Agrarian laws (from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''ager'', meaning "land") were

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

among the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

regulating the division of the public

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, or ''

ager publicus The ''ager publicus'' (; "public land") is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired via the means of expropriation from enemies of Rome. History In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, th ...

''. In its broader definition, it can also refer to the agricultural laws relating to peasants and husbandmen, or to the general farming class of people of any society. Various attempts to reform agrarian laws were part of the socio-political struggle between the

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

and

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

known as the

Conflict of the Orders The Conflict of the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the pl ...

Introduction

There existed two kinds of land in ancient Rome: private and public land (''ager publicus''), which included common pasture. By the 2nd century BC, wealthy landowners had begun to dominate the agrarian areas of the republic by "renting" large tracts of public land and treating it as if it were private. This began to force out smaller, private farmers with competition; the farmers were forced to move to the cities for this and a number of other factors including battles making living in rural areas dangerous. Roman cities were not good places to attempt to get jobs; they were also dangerous, overcrowded and messy.

Proposed land distribution in 486 BC

Probably the earliest attempt at an agrarian law was in 486 BC.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...

'', 2.41 A peace

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...

was entered into with the

Hernici The Hernici were an Italic tribe of ancient Italy, whose territory was in Latium between the Fucine Lake and the Sacco River (''Trerus''), bounded by the Volsci on the south, and by the Aequi and the Marsi on the north. For many years of the ear ...

whereby they agreed to cede two-thirds of their land.

Spurius Cassius Vecellinus Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first ''magister equitum'', and the author of the first a ...

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

for the third time, proposed to distribute that land, together with other public Roman land, amongst the

Latin allies The ''socii'' ( in English) or ''foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the '' Latini''. The ''Latini'', who we ...

and the plebs. Cassius proposed a law to give effect to his proposal. Niebuhr suggests that the law sought to restore the law of

Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, ...

, the sixth King of Rome, strictly defining the portion of the patricians in the public land, dividing the remainder amongst the plebeians, and requiring that the tithe be levied from the lands possessed by the patricians.

Barthold Georg Niebuhr Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr wa ...

, ''History of Rome'', vol. ii, p. 166 ''ff'', ''Lectures on the History of Rome'', p. 89 ''ff'', ed. Schmitz (1848). The proposed law was opposed by the senators (some of whom it seemed were squatting on the public Roman land) and by the other consul

Proculus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus Proculus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus was a Roman statesman who served as Consul. From his filiation, it appears likely that he was the son of Opiter Verginius Tricostus (consul 502 BC) and the brother of Titus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus (consul ...

. Their opposition to the law was also based on their concerns that Cassius was seeking to gain too much popularity. Verginius spoke publicly against the law, and the plebs became concerned that land was being given to the Latin allies, and also that Cassius might be seeking to pave the way to regal power. Verginius even suggested he would support the law if it was in favour only of Romans and not Rome's allies. To counter him, Cassius promised that the money raised from the Sicilian corn distribution be donated to the plebs, but they rejected this as a political bribe, and suspicion that Cassius was seeking regal power increased. In 485 BC once Cassius had left office he was condemned and executed. Livy says that the method of his trial is uncertain. Livy's preferred version is that a public trial on the charge of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

was held on the orders of the

quaestores parricidii A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

Caeso Fabius and Lucius Valerius, at which Cassius was condemned by the

people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

, and subsequently by public decree his house was demolished (being near the

temple of Tellus The Temple of Tellus was a sanctuary in Ancient Rome, erected after 268 BCE and dedicated to the goddess Tellus. History The temple was founded by Publius Sempronius Sophus, following a vow he took when an earthquake occurred when he was comman ...

). The alternative version is that Cassius' own father conducted a private trial (presumably exercising authority as

pater familias The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...

, although Niebuhr argues that it was impossible that a man who had been thrice consul and twice triumphed should still be in his father's power.) and put his son to death, and subsequently dedicated his son's assets to the goddess Ceres, including by dedicating a statue to her with the inscription ''""given from the Cassian family"''. Dionysius states that he was hurled from the

Tarpeian Rock The Tarpeian Rock (; Latin: ' or '; it, Rupe Tarpea) is a steep cliff on the south side of the Capitoline Hill, which was used in Ancient Rome as a site of execution. Murderers, traitors, perjurors, and larcenous slaves, if convicted by the ''q ...

. Some seem to have called for the execution of Cassius' sons also, but according to Dionysius, they were spared by the senate.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary styl ...

, ''Romaike Archaiologia'', viii. 80.''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', William Smith, Editor.

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

expressed his belief in the consul's innocence. In 159 BC the statue of Cassius erected on the spot of his house was melted down by the

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

Land distribution in 467 BC

Popular agitation for agrarian reform continued during 484 BC. And again in 481 and 480 BC, when the tribunes

Spurius Licinius Spurius Licinius was a tribune in ancient Rome in 481 BC. He sought to promote a proposed agrarian law by encouraging the plebs to refuse to enrol for military service. However, in the face of foreign aggression, Licinius' suggestions became unpo ...

and

Titus Pontificius {{Short description, Tribune in ancient Rome in 480 BC Titus Pontificius was a tribune in ancient Rome in 480 BC. Like his predecessor Spurius Licinius, he sought to promote a proposed agrarian law by encouraging the plebs to refuse to enrol for ...

respectively exhorted the plebs to refuse enrolment for military service as a means of encouraging agrarian reform, but the consuls and the other tribunes convinced the plebs otherwise. In 476 BC the tribunes Quintus Considius and Titus Genucius successfully brought charges against

Titus Menenius Lanatus Titus Menenius Lanatus (died 476 BC) was a Roman patrician of the fifth century BC. He was elected consul for the year 477. He unsuccessfully fought the Veiientes, and was later prosecuted by the tribunes of the plebs for his failure to prevent ...

, and in the following year the tribunes Lucius Caedicius and Titus Statius brought charges against Spurius Servilius but he was acquitted. Livy says the charges were motivated by agitation for agrarian reform. In 473 BC, the

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

Gnaeus Genucius brought to trial the consuls of the previous year,

Lucius Furius Medullinus Lucius Furius Medullinus (c. 445 BC – c. 375 BC), of the patrician '' gens Furia'', was a politician and general of the Roman Republic who was consul twice and Consular Tribune seven times. First two consulships Medullinus was elected consul fo ...

and Gnaeus Manlius Vulso, for failing to appoint the

decemvirs The decemviri or decemvirs ( Latin for "ten men") were some of the several 10-man commissions established by the Roman Republic. The most important were those of the two Decemvirates, formally the " decemvirate with consular power for writin ...

to allocate the public lands. However, on the day of the trial Genucius was found dead, and as a consequence the charges were dismissed. In 470 BC the tribunes Marcus Duilius and Gnaeus Siccius brought to trial the consul of the previous year, Appius Claudius, a man who was hated by the people. The charge was that he had opposed the agrarian law. However he died before the trial. In 469 BC tensions on account of the agrarian law threatened again, but foreign wars interrupted. Tensions flared after the conclusion of the foreign conflicts, and as a consequence the plebeians refused to attend the consular elections for 468 BC. Once again conflict at Rome was interrupted by foreign war, which resulted in the consul

Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus (513 BCafter 423 BC) was a Roman statesman and general who served as consul six times. Titus Quinctius was a member of the gens Quinctia, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome. He was the son of Luc ...

capturing the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

an city of

Antium Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conqu ...

south of Rome. In 467 BC Tiberius Aemilius was elected consult for the second time, together with Quintus Fabius Vibulanus. Aemilius had previously been consul in 470 BC at the time of Claudius' trial, and had then been sympathetic to the plebeians' agrarian demands. According the plebeians sought to raise the issue again, hoping Aemilius would act in their interests. Indeed, Aemilius was in favour of agrarian reform again, and thus incurred the odium of the patricians. However the tensions were resolved by Aemilius' colleague Fabius, who proposed a law that a

Roman colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term '' colony''. Character ...

be planted at Antium, and land there be distributed amongst the plebeians. The measure was passed, and three men were appointed as commissioners to allocate the lands (triumviri coloniae deducendae). They were Titus Quinctius, the consul of the previous year who had captured Antium from the Volsci;

Aulus Verginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus Aulus Verginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus ( 494–486 BC) was a Roman Republican politician and general of the gens Verginia. He served as a Roman consul in 494 BC together with Titus Veturius Geminus Cicurinus. Family Origins Caeliomontanus ...

the consul of 469 BC; and

Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus (died 464 BC) was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was consul in 472 BC. Family He was a member of the '' gens Furia'', and was the brother of Spurius Furius Medullinus Fusus (consul 464 BC). Bi ...

the consul of 472 BC. Livy reports that in fact few of the plebeians applied for allotment of land at Antium, however reports of conflict on account of the agrarian reforms were absent for many years thereafter.Livy, ''

Ab Urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...

'', iii.1

Gracchan reforms in late 2nd century BC

In 133 BC,

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the Roma ...

, the

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

, passed a series of laws attempting to reform the agrarian land laws; the laws limited the amount of public land one person could control, reclaimed public lands held in excess of this, and attempted to redistribute the land, for a small rent, to farmers now living in the cities. Further reforms in 122 BC were attempted by Tiberius's brother,

Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in 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 ...

, including the expansion of the laws' area of influence to all of the colonies in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. These reforms, however, were not as successful due to massive unpopularity in the Italian provinces. By 118 BC the sales limits and redistribution efforts had been abolished, and by 111 BC the laws were standardized, confirming the positions of many owners in Italy about their large tracts of land.

References

External links

The Avalon Project: Agrarian LawThe Roman Law Library, incl. ''Leges''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agrarian Law Roman law Land law