Populares

• The Populares were a political group that emerged in Rome after 133 BCE to oppose the Landed Aristocracy.
• They were Senators from Patrician or Noble Families who opposed the Optimates, a conservative group of wealthy aristocratic Senators.

The Gracchian Reforms (133-121 BCE)

• The Gracchian Reforms of Gaius Gracchus and Tiberius Gracchus created a political movement between 133-121 BCE that favoured the Plebeians.
• The Gracchus brothers tried unsuccessfully to allocate them land from the Great Estates of the Aristocracy but were both prevented from doing so.
• The Populares relied on the People’s Assemblies and the Tribune of the Plebs to gain political support.

First Triumvirate (60-53 BCE)

• The most notable Populares were Julius Caesar, Crassus and Pompey, three Aristocratic Generals who formed a secret alliance known as the First Triumvirate (60-53 BCE) to oppose the Optimates.

Great Roman Civil War (49-45 BCE)

• After the death of Crassus in 53 BCE, Pompey decided to join the Optimates instead, and oppose Julius Caesar which led to civil war.
• The two sides fought each other resulting in Julius Caesar defeating Pompey and the Optimates and becoming Dictator for life.