ment, in fact, was encouraged under Alexander. Finally, there
were a small number of nomadic peoples on the fringes of the
Greek world and minor pastoral nomadism within it. Th at
is, some shepherds and goatherds practiced transhumance,
moving seasonally in search of better pastures—typically to
higher ground in winter. Th is practice was limited in scope,
however, by the political fragmentation of the Greek world: A
move of any great distance involved crossing from the terri-
tory of one polis to another and was therefore more diffi cult
than in places (such as Persia) where a large amount of terri-
tory was under the authority of a central government.
ROME
BY MICHAEL J. O’NEAL
Th e history of migration and population movements in an-
cient Rome corresponds in many respects to the history of
the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. For a period of
nearly a millennium, Rome and its infl uence on culture, poli-
tics, religion, art, engineering, commerce, and government
spread outward throughout the Mediterranean region into
western and eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East,
and North Africa. In the wake of Rome’s spread—and some-
times in advance of it—the peoples of these regions, princi-
pally their Roman overlords, were oft en on the move.
Archaeological evidence shows that the fi rst inhabit-
ants of the area around Rome arrived around 1400 b.c.e.
By around 625 b.c.e. numerous settlers had moved into the
region and had drained the marshes in the low-lying areas
around Rome, laying the foundations for the largest and most
civilized city of ancient Europe. Th ere they created a market-
place, the Forum, which was destined to become the center of
the Roman Empire.
At about the same time, an ancient people called the
Etruscans, from the region of Italy called Etruria, north of
the Tiber River, moved into the region and contributed to the
development of Roman civilization by ruling the area around
Rome. Further, by about 750 b.c.e. the Greeks had moved into
the southern portions of the Italian peninsula and into Sicily,
a large island just off the “toe” of Italy. Th ey, too, infl uenced
the development of Roman civilization to the extent that his-
torians oft en refer to “Greco-Roman” culture rather than just
Roman culture.
ROMAN EXPANSION
Th e fi rst major historical event that had a bearing on Roman
expansion was the establishment of the Roman Republic in
about 500 b.c.e. A popular uprising against the Etruscan king
led to the formation of a republican form of government, and
Rome, with its own constitution, popular assemblies, and
Senate, was formed. At this point in its history, though, ex-
pansion and population movements were diffi cult, in large
part because of the geography of the Italian peninsula.
Mountains, in particular the Apennines, extend across the
top of Italy and then down the “boot.” Th ey divide the penin-
sula into regions, and the Po River to the north was a formi-
dable obstacle to the movement of peoples in that direction.
What is called “Italy” in modern times did not exist; rather,
the peninsula consisted of a number of discrete regions, in-
cluding not only Etruria but also Umbria, Latium, Samnium,
Campania, Puglia, and Magna Graecia (or “Greater Greece,”
the southern region inhabited by Greeks).
Th e process of uniting these regions into a single politi-
cal entity was long, beginning in the fourth century b.c.e.
Sometimes the early Romans defended and expanded their
frontiers through negotiation and treaty, including a treaty
with Latium, the region that surrounded Rome, leading to
the outward migration of the early Romans. Sometimes they
did it through conquest, such as Rome’s victory over the
Etruscans in 396 b.c.e., which allowed the Romans to migrate
farther throughout the peninsula. Sometimes, though, there
were setbacks, such as the successful invasion of Rome by the
Gauls, the Celtic people from north of the Po River, in 390
b.c.e. A century later the Greeks in Magna Graecia recruited
King Pyrrhus of Epirus to lead an invasion of Rome; the inva-
sion was successful but at the cost of many casualties (giving
rise to the modern expression “Pyrrhic victory,” or a victory
that comes at a great price). In both cases Rome was able to
rebound and continue its expansion.
Th e great age of Roman expansion around the Mediter-
ranean began in 264 b.c.e. with the fi rst of three so-called
Punic Wars. Th ese wars were launched against the Phoeni-
cians (whom the Romans called the Phoeni, the source of
the word Punic). Th e Phoenicians ruled an empire from
Carthage, a city they had founded in northern Africa, so
they are usually referred to as the Carthaginians. In the
First Punic War, Rome seized the island of Sicily from the
Carthaginians in 241 b.c.e. Th en in 238 b.c.e. it seized the
islands of Sardinia and Corsica, which had both been ruled
from Carthage. Th e Second Punic War erupted in 219 b.c.e.,
when the Carthaginians, under the leadership of the gen-
eral Hannibal, expanded their empire into Spain and then
invaded Italy. (Hannibal is most famous for his use of el-
ephants in crossing the mountains into Italy.) But while
Hannibal won a victory over the Romans, he was unable to
break up the alliance of states in the Roman Republic, and
he had to withdraw when Roman troops invaded Spain and,
in 204 b.c.e., Carthage itself. Th e Th ird Punic War began
in 149 b.c.e and ended when Rome captured and destroyed
Carthage in 146 b.c.e. With its victory over the Carthagin-
ians complete, Rome ruled a strip of North Africa. In the
aft ermath of these wars the Roman people spread steadily
outward from their capital.
To the east Rome continued its expansion, fi rst into
Macedonia (in modern times a portion of Yugoslavia but
at the time part of the Greek Empire) in 190 b.c.e. A major
event took place in 146 b.c.e., when Rome annexed Greece,
ending the Greek Empire. Th us, by 146 b.c.e. Rome was the
undisputed power in the region surrounding the Mediter-
ranean Sea.migration and population movements: Rome 715