The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic

by Mike Duncan

AFTER LOSING THE vote on Italian citizenship, Gaius sailed for North Africa in the spring of 122. The first of his colonies being built was the most controversial of all. Located on the site of old Carthage, the colony would control a strategically advantageous port, but the superstitious Romans were wary of occupying haunted ground. Leaving Flaccus behind to mind Rome, Gaius personally traveled to Carthage to oversee the founding of the colony. It’s hard to say exactly why Gaius departed Rome at this moment—perhaps it was because he felt that his presence during the building of the colony was important both practically and symbolically. But his support among the people would not hold in his absence.40