Roman Republic · 133-121 BC

The Gracchi: land, reform and violence

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus tried to give land to poor Romans, and both died in political violence. Students explore how Rome's success abroad caused trouble at home.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, 133 BC to 100 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus tried to give land to poor Romans, and both died in political violence. Students explore how Rome's success abroad caused trouble at home.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why many small farmers in Italy lost their land in the 2nd century BC.
  • Describe the reforms of Tiberius (133 BC) and Gaius Gracchus (123-121 BC) and how each brother died.
  • Discuss why the killing of Tiberius Gracchus is often seen as the start of the Republic's crisis.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

133 BC

A Republic of provinces

Open the map in 133 BC. Rome now rules lands from Hispania to Greece and Africa. Count the regions under Rome outside Italy. What did all these wars mean for farmers who served as soldiers?

Open this view on the map
b

133 BC

The land question

Zoom in on southern Italy. After Hannibal's war, much land here became large estates worked by enslaved people. Why could small farmers not compete with them?

Open this view on the map
c

100 BC

A gift from Pergamon

Jump to 100 BC and pan to the west coast of Asia Minor. In 133 BC the last king of Pergamon left his kingdom to Rome. Find the Roman province of Asia that it became.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Soldiers were away at war for years. What happened to their farms while they were gone?
  2. Plutarch says Tiberius told the people that even wild animals in Italy had a den, but the men who fought for Italy had nothing. What was he arguing for?
  3. Tiberius went around the Senate and took his law straight to the people. Was that democratic or dangerous?
  4. In 133 BC a group of senators and their supporters killed Tiberius and about 300 of his followers. Why was this a turning point?
  5. Gaius Gracchus made grain cheap for the people of Rome. Should a government help feed its citizens?
4

Game round

10 min

Play the Julius Caesar round in Rule History. Like the Gracchi, Caesar won support from ordinary Romans with a land law, in 59 BC. Discuss: did Caesar finish what the Gracchi started, or did he use their ideas to gain power for himself?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.