Pomona placed a large pile of books on the library table, set out tea and pastries, then picked one at random.
She had bought these books from a Muggle bookstore. They had stylish, exquisite bindings, as though they were works of art.
The one she chose was about the history of veteran resettlement in Rome, as well as the history of land reform. It covered everything from Tiberius Gracchus to Octavian becoming Augustus, encompassing nearly all the most thrilling moments in Ancient Rome during that period.
In 133 BC, Tiberius Gracchus was elected tribune of the plebs. His proposed land reform stipulated that no person could occupy more than 500 iugera of "public land," or more than 1,000 iugera if they had children. Any excess land would be reclaimed by the state upon compensation for its value.
In Latin, the land involved in Tiberius Gracchus's reform was called "ager pubilicas occapalorius." "Occapalorius" referred to temporary occupation rather than ownership—that is, illegally occupied public land—so in theory, Tiberius Gracchus had grounds to redistribute it.
After Tiberius Gracchus was assassinated, Gaius Gracchus continued the reforms. This time, he enacted a land law. The public land he distributed was not seized from its original holders, so his bill did not have the same impact as his brother's during its implementation.
However, he proposed establishing colonies and enacted a colonial law. This was not his own invention; colonies had existed since the early days of the Republic. But establishing colonies for economic purposes was his innovation.
Capua, Tarentum, and Carthage had always been prosperous commercial regions in the Western Mediterranean. During the Second Punic War, Capua and Tarentum had both temporarily sided with Carthage and were punished by Rome. In the Third Punic War, Carthage was razed to the ground, which likewise affected Rome's