As the Roman Empire expands, the government experiences trials and tribulations in governing foreign lands and controlling the population. The Gracchi brothers grew up at a time when the Roman Empire was still plagued by civil unrest. The Roman people were divided, land was unequally distributed, government was disordered, patriotism had ceased to exist, and slave labor made it more difficult for citizens to lift themselves out of poverty. Tiberius, the elder brother, was the first to mention the agrarian laws, and was followed after his death by his younger brother, Gaius Gracchus. The brothers knew the importance of winning over the commoners to assert their power over the empire. Through land laws and other reforms, the two brothers were able to take control of the masses, leaving the Senate fearing what might happen if these two took power. According to Gaius Gracchus, "in a certain pamphlet he wrote that as Tiberius was passing through Tuscany on his way to Numantia, he observed the shortage of inhabitants in the country, and that those who plowed its soil or tended its flocks there were imported. barbarian slaves, he was the first to conceive the public policy which was the cause of innumerable evils for the two brothers. (Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 8.7) Tiberius was a man of right reasoning and great honor. Having been the son of Tiberius Gracchus the elder, virtue was one of the traits that accompanied his name. Tiberius married the daughter of the great Scipio who defeated Hannibal. This not only added to his fame but also gave him support. "We are also told that one day he caught a pair of snakes on his bed, and that the diviners, after considering the prodigy, forbade him... middle of paper... orters. Having excited the people with such words (and he had a very loud voice and was very vigorous in his speech), he introduced two laws, one stipulating that if the people had deprived a magistrate of his office, that magistrate should not be authorized to exercise their functions a second time; and another providing that if a magistrate had banished a citizen without trial, that magistrate would be liable to criminal prosecution. (Plutarch, Caius Gracchus 4.1)Works Cited1. Morey, William C. “Glimpses of Roman History, Chapter 19.” Roman Forum. 1901. the canvas. April 24, 2011. .2. “The First Republic”. The Roman Empire. Internet. April 24, 2011. .3. Kamm, Antoine. “Chapter 2: The Republic.” The Romans: an introduction. London: Routledge, 2008. Print.