roman expansion
TRANSCRIPT
How did the Romans grow from one of many groups competing on the Italian peninsula to the superpower of the Mediterranean world?◦ 1. Expansion within Italy
◦ 2. The Punic Wars
Military advantage over local rivals◦ Well-trained citizen
army
◦ Roman legionarieswere disciplined but more mobile than Greek hoplites
Skilled leadership of the Senate
Combination of diplomacy and war
Re-enactors!
Between 500 B.C. and 293 B.C., defeated the other Latin cities, the Etruscans, and the Samnites
Defeated Italians became either citizens or allies◦ Maintained some local control but owed military
service to Rome
Won control of southern Italy by playing Greek cities off against each other
Difficult war against Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus—Pyrrhus won a “Pyrrhic victory,” but Rome eventually triumphed
Carthage—originally a Phoenician colony in North Africa◦ Created a wealthy empire
in the Western Mediterranean
◦ Had a powerful navy
Rome and Carthage came into conflict over Sicily
Long destructive conflict—mostly in Sicily
The Romans created a navy for the first time
The Romans had no warships, so they had to capture a Carthaginian ship and use it as a model for building their own
Rome eventually won and gained Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia
The brilliant Carthaginian general Hannibal decided to take the offensive and invade Italy
Took the unexpected route through Spain and across the Alps—invaded Rome from the north
Crossed the mountains with a huge army, including his war elephants
Hannibal destroyed many Roman armies, but lacked the siege equipment to take Rome itself
The Romans, under Scipio, decided to gamble and sent an army to Africa
Hannibal had to return home—defeated at the Battle of Zama in 202 B.C.◦ Hannbal fled to the Seleucid (Greek) kingdom—later
committed suicide
Rome stripped Carthage of its empire
Carthage was just a city; no more threat
Nevertheless, the old senator Cato was obsessed with punishing Rome’s enemies
◦ Repeated “Carthage must be destroyed” every day in the Senate
The Senate sent an army which captured Carthage, burned it to the ground, and sold most of its inhabitants into slavery
After defeating Hannibal, the Romans attacked the Macedonians and Seleucids for supporting him
168 B.C.—Macedonia and all Greek cities under Roman control
Military and political organization
Glorification of war—symbolized by the triumph
Brutal in war, but usually generous to defeated enemies
Foreign cultural influence (especially Greek)
Power to general, the Senate, and large landowners
Peasants lost their land due to competition with slaves
What are some reasons you can think of that may have led to the collapse of the Roman Republic? What tensions have existed in our study so far?
By 146 BC, the Republic is stretched thin, spanning across the entire Mediterranean.
Without a foreign enemy, the Republic collapses in to Civil War.
Breakdown of ◦ social harmony◦ civic patriotism◦ agricultural support
Agricultural crisis: Total war with Hannibal depleted Roman agriculture of swaths of farmland.
“Growing love of money, and the lust for power which followed it, engendered ever kind of evil. Avarice destroyed honor, integrity, and every other virtue, and instead taught men to be proud and cruel, to neglect religion, and to hold nothing too sacred to sell. Ambition tempted many to be false… at first these vices grew slowly and sometimes met with punishments; later on, when the disease ha spread like a plague, Rome changed; her government, once so just and admirable, became harsh and unendurable.
Tiberius, hailing from a prominent Roman family, elected to tribune in 133.
Leads land reforms meant to redistribute public lands to the poor.
Faces staunch opposition from wealthy senate; killed by extremists along with three hundred of his followers.
His brother Gaius took up the cause, but was also assassinated by supporters of the nobles
Sulla, an optimate (supporter of the wealthy and Senate), was given a dictatorship to restore order in the Roman world
◦ Raised an army and defeated rebels in Italy—then shipped out to Asia Minor to deal with a rebellion there
While he was gone, Marius, a populare (supporter of the common people), took power
◦ Carried on with reforms of the Gracchi
Sulla returned with his army—defeated Marius and began executing many of Marius’s supporters
A young relative and supporter of Marius, Gaius Julius Caesar, managed to survive
Marius
Power was now in the hands of generals with private armies
Deep distrust between optimatesand populares
Pompey, an optimate general, was the next warlord to gain power