The period of the ancient Roman Republic is subdivided into the ¡°Patrician Era¡± (509-367 BC), the ¡°Conflict of the Orders¡± (367-287 BC), the ¡°Supremacy of the New Nobility¡± (287-133 BC), and ¡°From the Gracchi to Caesar¡± (133-49 BC). Here we will focus on the ¡°Patrician Era¡± and ¡°Conflict of the Orders,¡± and the ¡°Reforms of the Gracchi Brothers.¡±-- Ed

Patrician Era, Conflict of the Orders

The Roman aristocracy was composed of a class of citizens called patricians, while all other citizens were called plebeians. During the early stage of political development, the patrician aristocracy dominated the state, while the plebeians sought political rights.

In the year 494 BC, the patricians agreed to the demands of the plebeians that they be given the right to elect their own officials, tribuni plebis (plebeian tribunes). This was the first of many attempts by the plebeians to achieve political equality with the patricians. Starting around the year 400 BC, a series of wars were fought against several neighboring tribes. The plebeians fought in the army, while the patrician aristocracy enjoyed the results of the resulting conquests.

The Patrician Era came to a complete end in 287 BC, with the passage of Lex Hortensia (Hortensian Law). Although it was nominally a democracy in that all laws had to be approved by an assembly of citizens, the Roman Republic was organized as an aristocracy or broad-based oligarchy, governed by a small group of about fifty noble families who regularly held all the magistracies.

Reforms of the Gracchi Brothers

In 133 BC, Tiberius Gracchus was elected to the office of tribune. He proposed agrarian reforms, in which the landless poor would be given small estates. This meant that Rome's public land would be divided up. Though his arguments were valid and his intentions good, the way he went about his reforms was regarded as treasonous.

In 123 BC, his brother, Gaius Gracchus, was elected tribune. He was far more successful than his brother, gaining the support of the equestrian class. He pushed through not only land reforms, but also public works projects and rights for the equestrians.

The reforms of the Gracchi brothers were short-lived and did not have a great impact on Rome. However, they paved the way for the rise of the popular party in Rome. From the time of the Gracchi on, Roman politicians in the Republic were divided between the Optimates and the Populares. The Senate was no longer the overwhelmingly dominant power it once had been.