the king of Pergamum deeded his kingdom to Rome,
giving Rome its first province in Asia. Rome was now
master of the Mediterranean Sea.The Nature of Roman Imperialism
Rome’s empire was built in three stages: the conquest
of Italy, the conflict with Carthage and expansion into
the western Mediterranean, and the involvement with
and domination of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the
eastern Mediterranean. The Romans did not have a
master plan for the creation of an empire; as in Italy,
much of their continued expansion was opportunistic,
carried out in response to perceived threats to their
security. The more they expanded, the more threats
to their security appeared on the horizon, involving
them in yet more conflicts. Indeed, the Romans liked
to portray themselves as declaring war only for defen-
sive reasons or to protect allies. That is only part of
the story, however. It is likely, as some historians
have suggested, that at some point a group of Roman
aristocratic leaders emerged who favored expansion
both for the glory it offered and for the economic ben-
efits it provided. Certainly, by the second century
B.C.E., aristocratic senators perceived new opportuni-
ties for lucrative foreign commands, enormous spoils
of war, and an abundant supply of slave labor for
their growing landed estates. By that same time, the
destruction of Corinth and Carthage indicated that
Roman imperialism had become more arrogant andbrutal as well. Rome’s foreign success also had enor-
mous repercussions for the internal development of
the Roman republic.Evolution of the Roman Army
By the fourth centuryB.C.E., the Roman army consisted
of four legions, each made up of 4,000 to 5,000 men;
each legion had about 300 cavalry and the rest infantry.
The infantry consisted of three lines of battle. Thehas-
tati(hahs-TAH-tee) (spearmen), made up of the young-
est recruits, formed the front line; they were armed
with heavy spears and short swords and were protected
by a large oval shield, helmet, breastplate, and greaves
(shin guards). Theprincipes(prin-KI-paysorprin-SI-pays)
(chief men), armed and protected like the hastati,
formed the second line. The third line of battle was
formed by thetriarii(tri-AR-ee-ee) (third-rank men),
who knelt behind the first two lines, ready to move up
and fill any gaps. A fourth group of troops, poor citizens
who wore cloaks but no armor and were lightly armed,
functioned as skirmishers who usually returned to the
rear lines after their initial contact with the enemy to
form backup reserves.
In the early republic, the army was recruited from
citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-six
who had the resources to equip themselves for battle.
Since most of them were farmers, they enrolled for
only a year, campaigned during the summer months,
and returned home in time for the fall harvest. Later,
during the Punic Wars of the third centuryB.C.E., the
period of service had to be extended, although the
extension was resisted by farmers, whose livelihoods
could be severely threatened by a long absence.
Nevertheless, after the disastrous defeat at Cannae
in 216 B.C.E.,theRomanswereforcedtorecruit
larger armies, and the number of legions rose to
twenty-five.
In the early centuries of the republic, then, the
Roman army was basically a citizen army led by the
republic’s elected magistrates. The ancient historian
Polybius believed that the Roman army was more suc-
cessful than others because it was an army of citizens
who wanted to defend their homeland. Roman military
success may also have been due to the aggressive
behavior of the Roman military leaders. Major changes
in recruitment would not come until the first century
B.C.E. with the military reforms of Marius (see “A New
Role for the Roman Army: Marius and Sulla” later in
this chapter).CHRONOLOGYThe Roman Conquest of Italy and
the Mediterranean
Defeat of the Latin states 340–338B.C.E.
Samnite Wars 343–290B.C.E.
Defeat of Greek states in southern Italy 281–267B.C.E.
First Punic War 264–241B.C.E.
Second Punic War 218–201B.C.E.
Battle of Cannae 216 B.C.E.
Completion of Roman seizure of Spain 206 B.C.E.
Battle of Zama 202 B.C.E.
Third Punic War 149–146B.C.E.
Incorporation of Macedonia as a Roman
province148 B.C.E.Destruction of Carthage 146 B.C.E.
Roman acquisition of Pergamum 133 B.C.E.104 Chapter 5The Roman RepublicCopyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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