Chapter 7: The Gracchi
• Reading 7a: Plutarch: Tiberius Graccus
• By mid-second century B.C., Rome was master of Mediterranean
• Tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus in 133 B.C. marks a watershed
moment in Republican history
◦ Beginning of end of Roman Republic
• Tiberius- Well-educated aristocrat who sought to make changes;
Wanted to insFtute land reforms (I.e. Distribute land to the poor;
Restore farmers; Men eligible to serve in army)
◦ InsFtuted legislaFon in the assembly as Tribune of the Plebs
◦ Family was well-esteemed (for instance, father was consul
twice)
• Bypassed the senate to do so
▪ So, though land reform bill passed, Senate felt
threatened and in the ensuing civil violence,
Tiberius was killed
• Below is from Plutarch's Parallel Lives which is a series of
biographies on famous Greeks and Romans
• Plutarch- A.D. ~50-127; Greek philosopher and biographer who
lived ~2 centuries aXer the events he discusses; Educated in
Athens and held poliFcal office in Greece; Philosopher;
Emphasizes educaFon and character of great men (as great men
shape history and society); Wants to teach people the proper way
to live; Looks at how individual events of childhood and other
personal evens of development affected great men's futures
◦ In this case, compared Gracchi brothers to those in Sparta
who undertook similar land reforms and faced the same end
• Struggle of the Orders- 4th century; Struggle between Patricians
and Plebeians; People had no power so, create Tribune of the
Plebs who spoke on behalf of the people
Plutarch, Life of Tiberius Gracchus Plutarch
, • Romans won territory from conquests and sold some, made some
public and set aside the rest for the poor (assuming they pay rent)
(i.e. agar publicus)
◦ Eventually, rich came and offered greater rent and drove out
the poor
• Later, law that forbade holding of 500/+ acres of land
by one person
▪ Eventually, rich found a way around this
• Resulted in poor ignoring military service
(as if you have no land, what are you
fighFng for) and their children
• Gaius Laelius (meaning "wise" or "prudent") was the comrade of
Scipio Aemilianus
◦ Sought to recFfy the land issue for reasons concerning the
sheer injusFce, his mother's grievance over being a mother-
in-law of Scipio and not the mother of the Gracchi, and his
rivalry with Spurius Postumius
• Specifically, he was jealous of the accomplishments of
a childhood rival and wanted to outdo him; Felt that
rich who were hoarding the land were excessively
greedy and should be reproached; NoFced that most
of the people who were working in the fields in the
countryside were barbarian slaves rather than actual
Roman ciFzens (what Gracchus specifically said);
Mother pressured him
◦ Drew up the law with Crassus (ponFfex maximus), Mucius
Scaevola (jurist/consul in that year), and Appius Claudius
(father-in-law)
• Law- Offers the aristocrats money for relinquishing
land
• Plutarch believes the wrigen law too kind as the rich
weren't severely punished for illegally owning acres of
land
• The rich agempted to spread the rumour that
Gracchus wanted to sFr up a general revoluFon by
dividing the body poliFc
• Reading 7a: Plutarch: Tiberius Graccus
• By mid-second century B.C., Rome was master of Mediterranean
• Tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus in 133 B.C. marks a watershed
moment in Republican history
◦ Beginning of end of Roman Republic
• Tiberius- Well-educated aristocrat who sought to make changes;
Wanted to insFtute land reforms (I.e. Distribute land to the poor;
Restore farmers; Men eligible to serve in army)
◦ InsFtuted legislaFon in the assembly as Tribune of the Plebs
◦ Family was well-esteemed (for instance, father was consul
twice)
• Bypassed the senate to do so
▪ So, though land reform bill passed, Senate felt
threatened and in the ensuing civil violence,
Tiberius was killed
• Below is from Plutarch's Parallel Lives which is a series of
biographies on famous Greeks and Romans
• Plutarch- A.D. ~50-127; Greek philosopher and biographer who
lived ~2 centuries aXer the events he discusses; Educated in
Athens and held poliFcal office in Greece; Philosopher;
Emphasizes educaFon and character of great men (as great men
shape history and society); Wants to teach people the proper way
to live; Looks at how individual events of childhood and other
personal evens of development affected great men's futures
◦ In this case, compared Gracchi brothers to those in Sparta
who undertook similar land reforms and faced the same end
• Struggle of the Orders- 4th century; Struggle between Patricians
and Plebeians; People had no power so, create Tribune of the
Plebs who spoke on behalf of the people
Plutarch, Life of Tiberius Gracchus Plutarch
, • Romans won territory from conquests and sold some, made some
public and set aside the rest for the poor (assuming they pay rent)
(i.e. agar publicus)
◦ Eventually, rich came and offered greater rent and drove out
the poor
• Later, law that forbade holding of 500/+ acres of land
by one person
▪ Eventually, rich found a way around this
• Resulted in poor ignoring military service
(as if you have no land, what are you
fighFng for) and their children
• Gaius Laelius (meaning "wise" or "prudent") was the comrade of
Scipio Aemilianus
◦ Sought to recFfy the land issue for reasons concerning the
sheer injusFce, his mother's grievance over being a mother-
in-law of Scipio and not the mother of the Gracchi, and his
rivalry with Spurius Postumius
• Specifically, he was jealous of the accomplishments of
a childhood rival and wanted to outdo him; Felt that
rich who were hoarding the land were excessively
greedy and should be reproached; NoFced that most
of the people who were working in the fields in the
countryside were barbarian slaves rather than actual
Roman ciFzens (what Gracchus specifically said);
Mother pressured him
◦ Drew up the law with Crassus (ponFfex maximus), Mucius
Scaevola (jurist/consul in that year), and Appius Claudius
(father-in-law)
• Law- Offers the aristocrats money for relinquishing
land
• Plutarch believes the wrigen law too kind as the rich
weren't severely punished for illegally owning acres of
land
• The rich agempted to spread the rumour that
Gracchus wanted to sFr up a general revoluFon by
dividing the body poliFc
