Political Consciousness of Roman People in the Age of Tribune Tiberius Gracchus

Abstract

The political career of Tiberius Gracchus embodies the mixed characteristics of aristocrat politics and popular politics, which is the incision to understand the connotation of the crisis of the late Roman Republic. After the ouster of M. Octavius and the passing of the decision to allocate Attalus’ legacy under the support of the Roman people, the relationship between Tiberius as the leader of the people and the opposers of him in Senatus suddenly became tense, and the Roman politics eventually led to a rupture and chaos. Therefore, the Roman people are the key to inflating the differences among the elites, and public action and its consequences are the keys to understanding the crisis. The consciousness of Roman people varied in different groups and interacted with different tactics of politician elites. The over-mobilized tactics aroused the Roman people’s political consciousness of popular sovereignty, which became an essential power source in Roman society. Out-controlled people’s politics would finally trigger the crisis in the late republic.