In the late second century BC, rising inequality, unemployment, and land shortages were tearing at the social fabric of ancient Rome. Two Roman senators, the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, proposed sweeping reforms to alleviate these problems—and both became massively popular with the urban poor. But in the end, leading Roman officials violently suppressed the two senators, along with many of their followers, in the streets. Little was done to alleviate Rome’s festering social problems, and the Roman Republic never recovered from the introduction of violence into politics.

Presenter: Gabriel Baker Ph.D. is the author of Spare No One: Mass Violence in Roman Warfare which will be published this December.

Please register by October 27.