Great Wall of China against the legal customs of the period, and to get it to the People’s Assembly, Tiberius Gracchus had Octavius removed from office, which was also unprecedented The bill became law, and redistribution began with the brother of Tiberius, Gaius, and also his father-in-law elected to the commission that oversaw the redistribution At that point a quite separate scandal emerged King Attalus III of Pergamum in modern-day Turkey died He had probably been staying with the Gracchus family, and in his will the king left his estate to Rome Tiberius Gracchus proposed acceptance of this, the Senate having the traditional right to foreign policy matters Tiberius planned to distribute the property to Roman citizens, especially his supporters and the new landowners Plans were made to bring charges against Tiberius Gracchus, and to escape conviction he decided to seek reelection as tribune Immediately his enemies claimed that he was trying to become a dictator With accusations of tyranny leveled against Tiberius Gracchus, many of his political allies deserted him Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, a former consul and at that time the ponitfex maximus, and a few other senators, gathered together a large mob of supporters with the mission of “saving the Republic.” Serapio was a third cousin of Tiberius Gracchus but was also married to his mother’s sister, making him an uncle Family ties, however, counted for nothing as the mob turned on Tiberius Gracchus on the Capitol Tiberius Gracchus was beaten to death and his body flung into the Tiber River Many of his supporters were also clubbed to death on the spot or died of their wounds Publius Popillis Laenas became consul in 132 b.c.e The death of Tiberius Gracchus is highlighted as the first time in the Roman Republic that a political dispute had led to the murder of one of the major politicians of the period Tiberius Gracchus had certainly been very popular with many people, including much of the elite, but the fear of him becoming a tyrant led to the revolt The younger brother of Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus, had emerged on the political scene as a member of the land commission established in 133 b.c.e He served as a quaestor in Sardinia Gaius Gracchus set about rehabilitating the memory of his brother, punishing those who worked against him and introducing security measures to ensure he did not suffer the same fate That done, he set about starting land redistribution again Furthermore, he tried to establish colonies overseas, including one in Carthage, which would serve as loyal bases of Roman citizens in times of emergency Gaius Gracchus was anxious to ensure that corn continued to be sold in Rome at subsidized prices, ensuring better public services 163 in Rome, and regulating army service He was also eager to reduce the administrative decision-making ability of the Senate He proposed making all Latins and people from Latin states allied to Rome Roman citizens This would, on the one hand, allow them the protection of Roman magistrates but would also make far more people eligible for land in the redistribution His opponents were divided, and one, Gaius Fannius, whom Gaius Gracchus had supported as consul, rejected the ideas Marcus Livius Drusus, on the other hand, suggested an even more radical policy involving the land in all colonies, almost in an attempt to “outbid” Gaius Gracchus The bill to introduce these reforms was rejected, and Gaius Gracchus was not reelected In 121 b.c.e he and his key supporter Fulvius Flaccus decided to stage an armed insurrection, but the Senate issued a declaration of emergency powers Flaccus was murdered, but Gaius Gracchus was able to escape with a trusted servant As the two were cornered, Gaius Gracchus had his servant kill him, before his servant committed suicide About 1,000 men who had supported him were arrested and executed, with their estates confiscated The deaths of Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus were said to mark the start of the Roman revolution, during which the power of the Roman Republic’s elite was challenged and finally ended See also Rome: buildings, engineers; Rome: decline and fall; Rome: government Further reading: Briscoe, J “Supporters and Opponents of Tiberius Gracchus.” Journal of Roman Studies (1974); Brunt, P A Social Conflicts in the Roman Republic London: Chatto and Windus, 1982; Liddell Hart, Basil A Greater Than Napoleon: Scipio Africanus London: Greenhill Books, 1992; Plutarch Makers of Rome Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books, 1965; Richardson, Keith Daggers in the Forum: The Revolutionary Lives and Violent Deaths of the Gracchus Brothers London: Cassell, 1976 Justin Corfield Great Wall of China Beginning in 324 b.c.e three northern Chinese states with nomadic neighbors—Qin (Ch’in), Zhao (Chao), and Yan (Yen)—began to build defensive walls After Qin unified China in 221 b.c.e the first emperor ordered his most able general, Meng Tian (Meng T’ien), to connect these existing walls and extend them to form