After the Struggle of the Orders in Rome—a political push for the plebeian/poor class to receive representation in the republic—Rome reached its political peak. With more equality in government, the city-state focused on military endeavors and conquest. Three wars ensued against Carthage, called the Punic Wars. That city and most of the modern world were crushed by Roman dominion. While they increased Roman influence, the wars were expensive. The militaristic campaign against Carthage during the Second Punic War resulted in economic and social devastation. It’s often said that historical heroes and villains are products of their time. In light of the economic problems, the same could be argued for the Gracchi brothers in Rome. Why are they important? They started a trend that led to the death of the republic.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were Roman brothers, who we commonly call the “Gracchi brothers.” They were both tribunes who descended from Scipio Africanus, the war hero who dismantled Carthage during the Second Punic War.
Tiberius saw the troubles facing the Romans. The land was expensive and costly to maintain. Often, war veterans couldn’t afford to farm and moved to the cities. Unfortunately, rejoining the military wasn’t an option, since only land-owners could serve. As a result, veterans were screwed over and forced to sell their land to the rich.
Outraged, Tiberius wanted land reforms. As the Senate debated the merits of his bill, Tiberius broke tradition and overrode the Senate’s authority. Instead of waiting for their approval, he ran the bill immediately to the Assembly of Tribes. Insulted, the Senate refused to fund the project.
Conveniently, the King of Pergamum died without an heir and bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Tiberius took advantage of that and used the taxes from Pergamum to fund the land commission. It seemed advantageous, but for the second time, Tiberius broke Roman tradition by usurping the Senate’s authority, since they had jurisdiction over finances.
Tiberius was deliberately overriding the Senate’s authority and they took action against him. Another tribune, Marcus Octavius, was persuaded by the Senate to veto the bill. Angered, Tiberius “advised” Marcus to resign. When he refused, Tiberius held a vote to impeach him. Finally, Tiberius asked him one more time to remove his veto on the land commission bill, but Marcus held his ground. The results from the vote came back and Marcus was impeached. Once again, Tiberius broke Roman tradition. It wasn’t customary to ask a public officer to resign, but he did it anyway; whatever was necessary to advance his populist agenda.
The Senate failed multiple times to resist Tiberius. And while they weren’t particularly opposed to his land commission, they feared him as an individual. His sacrilegious practices undermined Roman tradition. Many senators believed he was taking actions to advance his own political ambitions, rather than restore order and peace. The final straw came when Tiberius ran for a consecutive term as tribune. The Senate put its foot down and ordered Tiberius’ execution. He was murdered in cold blood.
After his death, the Senate approved the land commission. Ultimately, they appeared to be less hostile to his bills than to him. Some argue the Senate never resisted based on the merit of his policies. Rather, they feared his uncustomary practices.
Gaius, unfortunately, suffered the same fate as his brother. While some could argue in favor of Tiberius’ ethics, Gaius was purely self-serving. He broke orthodox for his own power. Similar to his brother, the Senate murdered him.
Regardless of where you stand on their policies, the Gracchi brothers started a trend that didn’t die. After their deaths, politicians and generals used force to achieve their goals. The Gracchi brothers were Rome’s first step to accepting imperialism—they started the death of the republic.
Asher Sisneros 