Was Tiberius Gracchus Law Of Land Equal Between The Rich And Poor?

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Land is a very controversial topic during the time of Tiberius Gracchus, especially between the rich and poor of the Roman Empire. Whereas the rich believed that in order to own land, a person must be of wealth; Tiberius Gracchus and many of the poor believed the laws for land were made to be equal between the social classes. The problem of land became a problem of conquest during the third Punic War, as Carthage was conquered by Rome and their military and tribune leader, Tiberius Gracchus (Movie). Tiberius Gracchus was an imperfect politician; he strived for equality and power. Once the land of Carthage was conquered, the poor (plebeians), had nowhere to go; the rich (aristocrats) took over the land. The plebeians had no land to live on and were forced to work for the aristocrats. Gracchus, being a proactive and thoughtful leader, changed the law of land to equalize the land to the rich and poor. This law limited the rich to 500 jurgras of land; therefore, distributing the remaining land to the plebeians for personal living and housing space (Movie). …show more content…

The rich saw the law of the land to be upsetting (Appian, 2). They couldn’t live the way they wanted as Gracchus forbid allotments (Appian, 2). Because of this, the rich formed groups to rally against Gracchus and the poor. The groups were designed get their land back, as many believed that the land from their ancestors were being taken away from the government and given to the poor. Furthermore, the poor started to over crowd the city, as it is believed from the start that the rich took their land. The plebeians grew in a lack of harmony as they waited for a tribune to be elected into the senate to serve as the plebeians voice (Movie). Not only did Tiberius Gracchus help between the disagreements between the rich, poor, and the Roman government; Gracchus also earned himself a well respected name in the eyes of