Agrarian law
Encyclopedia
Agrarian laws were laws
among the Romans
regulating the division of the public lands
, or ager publicus
.
There existed three types of land in ancient Rome: private land, common pasture, and public land. By the 2nd century BC, wealthy landowners had begun to dominate the agrarian areas of the empire 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.
In 133 BC, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus
, the plebeian tribune, 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 Sempronius Gracchus, including the expansion of the laws' area of influence to all of the colonies in Italy
. These reforms, however, were not as successful due to massive unpopularity in the Italian provinces.
By 118 BC the sales limits and redistibution efforts had been abolished, and by 111 BC the laws were standardised, confirming the positions of many owners in Italy about their large tracts of land.
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
among the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
regulating the division of the public lands
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
, or ager publicus
Ager publicus
The ager publicus is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired by expropriation from Rome's enemies.In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, the ager publicus was used for Roman and Latin colonies...
.
There existed three types of land in ancient Rome: private land, common pasture, and public land. By the 2nd century BC, wealthy landowners had begun to dominate the agrarian areas of the empire 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.
In 133 BC, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus may refer to:*Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus , father of Tiberius and Publius Gracchus*Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus , son of the above...
, the plebeian tribune, 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 Sempronius Gracchus, including the expansion of the laws' area of influence to all of the colonies in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. These reforms, however, were not as successful due to massive unpopularity in the Italian provinces.
By 118 BC the sales limits and redistibution efforts had been abolished, and by 111 BC the laws were standardised, confirming the positions of many owners in Italy about their large tracts of land.