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The Event That Sparked the Chaos That Led to the Fall of the Roman Republic
The death of Tiberius Gracchus
“Today is the pupil of yesterday.” — Publilius Syrus
On that fateful day, Tiberius Gracchus and his followers had assembled on the Capitol Hill, in Rome. Throughout his year of service as the tribune of the plebs, Tiberius had been in a constant battle against the conservative forces in the Senate.
The term of service for a tribune of the plebs was traditionally one year. However, in 133 BC with his term almost up, Tiberius decided to do something unprecedented: he was going to run for a second term. Historians differ as to the reasons.
Some more sympathetic to him say that it was because he felt threatened and feared for his life. The office of the tribune could offer him protection. It could have also been that he wanted to see his reforms carried out to fruition. His opponents claimed that he just wanted more and more power. According to them, he wanted to make himself king.
On the day of the gathering, Tiberius experienced several bad omens. Leaving his house, he had stumbled against the threshold. With one of his toenails broken, blood started coming out of his shoe. Yet, he decided to continue onto the Capitol. When he got…
