Tiberius Gracchus

Tiberius Gracchus is best known for his work as a plebeian tribune during the Roman republic (2nd Century BCE). He attained this position after serving in the military. Although of noble birth, Tiberius was cast out of ever having a position in the roman senate due to his negotiations in war. After an unsuccessful military campaign Tiberius and his soldiers were surronded and forced into negotiations with the enemy. Instead of watching his fellow soldiers slaughtered Tiberius signed a peace treaty on behalf of Rome, in exchange for the lives of his fellow military men.

When Tiberius returned home to the senate they were outraged that he would disgrace Rome in such a manor. At the time, the Roman senate saw excellency in military prowess, fortitude, and the ability to conquer. However, Tiberius saw greatness in honor and honestly, believing that the lives of those Romans were worth more to Rome than the dishonor that would be associated with the retreat. 

When Tiberius came back to Rome the republic had been at war for quite some time (about a hundred years) and a land crisis had developed across all of Italy. Roman legionaries were required to serve in a complete military campaign no matter how long it lasted. Soldiers would leave and have to trust their farms/estate in the hands of their wives and children. Naturally, due to the inability to produce sufficient capital, small farms often went bankrupt and would then be bought by the wealthy upper class. Concurrently, land was being taken by the state and other conquered lands. After the war was over, the land was sold or rented back to members of the populace. 


The majority of the land was given to a select few who were left with large amounts of workable and profitable acreage and the capital to purchase slaves. When soldiers returned from their legions they had nowhere to call their own. In desperation many of them took their family's into the city to look for work. As a natural consequence of the population increase, unemployment left no work for many.

Then the poor, who had been ejected from their land, no longer showed themselves eager for military service, and neglected the bringing up of children, so that soon all Italy was conscious of a dearth of freemen, and was filled with gangs of foreign slaves, by whose aid the rich cultivated their estates, from which they had driven away the free citizens. - Plutarch  

Due to the shrinking population of men who owned land--because only land owners could serve in the military--the military was suffering. This created huge private estates with a high degree of stratification between the wealthy elites and the manufactured happenstance of the roman populace. Tiberius was elected tribune of the people in 133 BCE after building a campaign of support from the men whose lives Tiberius saved.  In essence, Tiberius Gracchus put forth agrarian forms (Lex Sumpronia Agraria) through the public legislature to redistribute wealth so that no person could own more than a fixed quantity (500 iugera) of land.  

Rivaling against his own class, naturally, Tiberius created enemies. Marcus Octavius, Scipio Nasica, and Scipio Aemilanus, are notable advasaries. The irony of the roman republic during the second century BCEE would truly be the disconnect between ideals and logistics. Rome--even from early on--had high aspirations as an imperial power; but the citizens were swindled by constituents who were more content on serving their self interest rather than the common interest.

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