Gracchi

Who: Gaius and Tiberius Graccus.

What: Two brothers who became some of the most famous and controversial political figures of the late Roman republic.

When: Gaius died in 121 BCE and Tiberius died in 133 BCE.

Where: Roman Republic

Why: The brothers won election as tribunes by advocating a much higher level of financial help for poorer citizens. This put them at odds with many of the elite. (The Gracci brothers were the grandsons of Scipio, who defeated Hannibal, and the sons of Cornelia, who was courted by the King of Egypt when her husband died.) Tiberius fought for the landless poor by passing laws that redistributed public lands and money. When he tried to run for tribune a second time, he was killed. Gaius was tribune in 123 BCE and, against tradition, the following year, followed his brother’s lead and pushed more reforms that infuriated the elite. He even proposed granting Roman citizenship to many Italians. When his proposals didn’t go over well, and he was confronted with arrest and execution, Gaius had a servant cut his throat.

Significance: The death of Tiberius introduced murder as a political strategy of ancient Rome. Their efforts to help the poor of Rome were met with violent and fierce opposition, leading to their own gruesome deaths.