Gracchi Reforms

In 91 BC, some of the most moderate members of the senate allied themselves with Livius Drusus (the son of that Drusus, who had been used to undermine Gaius Gracchus' popularity in 122 BC) and aided him in his election campaign. As tribune, he proposed to add to the senate an equal number of equestrians, and to extend Roman citizenship to all Italians and to grant the poorer of the current citizens new schemes for colonization and a further cheapening of the corn prices, at the expense of the state.

Tiberius Gracchus was a tribune in Rome who was met with a brutal death. Tiberius' death was the result of him trying to help Rome become better, but some questioned if he was doing it for Rome or himself. Tiberius was paying attention to the problems that Rome was facing as a result of gaining an empire and trying to find solutions. As a result of Rome gaining an empire, the land that people had once owned was being taken by the rich (Spencer). With this happening, it was not long before Rome had a clear line between the rich, who had more land than they needed, and the poor, who had nothing (Baker 74).

Gaius Octavius was born September 23, 63 BCE. His father’s name was Gaius. His father, who died in 59 BCE, had been the first of the family to become a Roman senator and was elected to the high annual office of the praetorship, which ranked second in the political hierarchy to the consulship. This office was judicial and second only to consul in status in the Roman government. “Gaius Octavius was of a successful family that had long been settled at Velitrae, southeast of Rome.”1 Octavius began his public life at age 12 when he delivered the funeral oration for his grandmother, Julia. His great uncle, Julius Caesar, became the chief priest, Pontifex Maximus. Gaius Octavius was from a prosperous family in Velitrae, a city southeast of Rome. “He was described as unusually handsome and exceedingly graceful at all periods of his life, though he cared nothing for personal adornment. It was claimed that his expression, whether in conversation or when he was silent, was calm and mild; that he had clear, bright eyes, in which he believed there was a kind of divine power. His teeth were wide apart, small and ill-kept; his hair was slightly curly and gold in color.”2 He had a medium complexion, neither light nor dark. He was short.

Being increasingly forced to hire soldiers and increase taxes (which were greatly caused by the diseases and disasters) the economy was stressed. Power and happiness came from wealth, which few people had at the time. Priscus reported, “...taxes are very severe, and... A [wealthy lawbreaker]...is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man...undergoes the legal penalty… [He said] that the laws and constitution of the Romans were fair, but deplored that the governors, not possessing the spirit of former generations, were ruining the state.”

In the decade before Marius, the senatorial oligarchy, having been undermined by the various reforms posed by the tribunates of the Gracchi, was

Giolitti’s government was extremely unsuccessful in promoting political stability in Italy. It seemed that the Italian liberal state suffered from political divisions all over the country; this was something no other Liberal western power had experience in the years 1903 to 1914. However under the ‘political divisions’, Giolitti was trying to reform and modernise Italy during his periods in power as Prime Minister. Giolitti and his government attempted to broaden support for Liberalism by appealing to traditionally hostile groups such as the Catholics and the working-class, created a grand trasformismo (a key concept used to

Cosimo traditionally has been accused of destroying Florentine liberties, these ancient liberties are more of an illusion than a reality, he only had to make the formula of those he was evicting. To not be taken by surprise like the Albizzi, he perfected the system by not changing in the law’s actual administration, but in the spirit of law he changed everything, it was a rule to fill high official positions by drawing lots. The process was manipulated so that only the names of the men who could be depended upon were drawn. The independent mood of the two municipal assemblies neutralized by making an exceptional procedure the rule by dictatorial powers were now granted for a fixed term that

Tiberius also assisted individuals to meet the financial qualifications of the senatorial group. The senate offered Tiberius titles and honours, which he refused, due to the failure of senators to uphold their responsibilities. An example of this is in AD 21; Tiberius reminded the senate that the province of Africa required a new governor who would control the rebellion that was occurring there. The senate showed itself to be inadequate at this point, for it wanted

A major part of society, ranging from the beginning of time until present day, has been the aspect of social classes and the distinguishing features between the different levels. In Giuseppe Di Lampedusa’s novel The Leopard, through the use of different characters to symbolize the different social classes and the relationships between them, the author successfully distinguished and defined the different groups in nineteenth century Italian society. A special spotlight is shown on the aristocracy as that is the class the main character, Prince Fabrizio, belongs to. It is seen through the novel quite clearly the distinction between the different social classes ,the relationships between them, and why characters in the different classes behave as they do.

This new republic was plagued by tension arising from the class differences of the patricians and plebeians. The Gracchi brothers attempted to equalize things, Gaius Gracchus proposed a redistribution of farm land that would benefit the plebeians. The end result was rather unfortunate as he was killed; his other brother was also killed ten years later for similar reasons.

Only the highly educated and wealthy class made up the Senate. The Concilium Plebis only consisted of representatives for the Plebeians, and the Comitia Centuriata represented most of the landowning class. Both the popular assemblies were given pre-discussed debates, and any disagreements with the Senate were rare. Furthermore, the Consuls, who were the most prestigious magistrates and “the military and political heads of state” were also advised by the Senate (Gwynn, 20).

     Cicero was a member of the Senate during the time of Catiline’s Conspiracy. His life was

Background Cicero was one of the greatest orators in Ancient Rome. He was not of noble birth, but in 64 BCE became consul, one of the most powerful offices in the Roman Republic. Cicero's time as consul was difficult, and he successfully prevented an overthrow of the Republic and his own assassination. Once Julius Caesar began to amass more and more personal power, however, he receded from active politics because he believed the ideals of the Republic would be diffused with tyranny. Once Caesar was assassinated, Cicero again became popular but because of his dislike (public and private) of Mark Antony, as Antony's power grew, Cicero's diminished. He was killed in December 43 BCE after being declared an enemy of the Republic.

1. Read "Cincinnatus Saves Rome: A Roman Morality Tale" (5-1b). In this excerpt, does Livy's story appear to be historically valid? Why or why not? Why were the "common folk" less pleased than the officials at seeing the Dictator? Were their fears accurate and what were their views of him likely to have been twenty days later? What elements of this story inspired later generations to hail Cincinnatus as "the noblest Roman of them all"?

Tiberius Gracchus and Cicero were two men who were both concerned with wellness of the citizens of Rome; however, they had different opinions on the best way to achieve political advancements. Throughout the different generations of the two men, the same issues plagued Rome, and throughout their lifetimes the separate factions of the senate became more polarized as they continued to disagree about the fate of Rome. Cicero wrote letters to his friends and family which today offer great primary information about what it was like in Rome during the late republic. In our virtual reality game, Saeculum, I get firsthand insight into the issues that plagued Rome when my clients come to me with the issues of land, food, and water. I am tasked with