Gracchi

Gracchi refers to Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, two Roman brothers who played a prominent role in late republican reforms. They belonged to the plebeian branch of the Sempronii Gracchi gens and served as tribunes of the plebs in the mid-2nd century BCE. Their reforms centered on addressing land inequality and the power of the aristocracy.

Tiberius Gracchus, tribune in 133 BCE, proposed the Lex Sempronia Agraria, which aimed to redistribute public land (ager publicus) and to restrict its accumulation by wealthy landholders, thereby providing land to poorer citizens. The bill encountered strong opposition from the Senate and was opposed by a considerable portion of the patrician class. He was killed in 133 BCE during a political confrontation in the Forum, becoming a symbol of popular reform and political violence.

Gaius Gracchus, tribune in 123-122 BCE, sought to extend his brother’s reforms and broaden citizen rights. His measures included a grain subsidy (cura annonae), the expansion of Roman citizenship to certain Italian allies, and administrative reforms intended to curtail aristocratic privilege and extend state intervention in economic life. He also promoted the use of popular support to challenge the oligarchy. Gaius was killed along with many supporters in 121 BCE, within a period of severe political instability that followed his fall.

The Gracchi’s actions gave rise to a contested political tradition—the popularis program—favoring the common people against the aristocratic order. Their legacies influenced subsequent reformers and political conflict, contributing to the crisis of the late Republic and the emergence of factional violence in Roman politics.