123, Gaius Gracchus passed the _Lex Judicaria_, which prescribed
that the jurors _(judices)_ should be chosen from the Equites,
and not the Senate. From this time dates the struggle between the two
classes, and the breach widened every year. On the one side were the
nobles, represented by the Senate; on the other side, the equestrian
order. Since the jurors were chosen from the latter, it had control of
the courts, and often made an unscrupulous use of its power,
especially in those courts which were established to try governors for
extortion in the management of provinces _(quaestiones rerum
repetundarum)_. From the Equites, too, were taken the tax-gatherers
of the provinces. They pillaged and robbed the people at will, and, if
a governor had the courage to interfere with them, a threat of
prosecution was held over his head. The average governor preferred to
connive at their exactions; the bolder ones paid with fines or exiles
for their courage. Another trouble was threatening the commonwealth.
The Italian allies of Rome did not possess the franchise belonging to
a Roman citizen. For nearly two centuries they had shared dangers and
victories with the Romans; they now eagerly demanded all their
privileges.

In 91, MARCUS LIVIUS DRUSUS, the Tribune, took up the task of reform.
He was noble, wealthy, and popular, and he hoped to settle the
question peacefully and equitably. But his attempt to reform the
courts displeased the Equites, his agrarian and corn laws made him
many enemies, and his attempt to admit the Italians to the rights of
Roman citizenship aroused great opposition.

His laws were passed, but the Senate pronounced them null and void. He
was denounced in that body as a traitor, and was struck down by an
assassin in the same year.