(163–133 bc), Roman statesman, whose concern for the common people ultimately led to his political downfall and death.

With his brother Gaius, Tiberius was brought up under the special care of his mother, Cornelia, daughter of Scipio Africanus the Elder. In 146 bc he took part in the capture and destruction of Carthage, on which occasion he is said to have been the first Roman to scale the city wall. In 137 bc he acted as quaestor (financial administrator) to the army of Gaius Hostilius Mancinus (consul in 137 bc) in Spain. There, when the people of the ancient Spanish city of Numantia would negotiate only with him because they trusted his father, Tiberius saved from destruction an army of 20,000 Romans, which had been defeated and was at the mercy of the Numantines. Upon his return to Rome he became a champion of the cause of the common people and the impoverished farmers and commenced an agitation for reform. He was elected tribune of the people in 133 bc, and despite opposition from the aristocracy led by his cousin, Scipio Africanus the Younger, he obtained legislation providing for a more equitable distribution of public lands among the small farmers. A committee of three, consisting of him, his brother Gaius, and his father-in-law Appius Claudius Pulcher (consul in 143 bc), was appointed to implement the new law.

When the term of his tribuneship expired, Tiberius, to strengthen his position as champion of the people, presented himself for reelection. He rebuffed with contempt the declaration of the Senate that holding the office of tribune for two successive years was unlawful. A rumor then circulated to the effect that Tiberius was seeking dictatorial power. His enemies demanded his immediate death and precipitated a riot in which Tiberius was murdered, along with 300 of his followers, and his body cast into the Tiber River.