The Gracchi Brothers!
One of the heroes of the 2nd
Punic War was Publius
Cornelius Scipio; he was
given the agnomen “Africanus”
following the war.
He had a
daughter
named
Cornelia
who married
a man named
Tiberius
Sempronius
Gracchus
Although the Sempronius family
was plebeian, the Gracchus
clan was quite distinguished.
Cornelia had two sons:
Tiberius and Gaius – better
known as the Gracchi brothers.
Once, when Cornelia was asked if
she were rich, pointing to her two
sons, she replied that they were
her “treasures”.
In 133 B.C., Tiberius Gracchus
was elected Tribune of the Plebs
Though Rome became the major
world power following the Punic
Wars, there were some problems.
The plebeians finally felt
that they had a hero to
watch over their interests.
Tiberius introduced a bill before
the consilium plebis which would
break up the latifundiae and give
the land to the poor.
Tiberius, however, neglected to
consult the senate regarding this
new land bill.
Though it was unnecessary to
consult the senate, it was still a
formality. This outraged many of
the patricians.
In order to ensure popular
support, Tiberius altered the bill
by offering more land and
money.
When the senate refused to
fund the bill fully, Tiberius
took matters into his own
hands.
Attalus, king of Pergamum, on
his deathbed, willed all of his
personal fortune and his
kingdom to Rome.
Tiberius argued that these new
funds should be used to
support his land bill.
In order to protect his land bill,
Tiberius ran for Tribune of the
Plebs for a second year in a
row – something unheard of!
The senate, however, circulated
a rumor that Tiberius actually
wanted to be king.
On the day of the election, a
riot erupted.
At the request of the consuls,
many senators hurried to the
Forum and killed Tiberius and
his followers.
Tiberius’ murder, however,
completely violated the religious
law surrounding the tribune of the
plebs – sacrosanctity – but no one
cared.
The senate now believed that
all was fine in the Roman
Republic since Tiberius was
gone.
The senate did not consider
that there was another Gracchi
brother.
GAIUS
Nine years following the death
of Tiberius, his younger
brother Gaius was elected the
Tribune of the Plebs.
In order to aid the plebeians,
Gaius lobbied that the price of
grain be cut in half.
He was re-elected as Tribune of
the Plebs for a 2nd year in a row
– something Tiberius was not
able to accomplish.
When Gaius ran for Tribune for
a 3rd year in a row, the Senate
took matters into its own hands.
The senate circulated a
rumor that a curse had been
placed on him when he was on a
trip to Carthage.
Because of this, Gaius lost
the election.
Gaius’ supporters rioted when
they found out the election
results.
The senate declared that order
be restored by any means
necessary.
Faced with this, Gaius
ordered his slave to kill him.
At their funeral, Cornelia, the
mother of the Gracchi brothers,
did not cry or show any emotion
and was praised for this by the
Romans.
Following the death of the
Gracchi brothers, there was a
void left in the fight for
plebeian rights.
Luckily, along came Gaius
Marius!
According to social rules,
Gaius Marius was considered
a novus homo – a new man.
This meant that he was a
plebeian who was the first
in his family to be elected
to the senate.
The one drawback: though
he had much money, he did
not possess the social status
to be elected consul.
Luckily, at this time, the Caesar family,
though of patrician status, did not
possess much wealth.
So Marius married into the
Caesar family – Marius gave
a large amount of wealth.
And through his connections to the
Caesar family, Marius gained much
social prestige.
Because of this, he was
elected consul.
When Gaius Marius was consul,
he became the commanding
general in a war in Africa.
Marius was concerned, however,
by the lack of military recruits.
At that time, only
those who
owned land
could join the
army; they also
had to supply
their own
weapons and
food.
In order to attract more troops.
Marius passed a decree allowing
anyone to join the army and
having the government support
the troops.
This move angered the Senate
and patricians.
Because of this new law, the
number of new army recruits
rose dramatically.
But it did cause
problems
within Roman
society.
As a result, a new type of
soldier emerged.
The new soldiers no longer
fought for Rome itself, but now
were loyal to individual generals
who promised them wealth from
battles.
This angered the patricians who now
saw the plebeian army as a threat.
While fighting in Africa,
Marius was re-elected to
another consecutive term as
consul.
This violated Roman law
which stated that a Roman
had to wait ten years before
serving as consul again.
One of those who served under
Marius was a man
named Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
During Marius’ second term as consul,
the Roman army under the leadership
of Marius won the war in Africa.
Sulla, however, a patrician
commander, took the credit
for the victory.
This caused much strife
between the two men.
Marius was eventually elected
to four more consecutive terms
as consul for a total of six
years.
During his final term in 100 BC, there
was much scandal
attached to his consulship.
Marius and one of the Tribune
of the Plebs promised land to
soldiers returning from the
war.
When the Tribune attempted
to use this power/popularity
against Marius, a riot erupted.
Supporters of Marius killed the
tribune in the Senate House,
pelting him to death with roof
tiles.
Sulla, however, began to rise
in power and influence,
causing more hatred between
the two.
During that year also, a very
important baby was born –
Julius Caesar.
WHAT
WILL
HAPPEN
NEXT??