The Roman Empire began its expanse throughout the Mediterranean world in the year 350 B.C., not completing their conquest until 133 B.C. (Hamric). The conquering of the Mediterranean gave Rome economic and militaristic power that allowed them to become a mighty empire. The Roman foreign policy allowing the expanse throughout the Mediterranean can be analyzed through three phases: unifying Italy, the Punic Wars, and the Hellenistic Kingdoms (Hamric). The first phase of Roman expansion involved unifying Italy. Before the Romans involved themselves in the rest of Italy, the peninsula was made of numerous city-states. Rome would go its neighboring city-states and give them two options: “...join us or die…” (Hamric). The vast majority of nations …show more content…
Carthage was the top trading and naval power in the Mediterranean (Hamric). The first war began as a result of trade disputes. Fought mostly at sea, the first war was dominated by Carthage in the early stages. However, the persistence of Rome helped them recover. After Rome built its navy, it was able to defeat Carthage in the first war, gaining control over all of Carthage’s “...Sicilian lands…” (Book, 114). The Second Punic War lasted from 218 to 202 B.C., beginning after Carthage attempted to expand into Spain. Rome received this as a threat and declared war. Carthaginian commander Hannibal raised an army in Spain and marched into Italy. The struggle between Rome and Hannibal ended when a Roman general, Publius Cornelius Scipio, met and defeated Hannibal near Carthage in Africa (Book, 114). In the aftermath of the second war, Carthage abandoned all but the city and was forced to pay steep reparations. When Rome demanded that the Carthaginians leave the city and settle near the sea, Carthage refused, beginning the third and final Punic War. The Romans quickly took the city of Carthage, killing or enslaving all the inhabitants (Book, 114). After the Punic Wars, “…Carthage ceases to exist…” (Hamric). Roman also gained many new provinces which did not have independence, such as its allies, and improved the Roman economy. The victories in the Punic Wars assisted Rome in its domination of the Mediterranean world and would serve as “…a warning to Rome’s other potential enemies.” (Book,
From about 50 BCE to the year 200 CE, the Roman Empire was a powerful nation. Rome was the city that became the center of the Roman Empire and by 200 BCE Rome became a powerhouse. The Romans conquered Scotland to Spain, controlled the Mediterranean Sea, and established colonies in North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. By the year 44 BCE Julius Caesar became a Roman Emperor and Rome had a great military. Then around the 5th century CE the Roman Empire began to weaken. The primary reasons for the fall of Rome was because of the Roman Emperors, the Roman Army, and foreign invasion.
The Second Punic war, beginning in 218 BC, was the second major war between the Roman Empire and the Carthage. Around the same time, the Roman Empire deployed troops to the Northeastern peninsula of Spain to keep reinforcements, from the Carthaginian South, from getting to Hannibal’s armies in Italy to assist them. In A Histor...
Ruthless expansionists- The ruthless expansion of the Romans was evident in the Punic Wars. “The population of Rome itself increased to unheard-of levels: From somewhere around 100,000 before the first Punic Wars to easily five times that figure a little more than a century later.” 1 (pg. 188) Through the Punic Wars, Rome gained Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and Spain. Expansion was important because more land meant more resources for the Roman
Rome created and maintained its huge Mediterranean Empire in many ways, the way Rome was started was unifying Italy then all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea. Rome maintained being a huge Empire because of the expansion in the Mediterranean lands. They stayed at the top also because of the rich farmlands and the pax romana. On page 142 “it says Rome’s central location contributed to its success in unifying Italy and then all the lands ringing the Mediterranean Sea.” Also on page 150 it says “ Commerce was greatly enhanced by the pax romana (roman peace)” This is all important to know for the AP world exam because when seeing how the empire was maintained we can compare what the Romans changed to what brought down the other empires.
First of all, this is determined by Italy's weak and foreign expansion policy. Secondly, this is also determined by Italy's national interests. Third, after the outbreak of World War I, the Allied Powers all met the requirements of the Italian territory.
Rome was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world. The early Roman state was founded in 509 B.C. after the Romans drove out the hated Etruscan king. By this time Rome had already grown from a cluster of small villages to a small city. Little did the settlers know that this was the beginning of one of the greatest and largest empires ever known.
The war started because of conflicting interests between the two, especially the expanding Roman Republic. At the end of the war, thousands of lives were lost, Rome ascended into power, conquering Carthage and becoming the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. During one point of the Second War, or the Hannibalic War, Carthage nearly brought Rome to her knees. With reinforcement from their Gallic allies, Carthage defeated the Roman army in the Battles of Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae. Had Rome not defeated Carthage, the history Western civilization would be drastically altered, shaping a very different world than the one we live in today. It is said “All roads lead to Rome”. There is a lot of truth to this quote because Rome, with all its power and glory, paved the road for our modern society; it allowed Christianity to spread and flourish, the basis for democracy, and served as melting pot of cultures and customs.Rome can be considered one of the greatest influences on Western civilization, leaving us with priceless gifts that we will always
Since the beginning of time, man has waged war on his neighbors, his friends and his enemies. In many cases these wars were caused by power-hungry nations that were in the process of expanding their empire and ended up stepping on the toes of another superpower or ally of a superpower. In the case of the first Punic War between Rome and Carthage, Carthage was extending its empire and they stepped on Rome’s toes. During the course of this war the winner was unclear but at times victory seemed eminent for both sides until Rome finally won. The Romans had control in the first part of the war but this would not last. After the Romans first win they decided that they needed a victory over the city of Carthage but this would turn the tides in favor of the Carthaginians. For some 15 years after this defeat of Rome the tides went back and forth between the two but would eventually lead to the Romans victory. After the victory, Rome made some very harsh demands and Carthage filled those demands even though some of them were very extreme.
Both Rome and Greece had an impact on the Mediterranean Sea, but Rome had the bigger impact. Rome had more of a educational and trading impact on the Mediterranean. Rome did many trading with food, clothes and other tems with Greece and other countries nearby. They either used their roa or used the Mediterranean Sea to transport goods to other countries. The kind of stuff they imported was things like wool which they can use to make clothes and silk from China to make fine clothes. They also imported more items like dyes cotton and silver, they used dyes to color their clothes, cotton to make the clothes and silver to make jewelry and coins. Rome also gave education, but only to the kids that were wealthy. The kids of slaves and poor
As the story goes, Rome was founding in 753 B.C. by two brothers Remus and Romulus who were raised by wolves. The two brothers started fighting over the leadership of the land. Eventually Romulus killed Remus and took control own his own. The city was only a small settlement at that time. As the civilization grew, the Etruscans took over. The Romans drove out the Etruscans in 509 B.C. By this time Rome had become a city. As the empire came to its peak it included lands throughout the Mediterranean world. Rome had first expanded into other parts of Italy and neighboring places during the Roman Republic, but made wider conquests and made a strong political power for these lands. In 44 BC Gaius Julius Caesar, the Roman leader who ruled the Roman Republic as a dictator was assassinated. Rome descended into more than ten years of civil war. After years of civil war, Caesar's heir Gaius Octavius (also known as Octavian) defeated his last rivals. In 27 B.C. the Senate gave him the name Augustus, meaning the exalted or holy one. In this way Augustus established the monarchy that became known as the Roman Empire. The Roman Republic, which lasted nearly 500 years, did not exist anymore. The emperor Augustus reigned from 27 BC to AD 14 and ruled with great power. He had reestabl...
Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans believed in the well being and wealth of Rome, and if that meant the total destruction of a potential adversary, then as history will show that is unfortunately to the detriment of the adversary what happened.
The process of expansion of civilization and diffusion of culture would go on. The Romans built their empire upon the Mediterranean basin, exploited the advances of the Hellenistic era, and expanded the civilized center into western Europe. The Hellenistic period blended imperceptibly into the Roman era.
Even before the war started, Hannibal knew what he was going to do. Since Carthage had no navy, there was no hope of going directly from Carthage to Italy over the Mediterranean Sea. Hannibal thought up a dangerous but ingenious plan. In order to get to Italy over land, Hannibal and his army would have to travel from Carthage-controlled Spain across the Alps and into the heart of the enemy. Hannibal left in the cold winter of 218 B.C. with 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants. While crossing the Alps, “Hannibal’s force suffered greatly from the elements and the hostility of the local tribesmen” (Beshara, 3). By the time they reached Italy, after only fourteen days, over 9,000 men had perished along with most of the elephants, but this number was soon replenished after 14,000 northern Gaul rebels joined Hannibal’s army. This group of 60,000 men proved superior to the Roman forces, and after at least three recorded major victories, the Roman senate was exasperated. An army of 80,000 Roman soldiers was sent to stop Hannibal’s army of now 50,000 once and for all. In July of 216 B.C., the Romans engaged the Carthaginians in “the neighborhood of Cannae on the Italian east coast” (Lendering, 2). Greatly outnumbered, Hannibal realized that he would have to win by strategy, and that is exactly what he did. As the two lines met, Hannibal’s cavalry gained the flanks and, moving up the sides, attacked the rear of the Roman line.
...s the collision on Carthage from which Rome emerged ruler of the western Mediterranean. Then there is the third the subjection of the Hellenistic states that gravitated Romans in close contact with the Greek civilization.
Carthage was founded about 100years earlier than Rome and had very fertile lands and an excellent harbor. It grew economically and politically through trading Gold from Spain, Ivory, Linen, precious stones, and other valuable minerals from different states. They had a very large number of trading vessels to load these products and carry them from pot to pot. They also had a powerful navy of warships. Like the Roman empire the Carthagean empire acquired dominion over the native races of Africa, the Lydians and the Numidians. These two great states had controls over the small states they made their allies, or members of their confederations. They were almost equal in many ways, and even their economies