Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome, episode 29, Tiberius Grakis.

Last week, I partially summed up the domestic political and economic situation in Rome after

the final victories of 146 BC.

With the destruction of Carthage, Rome transitioned from what we now call the middle Republican

period into the late Republican period.

And even if you know nothing else about Roman history, you probably know that the late

Republican history was a time of intense turmoil.

Today, we will enter the endgame of the Roman Republic, and the first move will be made

by Tiberius Sampronius Grakis.

Tiberius was born in 168 BC to Tiberius Grakis the Elder in Cornelia, Africa.

His father was a well-respected member of the ruling elite.

Though pleb by birth, by this time the distinction between Patricia and pleb was less important

than it had been in the past, and the Elder Grakis was an upstanding defender of the old

order.

Over the course of his career, he had been Tribune of the plebs, censor, and twice

consul.

When he was Tribune, the Elder Grakis had taken sides with skip you after Connist during

the political battle over the great general's actions in the east, and played a decisive

role in securing an acquittal.

In gratitude for this loyalty, Grakis was given one of Scipio's daughters, Cornelia,

in marriage.

The match was unusual for the age difference, Grakis at this point being 45, and Cornelia

...