the Gracchi

Gracchi, the, Roman statesmen and social reformers, the two brothers Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (c.164–133 BC) and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus (c.153–121 BC). They were among the twelve children of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the censor, a man of high character and liberal thought, famous for his austerity. He married Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus, and died in 154 BC.

1. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, like his father, served with distinction in Spain, winning popular acclaim by negotiating a treaty that saved many Roman lives. In 133 he was elected tribune, and—alarmed by the concentration of land and wealth in the hands of a few—proposed a law aimed at alleviating poverty by redistributing public land. The law was passed, but in haste and by unconventional means that included deposing a hostile tribune, M. Octavius. When Tiberius further proposed that the property of Attalus III of Pergamum, bequeathed to Rome, should be used to finance the new allotment-holders, and when he unconstitutionally sought re-election, the senate was persuaded that he was aiming at a tyranny. His cousin Scipio Nasica led a mob of senators and their clients against Tiberius, killing him and many of his supporters on the Capitol. Tiberius' tribunate marks the advent of violence upon the Roman political scene, and the beginning of the disintegration of the senate's power under the attacks of its own members who supported the people.

2. Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, the younger brother of Tiberius, was with Scipio Aemilianus in Spain in 133 when news of Tiberius' murder arrived. He returned to Rome, where he was already a member of the agrarian commission, but he seems not to have been very active in public life until he gained the quaestorship in 126 and was sent to Sardinia. After two years there he returned to Rome and was elected tribune for 123 and again for 122. The first laws he proposed were aimed at taking vengeance on his brother's enemies; he then passed a series of laws aimed at alleviating poverty as well as winning the support of the people. Other laws were aimed at limiting the power of senators. He proposed to establish a number of colonies, mainly in Italy, but including one on the site of Carthage, and early in 122 set out for Africa to supervise the settlement of this. During his absence the tribune Livius Drusus (who enjoyed senatorial support) managed to turn the people against him. Gaius failed to obtain re-election for 121, and violence broke out between the Gracchans and their enemies. The senate declared a public emergency (the first recorded use of the senatus consultum ultimum), and Gaius, finding himself cut off, ordered a slave to kill him (see FURRINA).

Gaius was the more able of the Gracchi; an astute politician and impassioned orator (some fragments of his speeches survive), he used his skills to promote the radical reforms he saw were necessary, but which his enemies' success nullified. The results were disastrous for Rome, leading to the civil wars of the next century.