The Brothers Gracchi Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cornelius Scipio Africanus

Roman aristocrats married for political connections and influence, and when the 45 year old father of Tiberius and Caius married the 18 year old Cornelia, he made an extremely important alliance with one of Rome's leading families.
Cornelia herself was said to be a model for how all Roman womanhood should conduct itself in life.

Answer: Carthage

Tiberius accompanied his brother in law, Scipio Aemilianus, in the Third Punic War and is said by Plutarch to have covered himself in glory at the siege and destruction of Carthage.

Answer: Numantines

The Numantines were a particularly tough Celtiberian tribe who gave the Romans all they could handle from 143 BC to 133 BC, defeating and humiliating Mancinus and the Romans around 136 BC.

Answer: The Numantines had dealt with Tiberius' father previously

The Numantines had dealt with Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus the Elder earlier and found that, unlike other Romans, he was a man of his word and could be trusted. The Numantines came to an agreement with Tiberius the Younger and that peace treaty led to the saving of some 20,000 Roman lives, and they even gave him back his military ledgers.

It is here that young Tiberius' political career takes off.

Answer: The Senate felt that the treaty was negotiated from a position of weakness

The Senate felt so strongly about rejecting this treaty that it actually sent Mancinus back in chains to the Numantines and sent its best military commander, Scipio Aemilianus, Tiberius' brother in law, to Hispania to bring the Numantines under control.

The treaty's rejection humiliated Tiberius, though it made him a hero in some quarters because he saved so many Roman and allied lives. Tiberius decided to run for Tribune in 133 BC to get his revenge.

Answer: To represent the interests of the plebes (common people)

A Tribuneship was an extremely powerful position. Created in 494 BC, it passed Roman laws -- after consulting with the Senate -- and any of the ten Tribunes could stop any proposal from becoming law. The person of each Tribune was also considered sacrosanct.

However, by 133 BC the Tribuneship had fallen under the influence of the aristocratic Senate and was doing its bidding instead of protecting the interests of the plebes.

Answer: Land Reform

Tiberius proposed the Lex Sempronius Agraria -- land reform. For over 200 years there was a law on the books that said that no one could hold over 300 acres of ager publius (public land), but the rich had used third party cutouts to circumvent the process and obtain parcels from smaller landholders. Many of these smaller landholders were soldiers who had spent years on campaign, were unable to farm the land, and thus went broke. This process was accelerated by the heavy introduction of slaves into the Roman farm economy after the Second Punic War.

Former soldiers and their families, landless and in desperate economic straits, were migrating to Rome, where their lot did not always improve. Tiberius desired to redistribute that amount of land over the limit to less fortunate Roman citizens and compensate the rich for losing the land. The Senate, full of rich landowners, naturally opposed the proposal. Opposition was so strong that Tiberius refused to bring it before the Senate for consideration, trampling one of the Senate's prerogatives, and took it directly to the Concilium Plebis.

Answer: The Senate persuaded the Tribune Marcus Octavious to veto the proposal

It only took one Tribune to bring legislation to a halt with his veto. By 133 BC the Tribunes had gradually fallen under the influence of the aristocratic Senate and was doing its bidding, instead of protecting the interests of the plebes (who now had no true voice). Exactly how the Senate brought Octavius over is not known but bribery or some form of corruption was not unknown in the later days of the Republic.

Answer: He had Octavius removed as Tribune

There are two stories as to what happened. Plutarch claims that Tiberius Gracchus had Octavius physically removed so that he could not interpose his veto. This would have been unprecedented as a Tribune's person was sacrosanct. Appian claims that Tiberius had voted him out as Tribune and his law approved simultaneously. Given the violence that would occur shortly, it seems likely that Plutarch has the better of the two stories.

Tiberius justified it all because he said that Octavius has ceased to represent the plebes. But the Senate did not give up its obstruction just yet.

Answer: Using monies left to the Roman people by Attalus III of Pergamum

Attalus bequeathed his country in western Asia Minor and his treasure to the Romans in 133 BC. The Senate felt that because it was in charge of Roman foreign policy and the treasury, Attalus' money should go to it. It felt once again that Tiberius was stepping on its privileges and ignoring its role in the Republic.

The Senate further suspected that Tiberius was setting himself up as a tyrant. When Tiberius announced that he would run for Tribune again-- another unprecedented move-- the Senate was sure of it.

Answer: He wanted to raise taxes on the rich

When Tiberius won on this platform, the Senate felt again the old order and itself were under attack. Relations between Tiberius now reached a breaking point. The Senate was sure that Tiberius meant to make himself king and the Senator Scipio Nasica, Tiberius' cousin, urged the Senate to follow the law and take action. The result would be a tragedy.

Answer: Tiberius was bludgeoned to death

Tiberius, a sacrosanct Tribune, was killed along with many of his supporters and his body was thrown into the Tiber River. Other Tiberians would be executed without trial at the instigation of Nasica. Unfortunately, the bitter class war would not die with Tiberius and his followers. Tiberius had a charismatic, hard pushing younger brother, Caius Gracchus, ready to step up at the right time.

Answer: Sardinia

Caius initially avoided public life; but according to Plutarch, who cites Cicero as a source, the younger Gracchus was visited in a dream by his older brother, who asked him why he hesitated. Soon after Caius went to Sardinia as a quaestor(in charge of the military accounts). This would have been 126 BC.

Answer: False

Absolutely not. Caius had in fact shown great abilities as a quaestor in Sardinia, but the Senate did everything it could to keep the brother of the murdered populist reformer away from Rome. Caius was a fiery and powerful orator and the Senate did not want him back in Rome to take up the reform mantle of his brother.

Answer: Tribune

Only plebes could run for Tribune. The Gracchi came from a wealthy plebian family. Like his brother and father, Caius ran for Tribune and won. As could be expected, given his platform, the aristocratic members of the Senate knew they were in for another bruising, institution-busting political fight.

Answer: True

Some of the most radical reforms checked the Senate's ability to aquit senators charged with extortion and placed the judgment in the hands of the equites class (Lex Acilia); planned large overseas settlements for some of the poor; bought grain from North Africa and Sicily and distributed it at reduced price on a monthly basis to the poor (Lex Frumentaria); issued free equipment and clothes to Roman soldiers and shortened terms of service; and issued tax collection contracts for the provinces. He also built secondary roads for trade and communication.

Answer: The extension of citizenship to Latins and of Latin rights to Italian allies

The extension of citizenship rights to Latins and Italians would bedevil Rome for 30 more years and its stubborn refusal to give those rights would eventually result in the Social War of 91-88 BC. Rome would manage to win that costly war militarily but lose it politically: the Latins and Italians would win their rights.

Answer: Through friendly Tribunes, the Senate co-opted the reformist agenda

Through friendly Tribunes like Livius Drusus, reformist proposals were put forward; naturally Drusus' proposed reforms would not last very long if Caius was defeated.

Answer: No

Caius began to lose supporters amongst important groups of people (e.g. grain traders), though the mass of the lower classes was largely supportive. He did not help his case when he left Rome --leaving some very active enemies behind-- and went to Carthage to set up up one of his colonies.

The Senate also decreed that the Consul Lucius Opimius had the authority under Senatus Consultum Ultimum to defend the state against tyrants. In effect, the Senate was saying Caius was a tyrant and declaring martial law.

The result was a fight between the plebian partisans of Caius and the forces of the Senate on Aventine Hill, which Caius' people lost.

Answer: Flight and then death

The sources are unsure whether Caius committed suicide after fleeing Rome or whether his enemies caught up with him and assassinated him outside Rome. Some 3,000 or so of his followers were also killed without trial.