At the beginning of the 130s BC, the agrarian issue intensified in Rome. This was due to the beginning of the ruin of the Roman peasantry. While the peasants, who made up the bulk of the Roman army, fought in Africa, in Asia Minor, Spain or Greece, their economy fell into decay, and the lands were seized by wealthy landowners (optimates). The ruined peasants either became farm laborers or went to the cities and lived there on handouts from the city's rich. The fewer free peasants remained, the weaker the Roman state became, since the laborer did not have the right to serve in the army. A strong army defended the country from external enemies and kept hundreds of thousands of slaves in obedience in Italy itself. Thus, the bulk of the peasantry began to show acute discontent, demanding an agrarian reform. All this was understood by Tiberius Gracchus, the people's tribune in 133 BC, and decided to fight for the reforms in the country.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi belonged to the ancient Roman family of the Sempronii. Their father was twice elected consul and was honored with triumphs for victories in Spain and on the island of Sardinia. When in 151 BC. e. Gracchi's father died, the eldest son Tiberius was only 11 years old, and the youngest was barely 3 years old. All the worries about the upbringing of the boys fell on the shoulders of their mother Cornelia, daughter of the famous commander Scipio, the winner of Hannibal. Cornelia tried to make her children worthy of the glory of their father and grandfather. Her labors were not in vain: the deeds of the Gracchi brothers forever glorified their names.
Tiberius Gracchus as a young man he took part in the III Punic War, being in the retinue of his brother-in-law Scipio Aemilian. Proximity to the Scipio group had a significant impact on the formation political views Tiberius, from which the idea of agrarian reform arose.
Under Kaagrfen, the young Gracchus showed great courage and gained wide popularity in the army. During the same period, Tiberius married the daughter of Appius Claudius, a representative of the senate.
After the destruction of Carthage, Tiberius returned to Rome. His fame was so great that he was elected to the college of augurs, which included only noble and respected citizens of Rome. Sent as a quaestor to Spain, he made many instructive observations on the way about the state of the Roman lands; especially in Etruria, he was struck by the wilderness of the country and the disappearance of the peasant landowners. He was convinced that the predominance of large landownership and the severe impoverishment of the middle class were the most essential shortcoming of the Roman economic and social system and the source of all the disasters of the republic.
According to the customs that existed in Rome, only a person holding a public office could propose a draft of new laws. Therefore, in the summer of 134, Tiberius put forward his candidacy for the post of people's tribune, promising, if elected, to achieve a redistribution of land. “Most of all,” writes Plutarch, “the Roman people themselves awakened in him ambitious aspirations and determination to act, calling on Tiberius to take state lands from the rich for distribution to the poor”
Having become a tribune of the people in 133 BC, Tiberius demanded that land be granted to the people. In agitating for his bill, he proceeded from the main thesis of the Scipio group about the revival of Roman military power. “The purpose of Gracchus,” says Appian, “was not to create the well-being of the poor, but to obtain in their person a fighting force for the state.”
Addressing the Romans, he said: “Wild animals in Italy have lairs and holes where they can hide, and people who fight and die for Italy own nothing in it but air and light. Homeless, like nomads, they roam everywhere with their wives and children. The generals deceive the soldiers when they are called upon to defend the graves of their fathers and temples from enemies on the battlefields: after all, many Romans have no home or tombs of their ancestors - they fight and die for someone else's luxury, someone else's wealth. They are called the rulers of the world, and they do not even have a piece of land.
Under the draft law proposed by Tiberius Gracchus, public lands misappropriated by wealthy landowners were returned to the state. They were distributed to land-poor and landless citizens. The new owners did not have the right to sell their land, which was to be inherited from father to son.
The bill of Tiberius has not come down to us textually. But its content can be established. The first point represented the development of the old law of Licinius and Sextius. Each owner of state land was allowed to keep 500 yugers as their property. If he had sons, then each was entitled to 250 yugers, however, with the restriction that one family could not have more than 1 thousand yugers of state land.
The second paragraph stated that the surplus state land should be returned to the treasury and cut into small areas, which are distributed to poor citizens in hereditary lease. These plots were not allowed to be sold.
Finally, the third paragraph of the law provided for the formation of a commission of three persons, which was entrusted with the implementation of the agrarian reform. The commission was to be elected by the people's assembly for 1 year with the right of subsequent re-election.
The people enthusiastically welcomed this project. But he caused an uproar among the landowners. They decided not to allow the adoption of this law. Optimates began to spread slanderous rumors that Tiberius wanted to redistribute the land to cause civil strife in the country and seize power in his own hands. However, the authority of Tiberius was too great, the people completely trusted their tribune.
But the enemies of Tiberius did not stop there. They found another way to fight the hated law. The Optimates persuaded one of the tribunes, the wealthy landowner Marcus Octavius, to veto Tiberius' bill. Thinking that Octavius was afraid of losing his lands, Tiberius offered to repair the damage that would be done to him from his personal funds. new law. Octavius refused.
Tiberius' attempts to persuade Octavius did not produce results. Then Tiberius decided, in turn, to use the law of the tribunes in order to resist the opposition. First, he forbade magistrates from engaging in public affairs until such time as the bill came into force. When this did not help, he sealed the temple of Saturn, where the state treasury was kept, and in this way stopped the entire state mechanism.
When the next day the tribes again gathered, Tiberius once again tried to persuade Octavius to withdraw his veto, and only after his refusal put the question of himself to a vote. All 35 tribes unanimously answered that he who goes against the people cannot remain a people's tribune. By this vote, Octavius was stripped of his rank, and another person was elected in his place.
After that, the bill without any difficulty became law. Tiberius himself, his father-in-law Appius Claudius and brother Gaius were elected to the agrarian commission. Such a related composition of the agrarian commission was supposed to serve as a guarantee of their efficiency, but, on the other hand, caused new accusations from the opponents of the reform.
However, there were some difficulties in implementing the law. In particular, the agrarian law spoke only about allocating land to the poorest citizens, but did not provide for the issuance of a sum of money to them for acquiring inventory, buying seeds, etc. Such an extradition was absolutely necessary, since otherwise the reform would have been meaningless. But just in the summer of 133, the testament of the Pergamon king Attalus III was brought to Rome. According to constitutional practice, the senate wanted to accept the king's inheritance. However, Tiberius introduced a bill to the people's assembly, according to which the treasures of Attalus should be used as a monetary fund, which would be distributed to the peasants who received the land.
This was a new challenge to the Senate. At this point, the attacks on Tiberius by reactionary circles reached highest point, he was accused of striving for royal power.
At the same time, Tiberius put forward new projects of democratic reforms: on the reduction of military service, on the right to appeal to the people on judicial decisions, on the inclusion of an equal number of horsemen in the number of members of judicial commissions along with senators, as well as a law on granting citizenship rights to Italian allies and Latins. All these reforms will later be re-established and partly carried out by Gaius Gracchus. Tiberius did not have time to implement them.
On the new term Tiberius Gracchus failed to be elected. People's Assembly was thwarted by the aristocrats. There was a clash in which Tiberius and 300 of his supporters were killed. A violent reaction began in the country. However, it was purely political in nature and did not last long. The agrarian law was not dared to be repealed. The agrarian commission continued its work, and Publius Licinius Crassus, father-in-law of the younger Gracchus, a supporter of reform, was elected to replace Tiberius.
In such a tense atmosphere, the broad political scene was Gaius Gracchus. In 124, he put forward his candidacy for the people's tribunes and took office. Gaius Gracchus was very popular at that time. According to Plutarch, such a mass of people flocked to the elections from all over Italy that many could not find refuge in the city, and the forum did not accommodate all those who came to vote. The multilateral activities of Gaius Gracchus, who managed to put everything on the order of the day critical issues era and combine them into one whole, allows us to consider him one of the greatest statesmen of antiquity.
Starting from 124, for two years he worked on the implementation of the tasks set for him. Guy's activity to a certain extent was a continuation of the work of his brother and was determined by the tasks set, but not solved by him.
Three problems needed to be solved: the agrarian question, democratization political system and the granting of citizenship rights to Italians. It was these three questions that determined the whole activity of Gaius Gracchus.
In this regard, three laws can be noted, carried out in 123: agrarian, grain and judicial. The agrarian law basically repeated the law of 133, but with some additions and improvements. In addition, he restored the activities of the members of the agrarian commission to the same extent.
The Grain Law established the sale of grain from state warehouses at a reduced price compared to the market price. The significance of the Corn Law was very great. The law protected the poorest population of Rome from constant fluctuations in the price of bread. In this way, state regulation of prices was first introduced in Rome, which alleviated the situation of the poorest strata.
The Judicial Law dealt with the composition of permanent judicial commissions. Now the court was transferred to the horsemen, and thus real control was established over the activities of the governors. In general, the judicial law was a heavy blow to the nobility and significantly raised the political authority of the equestrians.
You can also note a few more laws passed in 123. For example, the military law. He forbade calling citizens to military service before they reached the age of 17 and prescribed to supply soldiers with clothing at the expense of the state, without deducting, as was the practice before, its cost from military salaries.
A law on the organization of roads and a law on consular provinces were also passed. The latter established a more democratic procedure for the distribution of provinces among consuls who had served their term of office. According to this law, the provinces were to be determined even before the choice of consuls for a given year.
When the time came for the election of tribunes of the people in 122, Guy again put forward his candidacy and passed without the slightest difficulty. Gaius Gracchus still enjoyed authority among the people. Now he had reached the pinnacle of his power, he was a people's tribune, a member of the agrarian commission, he owned the management of large public buildings.
But on 123, the beginning of 122. two new major measures are falling: the law on the withdrawal of colonies and the project on granting citizenship rights to Italians.
As for the first law, its necessity was caused by the fact that by that time the main reserves of state land had already been exhausted, and the agrarian question was still far from being resolved. The conclusion of the colonies was supposed to serve additional measure to agrarian reform.
The proposals of Gaius Gracchus were used by the enemies against him. The consul Gaius Fannius spoke to the people with a speech in which he threatened the Romans that the new citizens would take away all their property from them.
It became clear that Guy was unable to fulfill his promises, since the people were not inclined to share their privileges and property with the Italics.
The main enemy of Guy, the leader of the optimates, Opimius, was elected to the post of consul. However, Guy did not lose heart. He put forward his candidacy for the people's tribunes for the third time, but this time he was not elected. It was said that the tribunes cheated and distorted the results of the vote count.
Now the rich went on the offensive: at their request, a number of laws were changed, and the people were deprived of many rights obtained for them by Gaius Gracchus.
Guy's supporters organized armed detachments. Senators began to suspect them of an attempt on legitimate power. Nevertheless, some of the laws of Gaius Gracchus were proposed for approval to the popular assembly.
Roman historians say that all of Rome gathered that day at the Capitol. To the insult that followed from the envoy of the consul, the supporters of Gaius Gracchus responded in the most decisive way. The messenger was stabbed. Then the senators and horsemen who had betrayed Gracchus armed themselves. Gaius Gracchus and his supporters fortified themselves on the Aventine. From the Capitol, armed detachments moved towards them. 3 thousand supporters of Gaius Gracchus were killed. Guy himself was forced to order his slave to kill himself, telling him: "I have no more friends, and I don't want to get my enemies alive."
Thus, the reforms of the Gracchi brothers were defeated. The impoverishment of the Roman peasantry continued.
The significance of the activities of the Gracchi brothers in the history of Rome was very great. Their reforms accelerated the development of productive forces and contributed to the strengthening of the slave system. By dividing most of the state lands, withdrawing colonies, and improving communications, they helped develop private property, trade, and money management. They prepared the question of the inclusion of Italians in the composition of Roman citizenship and came close to its solution. Their reforms strengthened the economic and political positions of the horsemanship, finally isolating it from the nobility. The Gracchi brought significant improvements to the Roman state apparatus through administrative and constitutional reforms. Under them, Roman democracy reached its highest peak.
List of used literature:
Gracchus Tiberius agrarian question
- 1. Kuzishchin V.I. History of Ancient Rome. M., 2005. S. 70-75.
- 2. Kovalev S.I. Istrian Rome. L., 1986. S. 333-353.
- 3. Sergeenko M.E. Land reform of Tiberius Gracchus and Appian's story // Bulletin ancient history. M., 1958. No. 2.
- 4. Felsberg E. R. Brothers Gracchi. Yuriev, 1910
Conclusion
In this term paper we consider the reforms of the Gracchi brothers in
works of Roman authors. Let's briefly summarize.
The Gracchi brothers were representatives of a noble plebeian family
sempronii, grandsons of Scipian the African. unsurpassed speakers,
commanding, fearless legionnaires. What made them
carry out their reforms?
Difficult economic and political situation in the Roman Republic. But:
they found death in their reforms. The Romans honored the memory with gratitude
Gracchi brothers. As Plutarch states: “The people openly set and
solemnly consecrated their images and reverently honored the places where they
were slain, giving to the brothers the first fruits that each of the times gave birth to
years, and many went there, as if to the temples of the gods, made sacrifices and
prayed."
The belated love of the people for the innocently killed and their defenders is completely
understandable. And what about us, from our distance, knowing everything that happened then,
to judge the life and deeds of the Gracchi brothers? Their purity and nobility
I personally have no doubts about my intentions. What about their actions? Good
As you know, the road to hell is paved with intentions.
Let us make brief conclusions about the activities of the brothers separately. Tiberius
Gracchus was elected tribune and put forward his agrarian reform bill,
in which he established restrictive norms for tenants
state land, the seizure of their surplus land and the redistribution
these surpluses between landless and landless Roman citizens.
Plebs accepted this law with a bang. In addition, Tiberius used
support famous people in Rome, among them the high priest Crassus,
lawyer Lucius Scaevola and consul Appius Claudius.
Large landowners immediately opposed this law. After all, they
lost their land. The Senate is the stronghold of the big landowners, since
belonged to their number. What can they do in this situation?
oppose Tiberius: money, influence and ... power.
The purpose of the Gracchus reform was not to create prosperity
poor, but in their face to get for the state combat-ready
strength. This was his main mistake. He thought of the essential benefit
which, upon reaching his goal, could bring Italy, Gracchus did not think about
difficulties in your business. As a result, Tiberius Gracchus died for his
bill. Innocent people also died. The Senate showed its
strength.
The political activity of Tiberius Gracchus lasted only a few
months, but with his reform bill he stirred up everything
Roman society and state, gave impetus to the development of turbulent events,
which the ancient historian Appian considered the beginning of the period of civil
wars in Roman history.
So, after the death of Tiberius, Gracchus was violated for centuries
civil balance. Of course, initially the indefatigable
the greed of the rich. But the illegal
actions of the tribune. Tiberius became the discoverer of the era of lawlessness,
civil conflicts and violence in Roman society. successor
Gaius Gracchus became his brother. Guy was purposeful, strong-willed, magnificent
speaker and man of action.
His main goal is to avenge the death of his brother. Cause of brother's death
is the Senate. And Guy, elected tribune, purposefully strikes
by the Senate, depriving him of influence and power.
Its main laws are: 1) a law obliging the state to regularly
provide all the poor with cheap bread; 2) transfer of all judicial
power from the hands of the senators to the hands of the equites; 3) creation of colonies
outside of Rome; 4) “Latin Law” to the Italians.
What happened was that the very foundation of state power overturned.
The Senate was virtually removed from power. Gaius Gracchus created new form
government controlled. In other words, unity. By this he
undermined the republican system in Rome. Unrest is inevitable. Senate so
just does not give power. And Gaius has no powerful allies. His
supporters peasants and urban plebs, but give their lives for their leader
they are not ready.
The Senate, feeling the current situation, decides to take an extreme step. Destroy
supporters of reform. A civil dispute will be decided by the shedding of blood.
We know the outcome.
For many years we have been taught that there is nothing higher than liberation
revolution. That her holy aims justify lawlessness and cruelty,
violent change in the way of life, and the inevitable loss of life.
The Gracchi brothers seemed to us the first revolutionaries and the first
victims of centuries of struggle between the oppressed and their oppressors.
The Gracchi outlined a number of measures, which, although not resolved in their time, but
responded so well to the vital needs of Roman society and
states that were held shortly after the death of the reformers. Guy
Gracchus for the first time appreciated the business experience of the riders and tried to attract them to
more active state activities, which subsequently successfully
used by the Roman emperors. Sale of bread at symbolic prices
poor urban population, as an attempt to neutralize it
political activity, and using it to your advantage, later
became the most important measure of the Roman state. In the course of a fierce
the struggle between the reformers (who were later called popular),
based on the popular assembly, and conservatives, or optimates,
the stronghold of which was the aristocratic senate, various
programs. In the Roman state, the struggle for the implementation of these programs
determined to a large extent the entire subsequent history of the Roman
Republic until its fall. That is why one can say that
political activity Gracchi had a great influence not only on
events that are contemporary to them, but also on the course of the political struggle in the Roman
republic in the 1st century. BC e.
List of sources used
Appman of Alexandria. Civil wars. - L., 1935.
Historians of Antiquity: In 2 vols. - M., 1989. - 2 vols.
Kuzishin E. V. The history of ancient Rome. – Minsk, 1985.
L. Osterman. Roman history in faces. - M., 1997.
Plutarch. Comparative biographies: In 3 volumes - L., 1964. - v. 3.
Reader on the history of ancient Rome. / ed. S. L. Utiemko. – M.,
1962.
First of all, one should consider the life and customs of the Roman Republic in the last third of the 2nd century BC. This is necessary in order to understand what were the prerequisites for the agrarian reform of the Gracchi Brothers.
Appian describes the economic and social situation of the Romans very well in his writings: “Mutual strife often occurred between the Roman people and the Senate on issues of legislation, the abolition of debt obligations, the division of public land, and the choice of magistrates. However, these were not in the strict sense of the word civil wars that would go as far as the use of violent actions. The matter was only about disagreements and squabbles, which proceeded within the framework of the law and were settled with great respect for the disputing parties, by mutual concessions." (Appian. Civil Wars. Book One).
From the point of view of Tiberius, the main reason for the fall of Roman power was the dispossession of small free farmers who replenished the ranks of the troops. Therefore, Tiberius proposed to stop this process by holding agrarian reform. He hoped to provide landless citizens land, to keep them ruined, to secure those who have them for the future. To allocate land to numerous landless citizens, Tiberius proposed limiting the right to lease public fields by landowners to a certain norm, and confiscating all surplus public lands to allocate plots from them for landless Roman citizens.
Appian appreciates Tiberius Gracchus as an excellent orator and a good reformer: ". So things went on until Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, a man of noble birth, a very ambitious, excellent orator, thanks to all these qualities very well known to everyone, having become a popular tribune, delivered a magnificent speech ”(Appian. Civil Wars. Book One, 10).
The situation in the national assembly began to change not in favor of Tiberius. His opponents managed to put together a strong opposition.
Tiberius was isolated. In order to bring the agrarian and other reforms to completion, Tiberius had to retain the position of tribune of the people for the next 132 BC, and this was prohibited by law. Tiberius and his supporters decided to put pressure on the vote, which escalated into a bloody battle, during which Tiberius and several hundred of his supporters died.
About the life of Gaius Gracchus after the death of his brother, Plutarch writes in his Comparative Biographies: “After the death of Tiberius, Gaius at first, either fearing enemies, or in order to restore his fellow citizens against them, did not appear at all in the forum and lived quietly and solitude, like a man who is not only depressed and downcast by circumstances, but intends henceforth to keep aloof from public affairs; this gave rise to rumors that he condemned and rejected the undertakings of Tiberius. But he was still too young, nine years younger than his brother, and Tiberius died before he was thirty. When, over time, little by little, his disposition began to be revealed, alien to idleness, effeminacy, passion for wine and for profit, when he began to hone his gift of speech, as if preparing wings for himself that would exalt him in the state field, it was clearly revealed that Guy's tranquility will soon come to an end. In defending his friend Vettius at some point in court, he brought such joy to the people and aroused such violent enthusiasm that all other orators seemed in comparison with him pathetic boys, and new fears arose among powerful citizens, and they talked a lot among themselves, whatever in which case Gaius should not be allowed to the post of tribune. (Plutarch. Guy Gracchus.1).
Soon Gaius Gracchus was promoted to the stands. He continued land reforms, only now he tried to take into account the interests of other classes. Gracchus Roman agrarian reform
And according to one of the laws of Guy, bread for the Roman poor was to be sold at the lowest prices. By decree of Gaius, Roman colonies were created outside of Italy, as a result of which the peasants improved their situation by leaving their homeland and receiving land in a foreign land.
But the Senate was not satisfied with the excessive activity of the people's tribune, and in particular - the activities of Gracchus. For the third time, Guy was never elected. This served to ensure that supporters of Guy's reforms began to organize detachments armed against his enemies.
This resulted in an open confrontation between the senators and the followers of Gracchus. As a result of the battle, three thousand supporters of Gaius were killed, including Gracchus himself. Unfortunately, the impoverishment of the peasants continued, and numerous land reforms of the Gracchus brothers were defeated. Here is what Plutarch writes about the reforms of Guy Plutarch: “After returning from Africa, Guy, first of all, moved from the Palatine Hill to that part of the city that lay below the forum and was considered the quarters of the common people, because almost the entire poor Rome gathered there to live. He then proposed several more bills to put them to the vote. Common people from everywhere came to his call, but the senate convinced the consul Fannius to remove everyone from the city except Roman citizens. When this strange and unusual order was announced that none of the allies and friends of the Roman people should show themselves in Rome in the coming days, Gaius, in turn, issued a decree in which he reproved the actions of the consul and volunteered to protect the allies if they did not obey. However, he did not protect anyone, and even seeing Fannius' lictors dragging him, Guy, a friend and hospitable, passed by, either afraid to discover the decline of his influence, or, as he himself explained, not wanting to give his opponents a reason to fights and skirmishes, the occasion they were eagerly looking for. (Plutarch. Gaius Gracchus.12)
Reforms of the Gracchi brothers. Slave labor replaced the labor of the free Roman. As a result of the unprecedented exploitation of slaves, a special class of Roman society appears - optimists ("the best"). Their income was not less than one million sesterces. The Roman peasantry was ruined: next to the small plots of the peasants, huge estates of the Roman rich grew up. The lands in these estates were cultivated by the labor of hundreds and thousands of slaves. Returning from distant campaigns, the peasants found their farms in complete desolation. And large estates prospered, as slaves worked for them constantly.
The ruined peasants rushed to Rome. Torn off from the earth, living on handouts, devastated spiritually, they formed a huge mass unnecessary people(the so-called lumpen-proletariat).
The ruin of the peasantry greatly reduced the combat effectiveness of the Roman army, which for the most part consisted of peasants. And to suppress such powerful uprisings of slaves, such as, for example, the uprising of Spartacus, a strong army was needed. This danger was seen by the most far-sighted politicians. One of them was Tiberius Gracchus. He came from a noble plebeian family.
Tiberius, according to the custom that existed in the Roman Republic, put forward his candidacy for election to the tribunes of the people and was elected to this position in 133 BC. He made three proposals to the people's assembly. First, he proposed limiting the right to use public land to 500 yugers (125 ha). Secondly, Tiberius suggested that all public land in excess of this norm should be taken away from the latifundists and divided between landless and landless peasants, 30 jugers each. Plots should be given to peasants for a small rent without the right to sell. Thirdly, he proposed the creation of a special commission of three persons and to enforce this law.
Tiberius becomes a peasant leader. Naturally, the nobility acted as an ardent opponent of Tiberius. She made no secret of her enmity towards him. The proposed measures were opposed by his colleague, the People's Tribune Octavius. By decree of the Senate, he vetoed the proposals of Tiberius. Then Tiberius took a step unprecedented in the history of Rome. He proposed to the people's assembly to remove Octavius from office. When 17 tribes out of 35 voted, and all voted for the removal of Octavius, Tiberius suspended the vote. He turned to Octavius again, for the last time. He urged him not to dishonor himself and to withdraw his veto. There was no answer. For Octavius, the attitude of the Roman nobility towards him was more important than the interests of the people. So Octavius ceased to be a people's tribune. Consequently, the prohibition he imposed on the proposals of Tiberius also lost its force.
The beginning of the reform met with desperate resistance from the nobility. Then Tiberius put forward his candidacy for the tribune of the people and for next year. The Senate went to extremes. Tiberius was killed. More than three hundred of his supporters died with him. The bodies of those killed at night were thrown into the Tiber.
With the death of Tiberius Gracchus, the agrarian law was not repealed, but things progressed slowly. A new rise in the popular movement is associated with the election of the junior Gracchus - Guy - to the post of tribune in 123 BC. In an effort to strengthen his position not only among the peasantry, but also among the urban poor, Guy proposed lowering the price of bread. He put forward a proposal to grant civil rights to all inhabitants of Italy. However, this proposal was doomed to failure. It affected the interests not only of senators, not only of the rich, but also of a wide range of Roman citizens. Every Roman understood that the increase in the number of Roman citizens could adversely affect the advantages that he himself enjoyed. The Senate also arranged for the assassination of Gaius Gracchus.
The movement led by the Gracchi could not be successful. They sought to return to the old, to revive the Roman peasantry. But Rome firmly embarked on the path of slavery. The labor of the free farmer was supplanted by the labor of slaves. The goal set by the Gracchi brothers was utopian. But their work was not lost. It marked the beginning of a broad popular movement in Rome and dealt a serious blow to the aristocratic senatorial republic.
1.The deterioration of the situation of the peasants in Italy. The main population of Italy were peasants. By cultivating the fields, they fed their families and supplied the cities with food. However, the censuses conducted in Rome showed that after the victorious Punic and other wars, prosperous peasant farms in Italy itself became less and less. After all, military campaigns distracted men from peasant labor, and it was difficult for women to cope with both the household and the family alone. Part of the land ceased to be cultivated, it was not always possible to harvest the entire crop. Due to lack of fodder and poor care, livestock died.
Warriors, returning home from campaigns, found their homes devastated, and their families starving. Many of them left their lands and went in search of a better life to Rome, where they joined the ranks of the Roman plebs, who lived on handouts from the authorities.
The enlightened and public interest-minded Romans understood that steps had to be taken to improve the condition of the peasants. Their inspirer and leader was Tiberius Gracchus.
2.Land law of Tiberius Gracchus. Tiberius and his brother Gaius were the grandsons of the victorious Hannibal Scipio the Elder African. From childhood, they were instilled with high ideals of service to the fatherland and people.
The mother of the Gracchi Cornelia, daughter of Scipio Africanus, was very proud of her father and dreamed that her sons would someday equal his glory. Cornelia, appealing to the pride of her sons, asked them: "When will I be called the mother of the Gracchi, and not the daughter of Scipio?"
In 134 BC. e. Tiberius Gracchus put forward his candidacy for the elections to the people's tribunes, because by his father he belonged to a noble plebeian family. The people enthusiastically voted for Tiberius Gracchus, known for his intelligence and nobility of soul.
Tiberius Gracchus proposed to the people's assembly and the senate to pass a law on land reform. The Roman nobility for centuries used the lands that belonged to all the Romans, and grew rich. Tiberius Gracchus proposed returning these lands to the state and then dividing them among the poorest Roman citizens, poor peasants.
The People's Assembly passed this law. For its implementation, a commission was created, headed by Tiberius Gracchus. His brother Guy also entered it. The affairs of the commission did not move forward easily. Noble and wealthy Romans resisted the implementation of the law. To protect the Gracchi, an armed detachment was formed from the supporters of Tiberius. A year later, Tiberius Gracchus was again put forward as a candidate for the tribune elections.
Roman historians say that on the day of the election, clashes began to arise between his supporters and opponents. Defensively, Tiberius raised his hand above his head. Opponents immediately accused him of demanding royal crown. This news instantly reached the Senate. Angry "fathers"-senators rushed to the square where the elections were taking place. They were led cousin Tiberius. A fierce fight began. Senators wielded staves, fragments of pews, stones were used. Tiberius died from a blow to the head. His corpse was thrown into the Tiber, and his supporters were arrested and tried.
Proposed by Tiberius Gracchus land reform has not been implemented. The bloody events in Rome, when brother turned against brother, and the people were plunged into bloodshed, became the beginning of a protracted period of civil wars.
3.Activities Gaius Gracchus. After 10 years, Gaius Gracchus was elected tribune of the people. He took into account the sad experience of his older brother. Offering new land transformations, Guy tried to take into account not only the interests of the peasants. He tried to rely on horsemen, landowners who did not participate in government, as well as on the lower strata of the people.
Guy carried out a judicial reform in favor of the horsemen. Riders from the 3rd century BC e. turned into the second estate after the senators. Horsemen owned large land plots, had a high property qualification. The political influence of the equites in Roman society was much weaker than that of the patricians. As a result of the transformations of Gaius Gracchus, the horsemen began to lead the courts that dealt with cases of extortion in the provinces. This gave them great power over the governors of the provinces, opened the way to their enrichment. According to one of the laws of Gaius Gracchus, the Roman poor were to be sold by the state at the lowest prices.
The main direction in the activities of Gaius Gracchus was the creation of Roman colonies outside of Italy. Thus, part of the peasantry, having left their homeland, could receive land and improve their situation. It was also supposed to send "the best citizens" to these colonies to organize the construction and life of the settlers. In the heat of the transformation, Gaius Gracchus scorned the religious curse that hung over the land of the city of Carthage. He planned to organize a large Roman colony there.
The Senate watched with concern the overly active, as it seemed to him, activities of the people's tribune. The question was raised about the illegality of founding a colony on the site of Carthage. The Senate made a bet on another people's tribune, who competed with Gaius Gracchus. For every proposal of Gracchus, a proposal from his opponent immediately arrived, bringing the ideas of Gracchus to the point of absurdity. If Gaius Gracchus suggested founding one colony, his opponent spoke of founding 12 colonies. The authority of Gaius Gracchus fell, and for the third time he was not elected a people's tribune.
4.Death of Gaius Gracchus. Supporters of Gaius Gracchus organized armed groups. Senators began to suspect them of an attempt on legitimate power. Nevertheless, some of the laws of Gaius Gracchus were proposed for approval to the popular assembly.
Roman historians say that all of Rome gathered that day at the Capitol. To the insult that followed from the envoy of the consul, the supporters of Gaius Gracchus responded in the most decisive way. The messenger was stabbed. The Senate, having learned about this, announced: "The Fatherland is in danger." The senators and horsemen who betrayed Gaius Gracchus armed themselves. Gaius Gracchus and his supporters fortified themselves on the Aventine. From the Capitol, armed detachments moved towards them. Panic broke out in the ranks of the plebeians. 3 thousand supporters of Gaius Gracchus were killed. Guy himself was forced to order the slave to kill himself. His head was delivered to the Senate, which caused jubilation among the senators.
The reforms of the Gracchi brothers were defeated. The impoverishment of the Roman peasantry continued.
At the beginning of his career, Gaius Gracchus said: "I throw knives on the forum so that the Roman citizens cut each other with them." This terrible wish of Gaius Gracchus came true. After his death, the fragile peace in Rome was restored for a short time. The contradictions have not faded away. Soon they broke out with renewed vigor.
The Roman people, as if waking up, again paid tribute to the Gracham brothers. Their images were installed in public places, the places of their death were consecrated. People sacrificed here, prayed here. The mother of the Gracchi Cornelia was rewarded with special honor. Though in a tragic way, her dream came true. Cornelia began to be called the mother of the glorious heroes of the Gracchi.