Lex Sempronia agraria

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The Lex Sempronia agraria was created by the tribune Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus in 133 BC. Adopted in the popular assembly . The law was the core of the planned agrarian reform of Tiberius Gracchus, which prescribed a redistribution of the ager publicus and compliance with upper limits for the occupation of public state land. In addition to his father-in-law Appius Claudius Pulcher, also Publius Mucius Scaevola and Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus belonged to the closest circle of reformers of Gracchus, who probably played a key role in the creation of the law .

Origin of the lex Sempronia agraria

The Lex Sempronia agraria relies on an agricultural law, which states that no individual or family may own more than 500 iugera arable land, 100 head of cattle and 500 head of small cattle and that a certain number of free farmers must be employed on public land. The origin of this agricultural law is still controversial in historical research. While some associate the Farm Law with the leges Liciniae Sextiae , other historians put the regulation of the ager publicus ( lex de modo agrorum ) only after the end of the Second Punic War .

The Leges Liciniae Sextiae from 367 BC. Chr.

The assumption that the provisions of the Lex Sempronia agraria are based on the Leges Liciniae Sextiae from 367 BC. Going back to BC is very controversial in historical research. Like Niese and Bringmann, Tibiletti also considers the area of ​​the then ager publicus to be too small to allow a generous redistribution and applies the regulation after the end of the Second Punic War and the suppression of Carthage, because only at this point in time there was enough public state land was available. Tibletti therefore assumes that the limits on the occupation of individuals or families in the period between 201 and 180 BC. Are to be settled.
Within the sources, a reference can be found in Appian that supports this thesis and thus speaks against the leges Liciniae Sextiae as the author of the agricultural regulations. He reports on a clause that says that a certain number of free men are to be employed on the ager publicus for supervision.

"In addition, in order to comply with the law, they also issued an order that a certain number of free men were to be employed on the property, who should watch over the events there and report."

Free citizens should therefore watch over the work of the slaves . But Bringmann states that it was in the 4th century BC. BC there weren't that many slaves in Rome, whose use in agriculture only took place after the end of the Second Punic War. when they were more available.

The attempt at reform of Gaius Laelius from 140 BC Chr.

Tiberius Gracchus was not the first to attempt an agrarian reform in what was then Roman territory. The consul Gaius Laelius tried himself as early as 140 BC. At a new agricultural legislation. There are no records of the content of the law, but it is known that Laelius met with stiff resistance from the large landowners, the majority of whom were senators, with his plan. When there was no prospect of success, Laelius withdrew his draft and it became clear that the plan for agrarian reform was associated with enormous political problems.

“After this first sample, every politician had to be aware that he was questioning the existence of Rome's internal order when he took up these problems. This is the significance of Laelius' attempt at reform for the subsequent period. "

content

The first bill

The legislation of Tiberius Gracchus did not differ significantly from the old regulations of the ager publicus , which is why his law basically only required that the provisions on the occupation of the ager publicus should be observed. Gracchus expanded the old regulation in the interests of the large landowners by taking a step towards them. He not only issued them prosecution for disregarding the provisions, but guaranteed compensation payments for possible expropriations by the agricultural commission. Furthermore, the limit was raised from 500 iugera land to 1,000 iugera (500 iugera for the pater familias and 250 iugera each for a son).

Another modification of the old provision is the elimination of the clause that prescribes a minimum number of free farmers. This change is explained with the experience of the slave revolts in Sicily. Accordingly, Tiberius Gracchus assumed that no large landowner would have to be required to monitor his slaves, because they had long since recognized the need for monitoring by free farmers. Another important addition was that the newly distributed land to the small farmers could not be sold, which deprived the large landowners of the opportunity to buy back their expropriated lands. According to the sources, Plutarch rates Tiberius Gracchus' agricultural law as mild, gentle and sensible. The popular recognition of the lex Sempronia agraria also suggests that the content of the reform - initially - was not affected by the political tradition of the republic.

“And in fact there has never been a milder and more moderate law against such an excess of injustice and greed. It required nothing more than that of those who would have been punished by law for their disobedience and only had to surrender the illegally cultivated fields for a fine, than that they cede their unlawful property to the needy citizens and receive compensation for it should."

- Plutarch

The second bill

After Marcus Octavius blocked the bill through his intercession , Tiberius changed his original draft.

“He [Marcus Octavius] faced Tiberius and objected to the law. In the case of the tribunes, however, the opinion of the person who vetoed it applies, and even the majority cannot act if someone objects. Tiberius bitterly withdrew the mild law and introduced a new one, which was even more advantageous for the people, but much tougher for the guilty: in it he even asked them to immediately cede their property, which they had previously illegally appropriated. "

- Plutarch

Plutarch's statement shows the reaction of Tiberius Gracchus to the intercession of Marcus Octavius. Apparently the first draft planned to reform the ager publicus either gradually or at least over a longer period of time . Plutarch writes that Gracchus in his new draft demanded an immediate return of the wrongly appropriated state land. Thus, the dissent between the Senate and Tiberius Gracchus intensified on the content of the Farm Law, which was ultimately jointly responsible for the events in the summer at the People's Assembly of 133 BC. In the course of which Gracchus and many of his followers found their deaths. Nevertheless, after the dismissal of Marcus Octavius ​​as tribune by Tiberius, the Lex Sempronia agraria was initially able to pass the popular assembly and thus became legally binding.

Problems of the law

Although the law was based on old provisions and general customary law and the first draft certainly showed the potential for a compromise solution, the Tiberius project faced three major problems:

  1. The ownership structure of the landowners was unclear, so that real private property could no longer be clearly separated from ager publicus .
  2. The big landowners had invested a lot of money in the land and the announced compensation from the first draft could probably only have reimbursed a small part of the costs.
  3. The question of whether the reform will be accepted remains unanswered: Did the landless peasants want to return to the land at all? Apparently this was not the case, because many smallholders who were assigned new land sold their farms again as soon as they had the right and the opportunity to do so.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Appian , bellum civile I, 8, 33.
  2. ^ Klaus Bringmann: The agrarian reform of Tiberius Gracchus. Legend and Reality , Stuttgart 1985, p. 52 (Frankfurt Historical Lectures, Issue 10).
  3. ↑ Cf. Benedictus Niese: The so-called Licinisch-Sextische Ackergesetz , in: Hermes 23 (1888), p. 416.
  4. ↑ Gianfranco Tibiletti: The development of the latifundium in Italy from the time of the Gracchi to the beginning of the imperial era , in: Helmuth Schneider (ed.), On the social and economic history of the late Roman Republic (ways of research, vol. 413), Darmstadt 1976, p. 21f.
  5. ↑ Appian, Bellum civile I, 8.33.
  6. ^ Karl Christ: Crisis and Fall of the Roman Republic , Darmstadt 2000, p. 119.
  7. ↑ Appian, Bellum civile I, 9, 37.
  8. ^ David Stockton: The Gracchi , Oxford 1979, p. 47.
  9. ↑ Appian, bellum civile I, 10, 38.
  10. ↑ Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 9
  11. ↑ Plutarch Tiberius Gracchus 10.
  12. ^ Karl Christ: Crisis and Fall of the Roman Republic , Darmstadt 2000, p. 125.

swell

  • Plutarch : Tiberius Gracchus ( English translation )
  • Appian : Civil Wars 1, 7-17. German translation in: Appian of Alexandria: Roman history . Part Two: The Civil Wars . Translated by Otto Veh . Stuttgart 1989, pp. 17-24 (Library of Greek Literature, Vol. 27).

literature

  • Jochen Bleicken : Reflections on the tribunate of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus . In: Historische Zeitschrift 247, 1988, pp. 165-293.
  • Klaus Bringmann : The agrarian reform of Tiberius Gracchus. Legend and reality . Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-515-04418-3 .
  • Karl Christ : Crisis and Fall of the Roman Republic. 4th revised and updated edition. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2000, ISBN 3-534-14518-6 .
  • David Stockton: The Gracchi . Oxford 1979 and Reprints, ISBN 0-19-872105-6 .
  • Benedictus Niese : The so-called Licinian-Sextic Farm Law . In Hermes 23, 1888, pp. 410-423 ( online ).
  • Gianfranco Tibiletti: The development of the latifundium in Italy from the time of the Gracchi to the beginning of the imperial era . In: Helmuth Schneider (Ed.): On the social and economic history of the late Roman Republic . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1976, pp. 11-78 (Paths of Research, Vol. 413).