Gaius Gracchus

Gaius Sempronius Gracchus
A bust of Gaius from a 19th century commemorative sculpture of the Gracchi brothers by Eugène Guillaume
Bornc. 154 BC
Died121 BC
NationalityRoman
Occupation(s)Politician and soldier
Office
SpouseLicinia
Parent(s)Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Cornelia
Relatives
Military career
RankMilitary tribune and quaestor
Wars
  • Numantine War (134–32 BC)
  • Roman pacification of Sardinia (126–24 BC)

Gaius Sempronius Gracchus (c. 154 BC[1] – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician and soldier who lived during the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish colonies outside of Italy, engage in further land reform, reform the judicial system and system for provincial assignments, and create a subsidised grain supply for Rome.

The year after his tribunate, his political enemies used political unrest – which he and his political allies had caused – as an excuse to declare martial law and march on his supporters, leading to his death. After his death, his political allies were purged in a series of trials, but most of his legislation was undisturbed.

His brother was the reformer Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. Both, known together as the Gracchi brothers, were the sons of the Gracchus who was consul in 177 and 163 BC.

  1. ^ Scullard 2011, p. 27. Year implied: "Gaius Gracchus... had served on the land commission since 133 when he was only twenty-one years old".