Lex Appuleia agraria

According to Appian, the law provided for the distribution of land which had been seized by the invading Cimbri in Cisalpine Gaul and who had been defeated by Gaius Marius at the Battle of Vercellae in 101 BC. This was to be allocated to poor citizens, especially Marius' veterans.[3] According to Pseudo-Aurelius Victor, Saturninus sent colonists to the Roman provinces Sicily, Achaea and Macedonia.[4] Velleius Paterculus stated that the colony of Epodeia was founded in north-western Italy by Marius during his sixth consulship (100 BC).[5] Lucius Annaeus Seneca and Pliny the Elder wrote that Marius founded a colony in Corsica. Pliny added that its name was Mariana.The two writers did not specify when this occurred, but it is likely that this was also a result of the law.[6][7]

Appian wrote that the law assigned the larger share to the Italian allies.[8] Presumably these were to be mainly allied veterans who had served under Marius.

The law provided that Marius should have authority to make three Roman citizens in every colony.[9]

Another provision required that the senators should take an oath to obey the law within five days and anyone who refused to do so should be expelled from the Senate and pay a fine of twenty talents for the benefit of the people.[10]

The provision that the Italian allies were to be assigned the larger share of the land angered Rome's urban poor, who caused a disturbance at the meeting of the assembly which was to vote on the bill in an attempt to prevent the passage of the law. Saturninus had called in people from the rural districts, many of whom were Marius' veterans, to support him. They dispersed the urban people with clubs. The latter claimed that a thunder was heard during the assembly. According to Roman tradition, this was a bad omen which would require the business of the day to be brought to a close. Saturninus ignored this.[11]

Marius wanted to use the provision regarding the oath against Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, his enemy. He declared that he would not take the oath. Metellus agreed and the other senators approved. On the fifth day Marius hastily convoked the senate late in the day. He claimed that he was afraid of the reaction of the people if they did not take the oath and proposed a stratagem. He said if they took the oath to obey the law insofar at it was a law, the country people would disperse. Afterwards they could show that this law was not really a law because it had been enacted by violence and after thunder had been reported.

While the senators were confused and silent, Marius took quick action before they had time to think. He gave his oath publicly. The other senators followed suit, fearing for their safety. However, Metellus refused. The next day Apuleius' officers tried to drag him out of the senate-house, but the other tribunes defended him. The country people were brought back into town. They were told that the law would not be executed unless Metellus was banished and that they would not get their land. A banishment decree was proposed. On ratification day the urban people carried knives and escorted Metellus to protect him. Metellus decided to leave the city rather than risk a conflict because of him. Apuleius had the decree ratified.[12]

Later in the same year, Saturninus got into political trouble and was lynched by an angry crowd. The senate and the people called for the recall of Metellus. Publius Furius, another plebeian tribune, opposed this. However, he, too, was lynched and Metellus was allowed to return.[13]

• Agrarian law
• Gaius Marius
• List of Roman laws
• Plebeian tribune
• Roman Law

Primary sources

• Appian, The Civil Wars, Penguin Classics; New Ed edition, 1996; ISBN 978-0140445091
• Aurelius Victor. De Viris Illustribus (Latin, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014; ISBN 978-1505688788
• Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Of a Happy Life (Annotated) (Dialogues of Seneca),Independently published, 2018; ISBN 978-1729289167
• the Elder, Natural History,Penguin Classics, Reprint edition,1991; ISBN 978-0140444131
• Plutarch, Lives, Volume IX: Demetrius and Antony. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius, (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb 1989; ISBN 978-0674991125

Secondary sources

• A.H. Beesley, Epochs of Ancient History. The Gracchi, Marius, and Sulla, Leopold Classic Library, 2015; ASIN: B015RINFJM
• Flower H., I., The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic (Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World), Cambridge University Press; 2 edition,2014); ISBN 978-1107669420
• Hyden. M., Gaius Marius: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Saviour, Pen & Sword Military, 2017; ISBN 978-1526702333

Internet resources

• Kim Young-Chae, Roman Agrarian Policies and the Italian Countryside. PhD Thesis, Merton College, University of Oxford, 2016