From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68 (10 page)

During his second tribunate the Senate at last moved to the attack but at first by an indirect method. A tribune, M. Livius Drusus, was put up by the Senate to win over some of Gaius’ supporters by offering a number of attractive proposals designed to show that the Senate also was not unconcerned about reform. He suggested twelve colonies, each to consist of 3000 men with no property qualification; all allotments distributed since 133 were to be relieved of rent; and no Latin was to be liable to scourging, even on military service, a measure which might satisfy the demands of some of the allies and at the same time save the Roman people from sharing their advantages more widely. A commission was set up to implement these
leges Liviae,
but apparently it did little.
³³
The fact that the twelve colonies were not founded suggests that Drusus’ purpose was primarily to undermine Gracchus’ position rather than to accomplish genuine economic reform.

This opposition forced Gaius to more extreme measures. If he had not taken this action during his first tribunate, he now used a fellow-tribune named Rubrius to propose the foundation of a colony, to be called Junonia, on the site of Carthage, with allotments comprising up to 200
iugera
for 6000 colonists with absolute ownership.
³⁴
Hitherto colonization had been confined to Italy, but if overseas colonization was a Greek idea which might appear sinister to conservative Roman minds, the offer was attractive to the people: the allotments were large; the district, which had been ravaged by a plague, needed reclaiming; the actual site of Punic Carthage, which the Romans had laid under a curse, was probably not embraced in the scheme;
further, some Italians may have been included as colonists. Next (though the chronology and order of this and other measures must remain uncertain) Gaius probably carried his second law to help the Equites, described above (p. 29), and transferred the extortioncourt to them, a measure which may have been prompted by recent scandals when the juries were senatorial, but which had very serious effects. Finally, he decided to re-open the franchise question, this time on a wide basis: the Latins were to receive full Roman citizenship, and the rest of the allies Latin rights. Though helped by his fellow-tribune Fulvius Flaccus, who in his zeal for reform and the franchise question (p. 27) had not disdained to hold a tribunate after his consulship, Gaius was deserted by C. Fannius, whom he had helped to gain the consulship of 122.
³⁵
Fannius repaid him by undermining the franchise bill through working on the selfish interests of the voters in Rome and their jealousy of the allies. To prevent agitation, all allies (except perhaps the Latins) were forbidden to come within five miles of Rome when the bill was to be decided. It was defeated, perhaps vetoed by Drusus: Gaius no longer enjoyed such popular support as had allowed Tiberius to secure the deposition of a fellow-tribune.
³⁶

At some point Gaius was away from Rome for over two months, supervising the foundation of Junonia, and his opponents exploited his absence by spreading fantastic rumours of setbacks there in order to discredit the scheme. In any case his popularity was fast waning with the fickle urban mob and when the tribunician elections for 121 were held, he failed to win election for a third period. Thus at the end of 122 he was without office, apart from his land-commissionership. A tribune of 121, Minucius Rufus, then opened the attack by proposing the repeal of the
lex Rubria
. Gaius rallied his followers to oppose this and unwisely formed a bodyguard of friends. In a minor disturbance one of the servants of the consul Opimius was killed. This was at most murder, not revolution, but Opimius, who was bitterly hostile to Gracchus and had shown his harsh character in crushing the revolt of Fregellae, made the most of his opportunity. The Senate was persuaded to pass a resolution for the first time in history that the consuls should see to it that the Republic suffered no harm. Such a motion, later called the
senatus consultum ultimum,
warned the magistrates that the Senate regarded the situation as critical and, although it did not increase their constitutional powers, it assured them of the Senate’s moral support. Opimius then summoned to arms senators and Equites; even the latter responded, unmindful of Gracchus’ past benefactions to them. Gaius was reluctantly compelled to accept Flaccus’ determination to resist by force. The Gracchans occupied the Aventine: after vain negotiations they were soon defeated and killed. Opimius then rounded up and arrested 3000 survivors and supporters; these unfortunate men he executed without a trial. He is said to have rewarded men who brought him
the heads of Gaius and Flaccus with their weight in gold. However that may be, he was ordered by the Senate to restore the Temple of Concord in the Forum at the foot of the Capitol which had been built by Camillus. The triumph of the Senate must have seemed complete.
³⁷

The Gracchi were in a true sense martyrs: they had witnessed to their belief in the need for reform and they had suffered for their faith. Though not uninfluenced by Greek political ideas, they should not be regarded as would-be Greek tyrants, Fascist dictators or Marxist theorists. It is not certain, for instance, that Tiberius even objected to large estates as such, since his primary attack was upon the misuse of
ager publicus
for
latifundia,
while the reliance of the Gracchi on popular support does not prove that they aimed at prolonged personal predominance. They were later claimed as
Populares
but their motives were very different from many a later
popularis
. In fact their motives should be sharply distinguished from their methods. There is no good reason to deny that they aimed at disinterested social and economic reform. The wisdom they displayed in seeking this end is more open to question. It is impossible today to assess the situation in 133 with accuracy: it would appear that Tiberius’ challenge to the Senate was unnecessarily provocative and ill-judged and that patience and negotiation might have achieved more, but we cannot really tell. But if Tiberius’ conduct seems rash and shortsighted, the use of force by the Senate was still less justifiable. Gaius, who was temperamentally more aggressive than his brother, was obviously ready to go to greater lengths, but he was forced into his extreme position only by the uncompromising attitude of the Senate which had perhaps more reason to mistrust his ultimate motives in view of the breadth of his appeal. But clearly his death was due to the Senate’s selfishness in refusing to face the urgent needs of the day, combined with the selfishness of the People who brought to nought his generous plans for Italy as a whole; and whatever may be thought of the Senate’s appeal to force as such, nothing can excuse the barbarity of the methods which it condoned in the brutal agent whom it permitted to apply that force.

The Gracchi achieved some direct results. Though many of the economic difficulties remained, they at least helped to relieve, if not to solve, them. Many small farmers and colonists were set up, and to that extent the unemployment problem was alleviated. But the indirect results of their activities were the more important. The Italians were embittered, the Equites more self-conscious as a political force, the People had learned something of its powers, a new aspect of the tribunate was displayed, and above all the weakness of the Senate was revealed. This challenge to the traditional government of
Rome without the creation of any adequate alternative – since the Concilium Plebis was unfitted to form the organ of a true democracy – must lead to disaster. The tempo and temper of political life were heightened. Whether or not the Gracchi should be regarded as revolutionaries, without doubt they precipitated the revolution that overthrew the Republic.

While the Senate was contending against the Gracchi, campaigns overseas resulted in the establishment of two new provinces: Asia and Gallia Transalpina or Narbonensis.

For many years the kingdom of Pergamum had lain under Rome’s shadow, unable to take an independent line. Its king, Attalus III, who both lacked an heir and had to face some social unrest in his realm, tried to minimize the risk of political or social disturbances after his death by making the Roman people his heir. When he died in 133 Rome accepted the legacy and decided to take over this rich country which might prove profitable both to senatorial governors and Roman business-men. It was also highly opportune for Tiberius Gracchus, who proposed to appropriate some of the king’s treasure in order to help finance his new settlers (p. 23). Before the end of 133 Rome had ratified the king’s will and had sent out a commission of five senators under Scipio Nasica (p. 25), but any arrangements that they hoped to make were upset by a revolt led by Aristonicus, an illegitimate son of Attalus’ predecessor Eumenes, against whom they could only summon help from the neighbouring rulers of Pontus, Bithynia, Paphlagonia and Cappadocia. At first Aristonicus appealed to the nationalistic longings of the Greek cities of Asia Minor and their desire for independence, but when this hope was disappointed he turned to the native population of the interior to whom he held out hopes of social betterment: he proposed to free serfs and slaves and to found a Utopian State called the City of the Sun, where all should be free and equal. He was joined by Blossius who had escaped from Rome after Tiberius’ death. The first Roman army sent against him in 131 was led by Licinius Crassus (the father-in-law of Gaius Gracchus), who achieved little and was killed. His successor M. Perperna (
cos.
130), however, secured the defeat and capture of Aristonicus, but did not live to complete the settlement which was arranged by Manius Aquilius (
cos.
129) with a senatorial commission.

The main part of Attalus’ kingdom was annexed as a new Roman province called Asia, and the road system was developed by Aquilius. Some of the less fertile eastern districts were handed back to local rulers (e.g. Lycaonia to the king of Cappadocia) but the fate of Greater Phrygia remained unsettled for over a decade when it was finally organized into a League. Within the new province some of the Greek cities, including Pergamum itself, were to be free
(
liberae
), though the cities which had rebelled probably had to pay tribute. Gaius Gracchus, however, then re-organized the taxation-system and established a tithe on arable land and pasture dues: this he probably extended to all cities, subject and free (cf. p. 29). Many of the cities enjoyed local self-government, but for judicial purposes circuits (
conventus
) were established, and though Rome may not have interfered directly in the cities’ internal affairs, these would tend gradually to conform with those of Rome.
³⁸

In the west, Rome’s ally Massilia (Marseilles), which in the past had secured Roman help in repelling Ligurian raiders (e.g. in 154), appealed again in 125. The Senate, which would be glad to get the consul Fulvius Flaccus out of the way (see p. 27), sent him to help Massilia. He campaigned against the Saluvii, the Ligurians and the Vocontii (who lived between the Durance and Isère) in 125–4; when C. Sextius Calvinus (
cos.
124) had captured the chief settlement of the Saluvii near Aquae Sextiae (Aix en Provence), a fort (
castellum
) of Roman veterans was established there to control the area.

Rome’s advance into southern Gaul provoked the hostility of the Allobroges (between the Rhone and Isère) and the Arverni (west of the Rhone), though it is symptomatic of the lack of unity and of any national feeling among the Gallic tribes that the Aedui further north in Burgundy supported Rome. In 121 Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus (
cos.
122), with an army that included some elephants, defeated the Allobroges at Vindalium (between Orange and Avignon) and gained control of the area east of the Rhone. The Arverni under their king Bituitus then crossed over to the eastern bank, only to meet defeat, probably near Valence, at the hands of Q. Fabius Maximus (
cos.
121) who had arrived with fresh troops. While Fabius returned to Rome where he received a triumph, took the
cognomen
Allobrogicus and built an Arch (Fornix Fabianus) in the Forum, Domitius captured Bituitus by treachery, gained control of the area between the Alps and Pyrenees, and proceeded to settle southern Gaul, which the Senate decided to annex as a province (Gallia Transalpina or, later, Narbonensis). Massilia remained an independent allied State within the province, the defeated Arverni were left outside it, and the Aedui were formally recognized as Rome’s allies. Further, a secure road was needed to the Pyrenees and Spain, which Domitius now supplied; recently a milestone on this Via Domitia has been found, naming ‘Cn. Domitius Cn. f. imperator’ and providing the earliest known Latin inscription from Gaul.
³⁹

In 118 a proposal was made to establish a colony of Roman citizens at Narbo in the new province. This met with opposition in the Senate but was carried with the help of a young orator L. Crassus. He and Cn. Domitius, the son of the conqueror of the Allobroges, were appointed as commissioners (
duoviri
) for founding the colony and in this connexion they had struck a special issue of coins (serrated
denarii
), depicting Bituitus in a chariot with Gallic arms and trumpet. Though Narbo would provide good agricultural
land for allotments, it also offered commercial possibilities, as a focus for the trade of southern Gaul and of Spain as well, and in particular as the terminus of a new route which was designed to bring tin from Britain via the Bay of Biscay and Burdigala (Bordeaux). The fact that it was named Narbo Martius calls to mind the Gracchan colonies that were placed under divine protection (Junonia, Neptunia). Thus while the establishment of Roman control was in line with normal senatorial policy (it was by chance that Gracchus’ friend Flaccus happened to be consul in the year when Massilia appealed to Rome), the planning of Narbo may represent pressure from the Equites. In this they may have had the support of some senators who believed in the value of another outpost against Gallic aggression and the need to provide land for veterans; but other senators will have doubted the wisdom of a move which might complicate defence problems and will also have wished to avoid giving the Equites fresh opportunities for enrichment. The co-operation, however, of some senators with the Equites may have helped to develop the trend of policy started by Gaius Gracchus.
⁴⁰

In line with this, action was taken to secure the sea-routes to Spain. Trouble in Sardinia was suppressed in 126 (for Gracchus’ service there see p. 27), and the piratical activities of the Balearic islanders were checked by Q. Metellus in 123. But with these military considerations were linked commercial interests. Two colonies of Roman citizens were established at Palma and Pollentia in Majorca, where many Roman or Italian emigrants from Spain joined the settlement. The islands were place under a prefect appointed by the governor of Hispania Citerior, and Metellus returned to Rome to receive a triumph and the
cognomen
Balearicus (121).
⁴¹