During the latter part of the Roman Republic, the vast military conquest of the Mediterranean and Near East created a domino effect in the Roman Empire. The army, composed primarily of formerly agricultural peasants, brought a plethora of wealth and slaves back to the Empire. This, in turn, caused the political elite to become ultra-rich. Using their newly acquired wealth, the Roman political elite purchased large tracts of agricultural land, latifundia, and equipped them with slaves. Due to the abundance of slaves and scarcity of farmers, it was economically prudent for the elite to use large numbers of slaves to work their land. When farmers returned home, slaves filled their former jobs, or their land was purchased. to form larger assets, forcing a large influx of people into the city of Rome in search of work. The unprecedented number of people living in Rome has created problems of inadequate housing, sanitation and food. To solve this problem, Tiberius Gracchus suggested legislation to limit the amount of public land ...