I've done some reading of Roman history and I know -- or rather, I think I know a little -- about the Gracchi brothers and their proposed land reforms for the landless poor and eventual assassinations. But were those events connected to the Social War and/or the eventual fall of the Republic?
I saw a historically themed twitter account mention that questions of extending citizenship were also part of the discussion and divisions that led to the Social War. Is that true? If so, to what extent did those factors play into the Social War and eventual transition from Republic to Principate/Empire?
My apologies if the above is all over the place, I guess I'd just condense this into the title and ask what role questions of citizenship played in the Social War and the eventual "fall" of the Republic.
Thanks!
Hey! Not to discourage other answers and perspectives on the topic, but you might be interested in the answer I gave on the topic of the tribunate of the younger M. Livius Drusus here, which touches on a lot of the subjects you asked about. I tried to make a narrative arch there that includes the Gracchii, but if you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
While I can't actually give you a satisfactory answer when it comes to the fall of the Republic, it definitely had a factor in the Social War. There were several factors that led to the conflict, but one of these included citizenship. The Italian allies of the Republic were potentially part of the Republic for centuries but weren't considered full citizens. This didn't particularly sit well with some especially given that these allies had to contribute armed forces to the Roman military and in some cases suffered just as much as Rome did in the several conflicts that were fought. In their eyes, they had more than earned full Roman citizenship and so many were inspired to take up arms.