Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi: Initiators of the Roman Revolution

1056 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The evolution of the Roman political system

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 Replublic.

-Assess the validity of this statement.

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.

Tiberius Gracchus, the older of the Gracchi brothers, though was motivated by a genuine concern for the welfare of Rome, his reformist ideas and actions (and the events surrounding these) ultimately contributed to the decline of the Republic. The most significant of Tiberius’ reforms was the idea of redistributing land in an attempt to recruit the army. This was because according to [], “traditionally, legionary soldiers were recruited among men who possessed some land.” This fact is also verified by Koutsoukis, who wrote that “the recruitment area for the nation’s army shrank alarmingly” and also that “there was a rapid rise in unemployment”. This all would have been a result of “prolonged campaigning overseas”...

... middle of paper ...

...ong the Romans, who questioned their motives for doing what they did and “plotted to get rid of him” (Koutsoukis)

Although the Gracchi brothers were driven by a genuine concern for the welfare of their city, ultimately their actions (and the events surrounding these) contributed to the decline of Rome, but was not the cause of it. They had real reasons to contribute to Rome and attempt to rectify its problems, and though their reformist ideas were not mild in the greatest, they ultimately did not count towards to collapse of the Roman republic. These ideas were mainly centred around the redistribution of land in order to recruit the shrinking army. Thus because these were unprecedented and furthermore, set by wealthy aristocrats who would’ve otherwise had no reason to be concerned, this made the Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus the initiators of the Roman Revolution.

Show More
Related

  • Ancient History Research Task – Augustan Reforms

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    From ages past, the actions of conquerors, kings and tyrants had brought the Roman Republic to a stance that opposed any idea of a singular leader, of a single man that held total power over the entirety of the state. Their rejection of the various ruthless Etruscan rulers that had previously dictated them brought the Republic to existence in 509 BC , and as a republic their prominence throughout the provinces of the world exponentially expanded. Throughout these years, the traditions of the Romans changed to varying degrees, most noticeably as a result of the cultural influence that its subject nations had upon the republic, as well as the ever-changing nature of Roman society in relation to then-current events. However, it was not until the rise of Augustus, the first of a long line of succeeding emperors, that many core aspects of the Republic were greatly changed. These were collectively known as the “Augustan Reforms”, and consisted of largely a variety of revisions to the social, religious, political, legal and administrative aspects of the republic’s infrastructure. Through Augustus, who revelled in the old traditional ways of the past, the immoral, unrestraint society that Rome was gradually falling to being was converted to a society where infidelities and corruption was harshly looked upon and judged. The Roman historian Suetonius states, “He corrected many ill practices, which, to the detriment of the public, had either survived the licentious habits of the late civil wars, or else originated in the long peace” . Through Augustus and his reforms, the Republic was transformed into an Empire, and through this transformation, Rome experienced one of its greatest and stabl...

    Read More

  • The Rise and Fall of Gaius Gracchus

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Gaius Gracchus life, events changed his motivation and desire in public office. At first, he designed his primary goal to rouse the populace against the current government in a personal goal for the death of Tiberius. Following the initial upset in the system of government, he moved to create an improved system for the people of Italy through social reform. Many laws and decrees enacted favored the populace, but offended the senators. Even though Gaius created progress for the Senate for decades, it came at a price of death for him.

    Read More

  • The Roman Military Reforms institued by Gaius Marius

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reforms instituted by Marius were designed as a way to strengthen the Republic by professionalizing the Roman military, but instead resulted in long term political consequences that contributed to the decline of the Republic and the creation of the Empire. In this report, the decline of the republic specifically refers to the loss of the Senate’s authority over Rome’s generals.

    Read More

  • Fall of Rome - the military's role

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    While these problems existed to a greater of lesser degree, since the end of the 2nd century, their effects were accelerated by the reforms of the emperors Constantine and Diocletian. These reforms changed Roman life as well as the face of the Roman army, moving it away from its classical infantry-based structure to a more cavalry-based system. The army was reorganized into lightly armed troops called "limitanei" who defended the border, and large mobile armies composed of troops called "comitatenses". The border troops were given land to live on around forts they protected. This structure led to farming becoming the job of the border troops so that they could feed as well as protect those on the frontier. Over time, this in turn led to out of date weaponry and neglect in training. The weakness of these troops meant that more mobile troops were needed to compensate, and an easily penetrable border as a result of the weakness led to the need for highly efficient mobile armies. Since the cavalry were the most mobile unit of the army, they began to be the favored military unit. With forces strung along the border and concentrated large mobile armies, an increased number of recruits were required; however, land owners were reluctant to let themselves or their kin be recruited because that left less workers for their farms. At the same time, the division of the empire into outer imperial provinces and inner provinces controlled by the Senate had its own effect. Since the armies largely remained in the outer imperial provinces, the people of the inner provinces were out of touch with the army and were no longer attracted to service, again reducing the available pool of recruits. One reason that many avoided Army service was because Roman citizenship was now offered freely, where in prior times military service had been a path to citizenship. The result was less manpower available for Rome. The Roman army was left with no choice but to recruit barbarians, who could in this way both find employment where they had no skills, and hope to obtain Roman citizenship.

    Read More

  • The Political Decay of the Roman Republic

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ion this all showed that style of governing and ruling an empire started a century long pattern of events that eventually lead to the fall and destruction of the old oligarchy led by the Senate. The combination of desire for personal gain and glory of a politician or general was what weakened the Roman customs and the Senate. This was a cycle among the Senate, to find themselves stuck in a problem and to find others to fix with of course military means but in turn make everything more corrupt with their disruptive practices such as Pompey and Julius Caesar. But they were not the only ones there were others who were to blame for causing such decay and corruption such as Marius, Sulla, Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus. They were the ones who kept this corruption cycle going and it was Augustus Caesar who finally broke the cycle and brought stability and order back to Rome.

    Read More

  • The Significance of the Gracchi

    1594 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sallust And The Causes Of The Rise And Fall Of Rome

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sallust was a Roman politician for many years, and then after his retirement from public service he became a historian. Sallust wrote several historical texts one of which was the Conspiracy of Catiline. In this text Sallust describes many of the causes of both the rise and fall of Rome. Interestingly some of his causes of the rise of Rome directly mirror some of the causes that led to the fall of Rome. One cause that he stated as both a cause for the rise of Rome, and for its eventual decline was the military. Another cause that he stated was Rome’s fortune, and wealth. Thirdly he described virtue, or a lack of it as being both a key factor for the rise of rome as well as the decline of Rome. Sallust argued that the rise and fall of Rome was

    Read More

  • The Fall of the Roman Republic

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...picture, that on the verge of its collapse the Roman Republic, was a society composed of internal flaws. The Republic namely submitted to its own internal divisions, on multiple levels, from the divisions inherent to any society based on a slave economy, to divisions within the proto-democracy of the Senate itself. Inequalities between the haves and the have nots, as well as inequalities and struggles for power and control on the very highest level of Roman society created a general instability of the Republic, thus making its collapse not a miraculous or shocking event, but almost something to the effect of the removal of an illusion. With the collapse of the Republic, the internal tensions and conflict that constituted Roman life on multiple levels merely finalized themselves, taking a new political form that followed the same path as previous the political form.

    Read More

  • The Gracchi Brothers

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • The Rise Of The Roman Republic

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the span of five-hundred years, the Roman Republic grew to be the most dominant force in the early Western world. As the Republic continued to grow around the year 47 B.C it began to go through some changes with the rise of Julius Caesar and the degeneration of the first triumvirate. Caesar sought to bring Rome to an even greater glory but many in the Senate believed that he had abused his power, viewing his rule more as a dictatorship. The Senate desired that Rome continued to run as a republic. Though Rome continued to be glorified, the rule of Caesar Octavian Augustus finally converted Rome to an Empire after many years of civil war. Examining a few selections from a few ancient authors, insight is provided as to how the republic fell and what the result was because of this.

    Read More

  • The Roman Emperor Tiberius

    1977 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the early first century AD, the Roman Empire was subject to autocratic rule and the old Republic was long dead. Augustus had been ruling for forty years and most of that time he was loved and praised by the Senate and the people of Rome. Throughout his reign, Augustus had the one lingering problem of finding a successor to take over the role of Emperor. He had chosen 3 different heirs in his time of rule; however, they all passed before they had the chance to inherit Augustus’ esteemed power. His fourth choice, Tiberius, was the one to succeed Augustus. He was often referred to, by Augustus, as an outstanding general and the only one capable of defending Rome against her enemies. The statement, ‘Tiberius is condemned by many ancient historians (including Tacitus), and his reign is often portrayed as being detrimental to the welfare of the Roman Empire’ is invalid as he treated the senate fairly, created strong economics and security in the state and boosted the empire into an unprecedented state of prosperity. This hypothesis will be proven through this essay by analyzing factors such as Tiberius’ administration of the Empire, his relationship with the senate, his financial control, the effect of Sejanus over his rule and why were his last years as Emperor referred to as a ‘reign of terror’ by Tacitus.

    Read More

  • Rise of the Roman Republic

    955 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans believed in the well being and wealth of Rome, and if that meant the total destruction of a potential adversary, then as history will show that is unfortunately to the detriment of the adversary what happened.

    Read More

  • Gnaeus Pompey and the fall of the Roman Republic

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    Events which stretch as far back as the reforms of the Gracchi brothers’ meant that the Rome was facing a Republic that was already deteriorating before Pompey had stepped into power. While Pompey’s quest for power was harmful, many other factors were also baleful to the Republic, and were hence instrumental in its decline. Gnaeus Pompeius’s measures to gain power were harmful because it was primarily a paradox to the principles of being part of a Republic with all its notions of shared and short power. The fundamental reason why there were other reasons for the decline of the system are that the military power was given to him, the already weak Senate, and the fact that Pompey was not the only player in the breakdown of the Republic due to the alliances he had made with Crassus and Caesar.

    Read More

  • The Roman Republic

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    This new Republican government, which was administered by the consuls, was not the easiest to transform. Because of the expansion in Italy, the government began to initiate political institutions. These institutions enforced laws and provided authority which were very similar to imperium. “The Romans had a clear concept of executive authority, embodied in their word imperium, or “the right to command” (Spielvogel 117). Since the Romans were very sensible in their actions, they made and implemented them only as needed. The most essential positions held were the few elected magistrates and the two consuls who were “chosen annually, administered the government and led the Roman army into battle” (Spielvogel 117). If the consul was otherwise occupied, either a dictator or praetor would assume responsibility for the time being.

    Read More

  • The Fall of The Roman Republic

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. 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. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...

    Read More

More about Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi: Initiators of the Roman Revolution

Open Document