133 to 123 BC

Failure of the Gracchi’s reforms

Tiberius Gracchus was elected a ple­beian tribune in 134 BC, and was par­tic­u­larly sens­itive to the fate of slaves and of poor peasants whose land had been appro­priated by the Roman nobility while they were away serving on mil­itary cam­paigns. He pro­posed an agri­cul­tural reform lim­iting land own­ership to 125 hec­tares per citizen or 250 hectares per family, and dis­trib­uting the freed-​​up land to the poorest Romans, usually free of charge.

A tri­um­virate which included Tiberius’ brother, Gaius Gracchus, was charged with enacting the law. However, the Roman sen­ators saw it as a threat to their own estates, as well as to their powers of land attri­bution. Tiberius was murdered in 133 BC.

Gaius Gracchus was elected a tribune in 123 BC and continued his brother’s reforms. He ordered bushels of wheat to be dis­tributed to Roman cit­izens at a low price, and planned to set up colonies in Italy and Carthage.The Senate ordered his death, which occurs in cir­cum­stances still unclear.