Review article

The Gracchi brothers and the agrarian question

Franjo Lacković ; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Osijek, Croatia

Abstract

The paper evaluates the impact of the agrarian question of the 2nd century BC, as well as tribunes of the Gracchi brothers, on the process of the socio-political transformation of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the principate. The very longevity of this historical process makes the clarification of all its aspects in one paper impossible, but it therefore seeks to point to sources of tension that will increase exponentially in the years after the Gracchi brothers. The crisis of the Republic in the 2nd century BC was a consequence of Roman territorial expansion and had a profound influence on the society of Roman Italy. The social tensions it caused gripped the political sphere when the tribune of the plebs, in pursuit of its own ambitions, challenged the existing political system, threatening to seriously redefine it.

Keywords

Gracchi brothers; agrarian question; crisis of the 2nd century BC; territorial expansion of the Republic; fractionalism

Hrčak ID:

262300

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/262300

Publication date:

1.7.2021.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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