A Brief History Of The Roman Empire, Part 3: Land Reform And The Era Of Gracchi

Rome was an empire long before it had an Emperor.

Rome became a major power in the civilized world, becoming the dominant power of the whole Mediterranean basin. But that success made it unsustainable, and opened the door for strongmen like Gaius Julius Caesar, who violently seized power.

The Roman Soldier

The Roman Republic did not have a professional army when it was founded — like many other city-states in the region, it had a part-time, citizen army, where soldiers were expected to field their own equipment at their own expense. For several centuries, this model was perfectly adequate — Rome’s enemies were close by and her campaigns were short. Warfare in the region bent around agriculture — Rome’s rivals also had crops to tend and people to feed, so traditionally warfare would stop around planting and harvesting season, when manpower was most desperately needed, and armies would go on campaigns when they weren’t needed in the fields.

As Rome grew and conquered its neighbors it began to fight its battles overseas in Spain, Greece Gaul, North Africa and Anatolia. These wars were often fought against large powers, not local tribes and city-states. They could last for months or even years, rather than a single campaign.

This put an immense strain on the common soldiers, who would have to leave their farms unattended while they performed their civic duty — their fields fallow and their property falling into disrepair.

However, conquest was also an immense driver of wealth — and that wealth disproportionately was going to Rome’s political elite. Foreign booty and foreign slavery were brought back to Rome. The cash-rich elites could purchase neglected land parcels at discounted prices and consolidate them into huge plantations. Slavery was a common practice in ancient times, especially among prisoners of war. According to historians, between 10-20% Some of the Roman people were held in bondage. It was very difficult for citizen soldiers to compete with cheap import labor after they had subdued foreign enemies.

Contemporary conservatives from the Roman elite deplored the indulgence in luxury and decadence of many Senatorial members, but this is not the case. “‘moral decay”‘ was confined to a very small segment of the population — Rome’s foreign expansion made the majority of its citizens poorer.

A martial society where property qualifications were required for military service led to a huge shortage of manpower for the Roman army. This was the backbone for the Roman state. Soldiers who had won fortunes for their city often had to sell everything they owned to avoid bankruptcy, and once they lost their property they and their children were no longer eligible for public service — they simply couldn’t afford it.

Romans did not lose sight of the irony.

“The wild beasts of Italy have their caves to retire to,” Tiberius Grechus, possibly the most influential Tribune for the Plebs to have ever lived, Not noted, ” but the brave men who spill their blood in her cause have nothing left but air and light. Without houses, without settled habitations, they wander from place to place with their wives and children. … The private soldiers fight and die to advance the wealth and luxury of the great, and they are called masters of the world without having a sod to call their own.”

The property requirements for military service were decreased over the years in order to allow more men to participate. But this was only temporary and the disgruntled urban poor grew to make up a stronger and more unstable political bloc.

Reform of the Land

Some Romans believed that they could fix the problem permanently with a magic bullet. Rome had a long tradition of private property. The Roman state however owned vast tracts of farmland that were taken from Rome’s enemies during previous centuries of conflict. This ager publicus (public land) was leased to Roman citizens, which brought in substantial revenue for the state. There were legal limits as to the amount of land that could be leased. ager publicus One family could lease but, in practice, the most influential families in Rome were the ones who exceeded the limit. This limit was seldom enforced.

Reformers proposed that the law would be enforced exactly as written. All public land in violation of the legal limit, which is approximately 330 acres per household, would be repossessed and redistributed. There would be thousands of dispossessed families, including veterans of Roman armies with large families, who would each receive a parcel of land. This would make public charges less burdensome and allow citizens to become soldiers without needing to touch any private property.

This plan was hampered by two main obstacles.

First, the ager publicus was Technically public property, the families who leased it treated it like private property — they held it for generations, bequeathed it to their heirs, used it as collateral in loans and business dealings.

Many of the populist reformers came from elite backgrounds and were not motivated by altruism. Roman society and politics were built on patron-client relationships. Rome was always a highly stratified city, but those who were poor still had the ability to vote. People who were wealthy would often offer food and cash as well as favors or legal representation. Clients were expected, in exchange for their generosity, to support the political goals of their patrons.

Poor soldiers make for desperate, landless citizens, but they make fine clients. But if a politician grants their families land, these clients will immediately shift their loyalty to him. his Family and His agenda that dramatically changes the balance of power

Land reform, for its supporters, was a permanent solution for the decline of small landowners. It was the backbone to the citizen-army that was the backbone in the Roman state. Land reform’s opponents saw it as a power grab in which a few prominent families could seize the de facto property and use it to bribe thousands of political supporters.

The perennial political issue of land reform in Rome would continue for more than a century. It would become a violent debate.

The Gracchi

Tiberius Gracchus, a skilled public speaker from a wealthy family of plebeians, attempted to solve the problem in 133 BC. He was elected Tribune of Plebs with support from some of the most powerful men of Rome. However, Tiberius and his followers were unable to pass their land reform proposal through Senate.

However, he decided to accept it.

TechnicallyThis was permitted. The Senate, despite its historical grandeur, was an advisory organ. However, the Public Assemblies were free to pass any law they wanted, with their approval or not, if a magistrate proposes it. However, the Senate was ignored. Legal It is as simple as that Wasn’t it?.

Naturally, Tiberius’s colleague, Octavius the Tribune, vetoed Assembly vote on bill. This was again. LegalHowever, it was incompatible with centuries of civic norms. When he proposed the bill, Tiberius followed the law to the letter. This was despite the controversy it caused among the elite Romans. Wildly It was well-received by the citizens who voted for it. While Octavius was permitted to veto, he was also allowed to act as a Tribune of the Plebs to protect the common Romans against the political elite. Many of his supporters felt that he was doing exactly the opposite.

Tiberius also held an impromptu vote at the Assembly to remove Octavius.

That move was also unprecedented — and it succeeded. Octavius was now a private citizen and his veto was null. Tiberius’s bill was passed. However, the Senate was shocked by his violations republican procedure. He ignored the will of the Senate, and he was able to remove a political opponent from power. Some whispered that Tiberius was planning to become a king. This is a grave insult in Roman politics with potentially fatal consequences.

These consequences would become apparent when Tiberius broke Another Precedent and ran for a second term in office as tribune. Magistrates were limited to one year in office to prevent any one man from gaining too much power — consecutive terms were not tolerated.

But the Senate was slow-walking Tiberius’s bill — it had passed but organizing the land commission and allocating the budget for the project took time, and as far as the Senate was concerned it could take a little more time. After Tiberius had left office, his bill could be withdrawn or at most watered-down. 

Tiberius would be able to oversee the process and keep any other Senatorial shenanigans from happening if he was still in power. However, shenanigans can lead to shenanigans and some senators started to suggest that the would-be tyrant should be stopped before he could cause more damage.

According to the legend, on the day of the election, a senator from the crowd interrupted the proceedings to inform Tiberius that his enemies at the Senate wanted to declare him an enemy state and have him executed. Tiberius gestured at his head in danger, indicating that his life was at risk, despite being in a crowd of thousands.

In a game of telephone, however, some of his rivals in the crowd interacted “they want my head” Tiberius demanded a crown and ran back to Senate with the news. The Senate This wasIn fact, he held an emergency meeting to discuss Tiberius Gracchus’s upstart. This news was a blow to his most hardline enemies.

After the Roman consul refused permission to execute a citizen without trial, the pontifex Maxius, one Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, raised an army of senators and his supporters and marched into the forum. Tiberius was killed along with hundreds of his supporters.

For context, Tribunes of the Plebs were considered sacrosanct — under Roman law Touching Any intent to harm them was a capital offense. The pontifex maximalus was the highest ranking Roman religious official. The High priest Rome had just Butchered Political rival broad daylight This was in direct violation the city’s most sacred law. His reforms survived but many of his supporters were expelled from the city.

Although politics in the Republic can be chaotic, it was remarkably rare before that point. After Tiberius Gracchus and other mob violence, as well as political purges, became distressingly frequent, and Rome’s most sacred traditions became more like. Guidelines These rules are more important than any actual ones.

The civic norms were abolished and traditional institutions became weaker, which led to riots as well as political violence.

Tiberius’ younger brother Gaius Gracchus would be following in his steps ten years later. Most accounts say he was even. More His brother was more radical than his younger brother, and he pursued similar reforms on a much larger scale. He also created a public grain dole, where the state would subsidize food for Rome’s poorest residents. This was a very expensive program that would be a majorstay of Roman politics throughout its history.

Gaius Gracchus, like his brother, would be killed after serving a second term as Tribune. He also sought an unprecedented third term in 121 BC.

Over the next decades, Roman civic culture was subject to a series of brutal attacks: the Social War from 1991-87 BC, in which its Italian allies revolted, the civil Wars of Marius and Sulla in which the city’s top generals turned on each other through the 80s BC, as well as the Catiline Conspiracy, in 63 BC, in which a disgruntled populist politician tried in vain to assassinate a sitting Consul to overthrow the government.

This is an abbreviated listing.

The Republic was already in its final days when Julius Caesar, an ambitious general added to it, began to crumble.

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“From A Short History of the Roman Empire, Part 3 – Land Reform and The Era Of Gracchi“

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