Gracchi Brothers - Gracchi Brothers

Two brothers who were reformist politicians from the ruling class of ancient Rome (the original spelling of the article title is plural). The elder brother was Tiberius and the younger brother was Gaius. They were brothers separated by nine years. Their father served as consul twice in the 2nd century BC, their mother was Cornelia, daughter of Scipio the Elder, and their elder sister was the wife of Scipio the Younger.

[1] Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (162-133 BC) In 137 BC, he served in Spain as a quaestor, but on the way there he witnessed the decline of the Italian peasant class (warrior class). Having experienced the defeat of the Roman army in Spain, he resolved to restore the Italian warrior class through land reform. In 133 BC, he became a tribune and submitted a land law to the Assembly that limited the occupation of state land by the wealthy, and confiscated any excess and distributed it to the impoverished peasants. When his fellow tribune Octavius ​​vetoed the proposal, he proposed his dismissal from the Assembly and got it approved. With the establishment of the land law, a triumvirate was established for the purpose of distributing land, and Tiberius, his father-in-law, and his brother Gaius were appointed to this position and began their work. At that time, when the Pergamum royal family had died out and their inheritance had been given to the people of Rome, Tiberius, in consultation with the people, used the inheritance to finance the activities of the Triumvirate, although the handling of foreign affairs was the province of the Senate. These activities excited great opposition among the factions, and Tiberius, contrary to the law, sought to be re-elected to the tribuneship, and was killed during the election.

[2] Gaius Sempronius Gracchus (153-121 BC) In 133 BC, at the age of about 20, he was elected as one of the three members of the Tribunal for the distribution of land under his brother's land law. After his brother's death, he followed his brother's will and aimed for reform, and became a tribune in both 123 and 122 BC (the reelection of tribunes had been legalized some time earlier). The main reforms he enacted at that time were as follows:

(1) Land Law: His brother's Land Law had been watered down after his death, so he restored its substance (restoring the jurisdiction of the Three-Person Land Distribution Commission).

(2) The Corn Laws: Laws that provided cheap grain to the people of Rome at the expense of the state. These laws brought immense popularity to their proponents, but placed a heavy burden on the state treasury.

(3) The Judiciary, together with the contemporary Law of the Tribune Achillius (still extant, though incomplete), transferred the position of juror in the "wrongful suits" tribunal (which gave subjects the opportunity to sue for damages when they had been wrongfully deprived of their property by the Roman authorities) from the senators to the knights, thus making the knights a political force rivalling the senate.

(4) The Law of Asia, which gave the knights the right to collect taxes in Asia (western Asia Minor). This made the knights enormously wealthy.

There are many other important laws.

In order to overcome the opposition of the factions based in the Senate, Gaius sided with the knights, while at the same time inciting the people to create his own popular resolutions, thus creating a popular political trend that pushed forward policies. He was ultimately killed in a street battle with the factions (optimates), but from then on Roman history entered a turbulent first century.

[Tadanori Yoshimura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

古代ローマの支配層から出た兄弟の革新政治家（項目名の原綴りGracchiは、複数形）。兄はティベリウス、弟はガイウス。9年違いの兄弟。父は紀元前2世紀にコンスル（統領）を二度務め、母はスキピオ（大）の娘コルネリアで、兄弟の姉はスキピオ（小）の妻である。

〔1〕ティベリウス・グラックスTiberius Sempronius Gracchus（前162―前133）　前137年、財務官としてスペインに従軍したが、赴任の途上イタリア農民層（戦士層）の没落を目撃、スペインではローマ軍の敗北を体験して、農地改革によるイタリア戦士層の復興を決意した。前133年に護民官になり、富裕者による国有地の占有に制限を加え、それを超える分を没収して没落農民に分与する土地法を民会に提出した。同僚の護民官オクタウィウスが拒否権を発動すると、彼はその罷免を民会に提案し、承認させた。土地法の成立により、土地分配三人委員が設けられ、ティベリウス、その義父、および弟ガイウスがこれに就任して、活動を開始した。当時、ペルガモン王家が絶え、その遺産がローマ国民に贈られると、対外問題の処理が元老院の管轄事項であったにもかかわらず、ティベリウスは民会に諮ってこの遺産を土地分配三人委員の活動の財源にした。これらの活動は、閥族の間に大反対を巻き起こしたが、ティベリウスは法に反して護民官への再選を意図し、選挙の際に殺された。

〔2〕ガイウス・グラックスGaius Sempronius Gracchus（前153―前121）　前133年、ほぼ20歳で、兄の土地法による土地分配三人委員に選ばれた。兄の死後、その遺志を継いで改革を志し、前123、122両年に護民官となった（すこし以前に護民官再選は合法化されていた）。そのときの彼の改革立法のおもなものは、次のとおりである。

(1)土地法　兄の土地法がその死後骨抜きにされていたので、その実質を回復した（土地分配三人委員の裁判権を回復した）。

(2)穀物法　ローマ市の民衆に国家の負担で安価に穀物を配給する法。提案者には絶大な人気をもたらしたが、国庫には大きな負担となった。

(3)裁判法　同時代の護民官アキリウスの法（不完全ながら現存）と相まって、「不法取得返還訴訟」の法廷（被支配民がローマ当局者から不当に金品を奪われたとき、これに賠償請求する機会を与えたもの）の陪審員の地位を元老院議員から騎士身分の手に移した。これによって、騎士身分は元老院と対抗する政治勢力になった。

(4)属州アシア法　アシア州（小アジア西部）の徴税請負権を騎士身分に与えたもの。これにより、騎士身分は莫大(ばくだい)な富を得ることになった。

その他重要な法が多い。

　ガイウスは、元老院に拠(よ)る閥族の反対を押し切るため、騎士身分を味方にする一方、民衆を扇動して独自の民会決議をつくり、これによって政策を進めるいわゆる民衆派（ポプラレス）的な政治の流れをつくった。彼は最後に閥族派（オプティマテス）との市街戦のなかに斃(たお)れたが、以後ローマ史は動乱の1世紀に入る。

［吉村忠典］

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