Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (consul 215 and 213 BC)
Encyclopedia
Tiberius Sempronius Tib. f. Tib. n. Gracchus (died 212 BC) was a Roman Republican consul
in the Second Punic War
. He was son of Tiberius Sempronius Tib. f. Gracchus
who was apparently the first man from his branch to become consul.
Gracchus is first mentioned in 216 BC as curule aedile in which capacity he was inducted as Master of the Horse
to the newly elected Dictator Marcus Junius Pera
after the defeat at Cannae
.
He was elected consul in 216 BC, at the recommendation of the Dictator, whose orders he had faithfully obeyed even when obliged to abandon Italian allies to their fate. His colleague-elect Lucius Postumius A.f. Albinus being killed in an ambush in Gaul on his way home, Marcus Claudius Marcellus
was elected consul in his stead, to the protests of patricians who claimed that two plebeians could not serve as consuls. Marcellus thereupon resigned and Quintus Fabius Maximus
was elected consul to serve out the year. In that year, Fabius Maximus and the Senate decided to induct volunteer slaves into the Roman armies and to have them serve in separate legions to win their freedom. Gracchus was appointed commander of the slave troops, and he rapidly became known as an effective general of volunteer slave troops, winning their loyalty and trust for his clemency when some broke and ran from the field. [Livy]. He was appointed proconsul in 214 BC, continuing to lead his slave and freedmen troops in central and southern Italy with mixed successes against Hannibal.
In 213 BC he was re-elected consul. He was removing his troops from their winter camp on the orders of the newly elected consuls (of 212 BC) when he and a small group of men were ambushed and killed, allegedly when they were caught bathing. According to Livy, Hannibal gave the dead general full funeral rites and had his ashes returned to Rome.
, in the plague in 174 BC. Lucius Manlius Acidinus Sempronianus, who replaced the dead augur, may have been another son of this consul who had been adopted out into the patrician Manlii. The Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was exiled by Augustus
for his affair with his daughter Julia
may have been a descendant.
His brother Publius Sempronius Gracchus was the father of Tiberius Sempronius P.f. Tib.n. Gracchus
whose sons Tiberius Gracchus
and Gaius Gracchus
were the famous reformers.
, Histories of Rome.
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
. He was son of Tiberius Sempronius Tib. f. Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (consul 238 BC)
Tiberius Sempronius Tib.f. Gracchus , a Roman Republican consul in the year 238 BC, was the first man from his branch of the family to become consul; several other plebeian Sempronii had already reached the consulship and even the censorship...
who was apparently the first man from his branch to become consul.
Gracchus is first mentioned in 216 BC as curule aedile in which capacity he was inducted as Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse
The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
to the newly elected Dictator Marcus Junius Pera
Marcus Junius Pera
Marcus Junius Pera was a Roman politician during the Second Punic War. He was consul in 230 BC and censor with Gaius Claudius Centho in 225 BC. He was appointed dictator in 216 BC, rei gerundae causa, for the purpose of repelling the Carthaginian forces under Hannibal from Italy. In order to raise...
after the defeat at Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
.
He was elected consul in 216 BC, at the recommendation of the Dictator, whose orders he had faithfully obeyed even when obliged to abandon Italian allies to their fate. His colleague-elect Lucius Postumius A.f. Albinus being killed in an ambush in Gaul on his way home, Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
was elected consul in his stead, to the protests of patricians who claimed that two plebeians could not serve as consuls. Marcellus thereupon resigned and Quintus Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus most commonly refers to;*Quintus Fabius Maximus*A number of ancient Romans from the gens Fabia.The ancient Romans that share the name Quintus Fabius Maximus include:* Quintus Fabius Maximus, augur 203–196 BC....
was elected consul to serve out the year. In that year, Fabius Maximus and the Senate decided to induct volunteer slaves into the Roman armies and to have them serve in separate legions to win their freedom. Gracchus was appointed commander of the slave troops, and he rapidly became known as an effective general of volunteer slave troops, winning their loyalty and trust for his clemency when some broke and ran from the field. [Livy]. He was appointed proconsul in 214 BC, continuing to lead his slave and freedmen troops in central and southern Italy with mixed successes against Hannibal.
In 213 BC he was re-elected consul. He was removing his troops from their winter camp on the orders of the newly elected consuls (of 212 BC) when he and a small group of men were ambushed and killed, allegedly when they were caught bathing. According to Livy, Hannibal gave the dead general full funeral rites and had his ashes returned to Rome.
Family
His wife is unknown, but he had at least one son. Sempronius Gracchus's son Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus became a priest in 203 BC and died, while augurAugur
The augur was a priest and official in the classical world, especially ancient Rome and Etruria. His main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds: whether they are flying in groups/alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of...
, in the plague in 174 BC. Lucius Manlius Acidinus Sempronianus, who replaced the dead augur, may have been another son of this consul who had been adopted out into the patrician Manlii. The Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus who was exiled by Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
for his affair with his daughter Julia
Julia the Elder
Julia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons...
may have been a descendant.
His brother Publius Sempronius Gracchus was the father of Tiberius Sempronius P.f. Tib.n. Gracchus
Tiberius Gracchus Major
Tiberius Gracchus major or Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman politician of the 2nd century BC...
whose sons Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populares politician of the 2nd century BC and brother of Gaius Gracchus. As a plebeian tribune, his reforms of agrarian legislation caused political turmoil in the Republic. These reforms threatened the holdings of rich landowners in Italy...
and Gaius Gracchus
Gaius Gracchus
Gaius Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman Populari politician in the 2nd century BC and brother of the ill-fated reformer Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus...
were the famous reformers.
Sources
LivyLivy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, Histories of Rome.