Gracchi as demogogues or revolutionaries?

[consulscipio236]

.The purported over-democratization of the Punic state was both unattested by any other source and in absolute agreement with his universal systematic trend of presenting any Carthaginian peculiarity as an utter evidence of the purportedly indisputable Roman superiority; therefore, it should probably be considered as unpolluted Roman chauvinism until proven otherwise.

 

In Carthage, we have an extreme example of the phrase "history is written by the victors". It is unfortunate that all traces of Carthage (documentation, ect) were destroyed by Rome after the 3rd Punic War. It is true that Polybius was biased, but unfortunately this is all you can expect since everything we know of Carthage comes to us from Roman (or Roman-like, in the case of the Greek Polybius) sources.

[Ingsoc]

The point here is that the office was meant to be radical, and so the earlier tribunes operated within the spirit of the office. The later tribunes, if we are to be generous, were confronted with a political system too corrupt and insular to take up even mild reforms through the normal (non-violent) process.

 

The original Tribunes had more social than political purpose, to defend the Plebs masses from the strong hand policies of the Patrician elite. After all restrictions on Plebs were abolished the Tribunship lost it's original purpose and was simply use as a tool in the political game - it's was easily used by Optimates as by Populares.

[sylla]

Most of the "trouble making" Tribunes operated in the early Republic, since the Plebs achieved equall rights and the formation of the Patrician-Plebic Nobilitas almost all Tribunes didn't steer the public opinion.

It depends on your definition of "trouble making". The earlier tribunes were radical in their ends, not their means.