citizenship.

The continual undermining of the senate lead to their resorting to desperate measures, the passing of the SCU (senatus consultum ultimum) which was the first time violence was officially used as a political weapon. This became the start of violence in Roman politics, being used more frequently by the senate when they had no other means to resort to, and would drastically change the nature of Roman politics for the years to come.
After Tiberius' and Gaius' deaths, the consequences of their actions were still in effect, most notable in the example of Marius and Sulla. The lowering of property qualifications in Gaius' reforms led to the rise of a professional army creating a nexus between the land, army and the commander. Soldiers no longer became dependent on the state for land grants, but on their commander. This led to commanders such as Marius and Sulla commanding powerful armies with political weight. Marius however can be considered a better example as Marius used the precedent set by the Gracchi to initiate his own reforms, particularly once again weakening the hold of senatorial aristocracy on Roman politics.

By examining the Gracchi and their accomplishments, it becomes apparent that the Gracchi's most significant contribution to Rome was recognising the flaws in the Republic, particularly the senate and its reliance on the notions of Mos Maiorum. The Gracchi set out to expose these weaknesses, as well as attempting to solve many of Rome's largest problems, as a result of the senate's inactivity, selfishness and negligence. This resulted in the Senate's hostile reaction to the Gracchi, which therefore allowed the Gracchi to make revolutionary changes to the face of Roman politics, as a direct and indirect result of their actions, including the notion of a tribune as an instrument of initiative and reform, and more importantly, the introduction of violence in Roman politics. These changes could be felt long after the death of the Gracchi, which is evident in the powerful political armies of Marius and Sulla. In conclusion, The Gracchi were significant figures in Roman history for the short and long term consequences that resulted from their actions, acting as perceptive idealistic men who were concerned for the greater good of Rome at a time when it was atypical to do so.

Works Cited:

Bradley, Pamela. Ancient Rome. 1999