2.7: Expansion of the Roman Republic -T-

• History
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.7: Expansion of the Roman Republic

THEORY

What you will learn in 

this lesson

• What were the Punic Wars?
• Who was Hannibal?
• How did Hannibal almost destroy Rome? 
• How was Hannibal defeated?
• What were the consequences of the Punic Wars?
• Why and how did the Roman army change?

Word Duty

expansion: getting bigger, larger

Punic Wars: three wars that were fought between Rome and Carthage

empire: when a country conquers other lands the country and its new territories are called an empire.

superpower: a very strong and powerful country

booty; valuable stolen goods, especially those seized in war.

legion: a Roman military unit that was made up of 5,000 soldiers who were called legionaries.

KEY WORDS

people in this lesson

Hannibal

general

Carthage

Marius

consul / general

Rome

Scipio 

consul / general

Rome

Important dates in this lesson:

264 - 241 BC:   First Punic War

219 - 202 BC:   Second Punic War

149 - 146 BC:   Third Punic War

100 BC: Marius reforms the Roman army 

Once the Romans had taken over the whole of Italy, they did not stop their expansion. This map shows you how the Roman empire grew bigger and bigger until it surrounded the Mediterranean Sea. How did the Romans become so powerful?

Expansion during the Republic

Rome was a republic from 509 - 27 BC, so roughly five centuries. During this period Rome grew from an Italian city state to an empire.

The Roman republic kept conquering land and by 265 BC, it controlled Southern Italy, which was made up of Greek city-states. With this power Roman trade also grew. To trade, the Romans needed access to the seaports, but that would not be easy. Another powerful empire was in their way: Carthage. The city Carthage was in modern day Tunisia. The Carthaginians ruled lands in Northern Africa, Spain and Sicily. They had a far stronger navy than the Romans and were willing to fight over Southern Italy and trade.

Reconstruction image of ancient Carthage and its harbour as it appeared before Roman conquest - situated in modern day Tunisia

The Punic Wars

The first war with Carthage, or the first Punic War (264-241 BC), was fought over Sicily. Rome defeated Carthage after 23 years. Carthage was able to recover. They started the second Punic war in 218 BC.

The brilliant Carthaginian general Hannibal surprised the Romans by leading an army (including 60 war elephants!) across the Alps into Italy.

Hannibal won battles at lake Trasimeno (217 BC) and Cannae (216 BC). This terrified the Romans because they expected him to attack Rome next.

Modern reconstruction drawing of the Carthaginian army crossing the Alps with elephants

Modern reconstruction drawing of the Carthaginian army crossing the Alps with elephants

Hannibal defeated

Because of his losses as he crossed the Alps, Hannibal's army was not strong enough to attack the city of Rome. 

So Hannibal attacked other cities and towns throughout Italy. Hannibal and his army spent 15 years in Italy fighting against the Roman legions.

Rome was worried and afraid. They had to keep a large army near Rome to protect the capital city against Hannibal so they could never get enough troops out to catch him. Rome came up with a new plan.

The Roman general Scipio took the Roman army and attacked Carthage itself.

The leaders of Carthage panicked and called Hannibal and his army home. When Hannibal got back, Scipio was prepared. During a bloody battle Hannibal's army was defeated (see video clip). The Romans did not manage to catch Hannibal himself, but they forced Carthage to shrink its army and navy, and pay tribute (money) to Rome.

Reconstruction image of ancient Carthage and its harbour as it appeared before Roman conquest - situated in modern day Tunisia

Rome's secret weapon

The First Punic War was fought largely over the island of Sicily. This meant a lot of the fighting was at sea where Carthage had the advantage of a much stronger navy than Rome. However, Rome quickly built up a large navy of over 100 ships. Rome also invented the corvus, a type of assault bridge that allowed Rome's superior soldiers to board enemy navy vessels. Rome soon dominated Carthage and won the war.

The end of Carthage

Rome allowed Carthage to rebuild over time. Some senators did not like that very much. They were afraid that Carthage would one day start another war if it was allowed to become strong again.

A senator named Cato ended every speech he gave in the senate with the words: ‘and I also think we should destroy Carthage.’ Finally he got his way. The senate was so afraid that Cartage might rise again that they made sure it never would. They attacked Carthage and during this Third Punic War (149-146 BC) the Romans completely destroyed Carthage and put salt on their fields, so nothing could ever grow there again. Carthage would never recover.

Modern drawing that gives an impression of the final battle of Carthage.

Roman triremes sail towards the harbour of the city of Carthage

Modern drawing that gives an impression of the final battle of Carthage.

Roman soldiers use the "turtle" formation, using their shields to make a roof that protects them from arrows and projectiles.

Consequences of the Punic Wars

After the Punic wars the Romans became a superpower in the region. They quickly tried to take over from the defeated Carthaginians. They took control of the Southern parts of Italy, where many Greek colonies were located. They also took Carthaginian possessions in Spain.

With all this expansion, new wealth came to Rome. Beautiful statues were brought to Rome as war booty. Proud generals displayed them in their homes, which made other Romans jealous. They wanted more wealth too and soon Rome started wars to conquer more rich lands, like Greece.

After the conquest of Greece, all things Greek became popular in Rome. The patricians even started to speak Greek in public instead of Latin. Many prisoners of war were brought to Rome: some worked as slaves in homes of the rich, perhaps teaching their children Greek. Others might have built a new theatre for the city. The Romans thought most things from Greek culture were fantastic. They adopted and copied Greek myths and Greek architecture. They even adopted the Greek gods, although they gave them Roman names.

map: the Roman empire, including Greece, in 146 BC

bottom picture: Roman soldiers have captured the Greek city of Athens

a Professional army

The early Roman army was organised similarly to the armies of the Greek poleis. Only Roman citizens who could pay for their own armour and equipment could join the army. It was not a professional army. 

As the empire got bigger Rome needed more soldiers. The consul Gaius Marius, who was also a succesful army general, changed the organisation of the Roman army around 100 BC. From then on:

• poor citizens could also join the army.
• Rome paid the armour and equipment
• soldiers signed up for a fixed period of time (16 to 20 years)
• soldiers were paid wages for their service
• the army was organised into legions, each made up of around 5,000 soldiers.

Rome now had a full-time professional army.

The Roman army became one of the most successful armies in world history. It was well-trained, well-equipped, and well-organized. You can learn more about the Roman army in a different lesson.

top picture: Roman legionaries during the Republican era.

bottom: overview of one Roman legion

Marius' mules

Gaius Marius also introduced other reforms. To ensure his soldiers were fit he ordered them to go on long route-marches. While doing this they had to carry their own cooking utensils, three days' food rations, a sickle, rope, pick-axe, turf-cutter, shield, sword and javelin. Not surprisingly, Roman legionnaires obtained the nick-name "Marius' mules".

Summary 2.7

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If you want to learn more about Hannibal's war against Rome you can watch this 90 minute film. Not mandatory, but interesting nonetheless....