Tiberius Gracchus
A Roman tribune whose land reform bill and unprecedented political actions led to his death in a riot instigated by his enemies.
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (c. 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law transferring land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He served in the Roman army during the Third Punic War in Africa and the Numantine War in Spain. His political future was imperiled during his quaestorship when he negotiated a humiliating treaty with the Numantines after his army was surrounded. Seeking to rebuild that future and reacting to a supposed decline in the Roman population blamed on rich families buying up Italian land, he carried a land reform bill against strong opposition during his term as tribune of the plebs in 133 BC.
Quick Facts
- Born
- 163 BC
- Died
- 133 BC (probably aged 29)
- Place of death
- Rome
- Death cause
- Assassination
- Known for
- Agrarian reforms
- Office
- Quaestor (137 BC); Tribune of the plebs (133 BC)
- Parents
- Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus; Cornelia
- Relatives
- Gaius Gracchus (brother)
- Sempronia (sister)
- Scipio Nasica Serapio (cousin)
- Scipio Africanus (grandfather)
Lore & Background
Tiberius Gracchus was born in 163 or 162 BC into the Roman aristocracy. His father, also Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, was a consul and censor who celebrated two triumphs. His mother Cornelia was daughter of Scipio Africanus. Tiberius began his military career in 147 BC under his brother-in-law Scipio Aemilianus during the Third Punic War, and according to Plutarch was among the first to scale Carthage's walls. In 137 BC as quaestor to consul Gaius Hostilius Mancinus in Hispania Citerior during the Numantine War, he negotiated a treaty of surrender after the army was surrounded. The treaty was rejected by Rome as humiliating. As tribune in 133 BC, Tiberius proposed the Lex Sempronia agraria to enforce a limit on public land holdings and redistribute surplus land to poor citizens. He bypassed the senate, had opposing tribune Marcus Octavius deposed, and proposed using the bequest of Attalus III of Pergamum to finance the land commission. His attempt to stand for a consecutive tribunate and his seizure of the Capitoline hill during elections led to his death in a riot instigated by his enemies, including his cousin Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio.
Reader's Guide
Tiberius Gracchus is defined by his agrarian reform and willingness to break political norms. He served as a legate or military tribune under Scipio Aemilianus in 147 BC, and as quaestor in 137 BC negotiated a treaty after the Numantine army was surrounded. His political future damaged, he became tribune in 133 BC and proposed the Lex Sempronia agraria to enforce a 120-hectare limit on public land holdings. He bypassed the senate, deposed a fellow tribune, and usurped senatorial prerogatives over foreign policy by proposing to use the Attalid bequest. His attempt at consecutive tribunates and seizure of the Capitoline led to his death. His legacy includes the land commission that distributed over 3,000 square kilometres of land, and his death marks the traditional start of the Roman Republic's decline.
Did You Know?
- His land reform bill enforced a limit of approximately 120 hectares of public land per person.
- His death in 133 BC marks the traditional start of the Roman Republic's decline and eventual collapse.
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