27. The Assassination of a Tribune – A Roman First
Tiberius Gracchus proposed to break the giant estates owned by the rich, and redistribute the lands in small parcels to lower-class Romans. He was vehemently opposed by the senatorial class. When he pushed through legislation that began redistributing land, his political rivals plotted an assassination to get rid of him.
He was murdered by a senatorial mob during a riot organized by conservative optimates seeking to limit the power of the popular assemblies and the tribunes, while extending that of the pro-aristocratic Senate. The assassination was the Roman Republic’s first act of organized political violence. It broke a double taboo: that against political violence in general, and that against visiting violence upon a tribune of the plebes, whose persons had been deemed inviolate for centuries. Tiberius Gracchus’ cause was carried on by his younger brother, Gaius. He met a similar fate.
