Rome in the Late Republic Free Ebook

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The rape of Lucretia, according to Livywas the fundamental "last straw" in the overthrow of the Etruscan King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. The transition from the Etruscan monarchy to republic BC was not, however, a simple institutional change. In place of the King, the newly founded Republic relied upon its Senate, or patrician class families, to oversee the government and the election of various officials, including two shared power Consuls. This transformation from monarchy to representative style government, headed by the elite social class, would prove to have troubles of its own. Related Page: Kings of Rome. After the overthrow of the Tarquin dynasty, led by Junius Brutus, Rome in the Late Republic ancient Romans avoided a true monarchal government for the remainder of their storied history. Even the later imperial government maintained forms of the republican system. While in practice it could be a system of absolute power for the Emperor, it was theoretically still checked by the Senate and other representative ideals. This same Junius Brutus was later claimed as an ancestor by the Republican loyalist Marcus Brutus who was among the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesarand Rome in the Late Republic the deeply rooted Roman aversion to Kings. It was the era of the Republic in which the great expansion of Roman civilization, power and structure set the path for European dominance. In these formative and expansive Rome in the Late Republic, Rome was ruled by its Senate and its people's assemblies. The offices of power were divided among various elected officials to avoid the conglomeration of power and the re-institution of the monarchy. These magistracies were, in essence, a division of previous monarchal powers. The Romans instituted a constitution which would dictate the traditions and institutions of government for the Roman people. This constitution, however, was not a formal or even written document, but rather a series of unwritten traditions and laws. Deeply rooted in pre-Republican tradition, Rome in the Late Republic essentially maintained all the same monarchal powers and divided them amongst a series of people, rather than in one supreme ruler. Discontent and political upheaval lay ahead for the fledgling Republic, since the new constitution was flawed and exclusive in nature for the general population plebeians. Rome was surrounded by powerful external enemies, including its former Etruscan rulers, and Patrician the hereditary aristocratic families in- fighting with each other and the plebeian common people class was Rome in the Late Republic immediate source of difficulty. The Romans developed a complex client system, where aristocratic families pledged allegiance and voting support to other powerful families. In exchange for political appointments and advocating of various agendas, some power groups were able to subvert the state and the will of the masses for personal gain. The words Patrician and Plebeian have taken on different connotations of wealthy and poor in modern English, but no such distinction existed in Roman times. The two classes were simply ancestral or inherited. A citizen's class was fixed by birth rather than by wealth. Patricians monopolized all of the political offices and Rome in the Late Republic most of the wealth in the early Republic, but there were many wealthy plebeians, and conversly many patrician families had little claim to wealth or prestige other than their family heritage. The Rome in the Late Republic between the plebeians and the patricians sometimes came under intense strain, as a result of this exclusion from political influence. In response the plebeians - on several Rome in the Late Republic - abandoned the city, leaving the patricians without a working class to Rome in the Late Republic their political whims. Roman imperiumor the power of law and command, was fully concentrated in the patrician class. The consuls were elected from among the patricians, as were the quaestorspraetors and censors. The ensuing class conflicts Rome in the Late Republic the domination of political power by one class over another, in a virtual transfer of power from King to Senate, was called "the struggle of the orders". In effect, it was simply the recurring pattern of the patrician class attempting to hold onto power, while the plebeians worked to rise to social and political equality. The patricians, while mostly secure in their wealth and noble foundation, were also unable to exist without the plebeians. The plebeian class not only produced the grain and supplied the labor that maintained the Roman economy ; they also formed the recruiting basis as soldiers for the Roman republican legions. In BC, only 15 years after the founding of the Republic, a withdrawal of plebeians to the Sacred Mount outside Rome, ushered in a fundamental change to the Republican government. The plebes formed a tribal assembly, and their own alternative government, Rome in the Late Republic the patricians agreed to the establishment of an office that would have sacrosanctity sacrosanctitas. This was the right to be legally protected from any physical harm, and the right of help ius auxiliandimeaning the legal ability to rescue any plebeian from the hands of a patrician magistrate. These magistrate positions were labelled as Tribunes or tribuni plebes. Later, the tribunes acquired a far more formidable, and often manipulated Rome in the Late Republic, the right of intercession ius intercessio. This was the right to veto any act or proposal of any magistrate, including another tribune, for the good of the people. The tribune also had the power to exercise capital punishment against any person who interfered in the performance of his duties. The tribune's power to act was enforced by a pledge of the plebeians to kill any person who harmed a tribune during his term of office. In BC, another Plebeian withdrawal from the city led to the appointment of the decemvirateor a commission of ten men. This eventually resulted in the adoption of the bronze engraved Laws of the Twelve Tablesand raised the number of plebeian Tribunes to In BC, the Canuleian law legalized marriages between patricians and members of the plebs. Along with later inter-class adoptions, plebeians were allowed additional class mobility and eventual inclusion into previous Patrician-only magistracies. In BC the plebeians gained the right to be elected consul, and a year later in BC the first was elected. Thereafter, the Licinian-Sextian laws demanded that at least one consul be a plebeian. After the completion of the term of consular office, the plebeian consul became a member of the Rome in the Late Republic, resulting in the disintegration of the patrician hold on the Senate. Furthermore, in Rome in the Late Republic, plebeians were allowed to serve at all levels of the priesthood, thus making them religiously equal to the patricians. Finally, the greatest achievement of power for the people, in BC, the decisions and legislation of the plebeian assembly, Concilium Plebis or "Council of the Plebeians", became not only binding on the plebeians, but on the entire Roman citizenry. All power was not shifted away from the patricians, however. While still maintaining significant power through clients and the prestige of their heritage, they were also able to turn the tables. Using the plebeian adoption methodology for upward mobility, some patricians used it to adopt into the plebeian class and become available to serve as plebeian-only Tribunes. While a rare occurrence, such mobility made the entire political spectrum open to the ruling Rome in the Late Republic. This political upheaval brought about a new aristocracy, composed of patrician and wealthy plebeian families, and admission to the Senate became almost the hereditary privilege of these families. The Senate, which in its original function maintained no law making and little administrative power, became a powerful governing force. They oversaw matters of war and peace, foreign alliances, the founding of colonies, and the handling of the state finances. The rise of this new nobilitas ended the conflict between the upper echelons of the two orders, but the position of the poorer plebeian families was not improved. In fact, a class designation of equestrian knightoriginally composed of patrician senatorial families, developed into one including plebes that signified a particular level of wealth, and further separated the plebeian elite from the common people. The decided contrast between the conditions of the rich and the poor led to struggles in the later Republic between the aristocratic party and the popular party. These struggles developed into one of several major factors in the eventual collapse of the Republican system. As the Romans never had a written constitution, it is difficult to neatly fit their government into anything that corresponds to modern systems. However, especially from the time of the passage of the Lex Hortensia BCit is similar to that Rome in the Late Republic the American division of executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as the Roman system was the basis for the American one. The system developed into one of checks and balances, with the aristocratic Patrician-dominated Senate being counterbalanced by popular elections of chief magistrates and the Plebeian Tribunes. These were composed of all Roman male citizens, requiring individuals to attend in person in order to vote. No debate from the floor was possible, and votes were counted in groups, not individually the vote of each group was determined by the vote of the majority of individuals in that group. All three assemblies Rome in the Late Republic the entire electorate of citizens, but each Rome in the Late Republic a different internal organization and therefore differences in the weight of an individual citizen's vote. In essence, each voting citizen had three potential votes, but each carried a different weight or responsibility. The oldest Rome in the Late Republic of organization within the Roman system. The 30 curiae of the early city 10 for each of the 3 early tribeswere based on clan and family associations. The Curiate was limited to patricians as it reflected the oldest and most distinguished of the tribes. Each member had a single vote and the majority victor within each Curiate had one vote. This meant there were 30 separate votes within each Curiate, and that the Curiata as a whole would then have one vote to support its majority opinion. The Curiata became obsolete as a legislative body with the rise of plebeian assemblies and Rome in the Late Republic classifications of the nobility, but preserved its functions of endowing senior magistrates with imperium and witnessing religious affairs. The head of each curia was at least 50 years in age and elected for life. The most important of the Comitia units of organization within the Roman political system. There were centuries, divided into 6 classes based on wealth and age, which were originally reflective of military units. Membership in the classes was based on the capability to furnish armed men in groups of hence century. This group was Rome in the Late Republic by the patrician and equestrian class, as the votes were weighted in favor of land owners and wealthy. The Centuriate elected censors and magistrates with imperium consuls and praetorswas the proper body for approving the declaration of war; passed some laws; and served as the highest court of appeal in cases involving capital punishment. The Plebeian assembly was originally intended for the election of tribunes and deliberation of plebeians. The organization consisted of 1 urban tribe and Rome in the Late Republic rural tribes, in which the membership was based on place of residence until BC. From that date on, local significance was largely lost, and membership was based mainly on heredity. The Tributa and later a subassembly, the Concilium Plebis elected the lower magistrates tribunes, aediles, quaestors. As it was simpler to convene and register 35 tribes than centuries, it was more Rome in the Late Republic used to pass legislation plebiscites. Voting in favor of 31 less-densely populated rural tribes - with presence in Rome required to cast a ballot - the assembly was controlled by landed aristocracy. It eventually became the chief law-making body, as the laws of the Tribal Assembly became binding on the entire state. Victory over Carthage in the Third Punic War and conquests in the east transformed the city state of Rome into an empire. By the latter part of the 2nd Century BC, the rapid expansion, massive influx of slave laboropportunity for corruption in new provinces and the continuing development of social class disorder also brought about a distinct new era in Roman history. While there was still considerable opposition to Roman power in the Mediterranean, the Romans suddenly found themselves as the only western superpower in the region. Ultimately, the governing of this power would soon prove difficult by the Senate and the Rome in the Late Republic Republican ways. Mismanagement of the new Rome in the Late Republic provincesalong with revolts and resistance to Roman authority was one source of constant strife for nearly two centuries. One such event, the Numantine War against the restless Celtiberians, from to BC, gave the Romans access to the interior of Rome in the Late Republic, but also proved that continuing expansion was to be challenged at every step. Complete subjugation of Hispania wouldn't be completed until the reign of Augustusand only after centuries of bloody fighting. The military atmosphere in Spain during the later years of the Republic would also become a hot point for rebellious leaders i. Sertorius who sought to take advantage of ongoing political turmoil in Rome. The wars with Carthage had produced some 75, slaves and a great deal more were imported from eastern conquestsfrom Epirus alone. While Romans everywhere initially benefited from this new cheap labor, eventually the common masses found regular work hard to find as they had been effectively replaced by it. As Rome's economy shifted from one of labor by freedmen strictly into that of slavery, a new aristocracy arose. Slave trading was the new profit center for the elite, and every excess was taken to get their share. Ancient Rome - Facts, Location, & Timeline - HISTORY

The fall of Carthage and Corinth did not even mark a temporary end to warfare. War and military glory were an essential part of the Roman aristocratic ethos and, hence, of Roman political life. Rome in the Late Republic from major wars still to come, small wars on the frontiers of Roman power—never precisely fixed—continued to provide an essential motive in Roman history: in Spain, Sardinia, Illyria, and Macedoniabarbarians could be defeated and triumphs won. Thus the limits of Roman power were gradually extended and the territories within them pacified, while men of noble stock rivaled the virtus of their ancestors and new men staked their own competing claims, winning glory essential to political advancement and sharing the booty with their Rome in the Late Republic and soldiers. Nonetheless, the coincidence of the capture of Corinth and Carthage was even in antiquity regarded as a turning point in Roman history: it was the end Rome in the Late Republic the time being of warfare against civilized powers, in which the danger was felt to be greater and the glory and Rome in the Late Republic booty were superior to those won against barbarian tribes. The first immediate effect was on the administration of the empire. The military basis of provincial administration remained: the governor as he is called was in Roman eyes a commander with absolute and unappealable powers over all except Roman citizens, within the limits of the territory his provincia assigned to him normally by the Senate. He was always prepared—and in some provinces expected—to fight and win. But it had been found that those unlimited powers were often abused and that Senate control could not easily be asserted at increasing distances from Rome. For political and perhaps for moral reasons, excessive abuse without hope of a remedy could not be permitted. Hence, when the decision to annex Carthage and Macedonia had been made in principle bca permanent court the quaestio repetundarum was established at Rome to hear complaints against former commanders and, where necessary, to assure repayment of illegal exactions. Another result of the new conquests was a major administrative departure. When Africa and Macedonia became provinciae to be regularly assigned to commanders, it was decided to break with precedent by Rome in the Late Republic increasing the number of senior magistrates praetors. Rome in the Late Republic was the beginning of the dissociation between urban magistracy and foreign command that was to become a cardinal principle of the system of Sulla and of the developed Roman Empire. It is not clear to what extent the temporary end of the age of major wars helped to produce the crisis of the Roman Republic. The general view of thinking Romans was that the relaxation of external pressures led to internal disintegration. This has happened in other states, and the view is not to be lightly dismissed. Moreover, the end of Rome in the Late Republic booty led to economic recession in Rome, thus intensifying poverty and discontent. But the underlying crisis had been building up over a long period. Article Contents. Load Previous Page. The Late Republic —31 bc The aftermath of the victories The fall of Carthage and Corinth did not even mark a temporary end to warfare. Changes in provincial administration The first immediate effect was on the administration of the empire. Social and economic ills It is not clear to what extent the temporary end of the age of major wars helped to produce the crisis of the Roman Republic. Load Next Page. Timeline of Late Period in Roman Republic History

Rome in the Late Republic was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city 's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. Roman society under the Republic was a cultural mix of Latin, Etruscanand Greek elements, which is especially visible in the Roman Pantheon. Its political organisation was strongly influenced by the Greek city states of Magna Graeciawith collective and annual magistracies, overseen by a Rome in the Late Republic. While there were popular elections each year, the Republic was not a democracybut an oligarchyas a small number of powerful families called gentes monopolised the main Rome in the Late Republic. Roman institutions underwent considerable changes throughout the Republic to adapt to the difficulties it faced, such as the creation of promagistracies to rule its conquered provincesor the composition of the senate. Unlike the Pax Romana of the Roman Empire, the Republic was in a state of quasi-perpetual war throughout its existence. Its first enemies were its Latin and Etruscan neighbours as well as the Gaulswho even sacked the city in BC. The Republic nonetheless Rome in the Late Republic extreme resilience and always managed to overcome its losses, however catastrophic. After the Gallic Sack, Rome conquered the whole Italian peninsula in a century, which turned the Republic into a major power in the Mediterranean. The Republic's greatest enemy was doubtless Carthageagainst which it waged three wars. With Carthage defeated, Rome became the dominant power of the ancient Mediterranean world. At home, the Republic similarly experienced a long streak of social and political crises, which ended in several violent civil wars. At first, the Conflict of the Orders opposed the patriciansthe closed oligarchic elite, to the far more numerous plebswho finally achieved political equality in several steps during Rome in the Late Republic 4th century BC. Later, the vast conquests of the Republic disrupted its society, as the immense influx of slaves they brought enriched the aristocracy, but ruined the peasantry and urban workers. In order to solve this issue, several social reformers, known as the Popularestried to pass agrarian laws, but the Gracchi brothersSaturninusor Clodius Pulcher were all murdered by their opponents, the Optimateskeepers of the traditional aristocratic order. Mass Rome in the Late Republic also caused three Servile Wars ; the last of them was led by Spartacusa skilful gladiator who ravaged Italy and left Rome powerless until his defeat in 71 BC. In Rome in the Late Republic context, the last decades of the Republic were marked Rome in the Late Republic the rise of great generals, who exploited their military conquests and the factional situation in Rome Rome in the Late Republic gain control of the political system. Marius between and 86 BCthen Sulla between 82 and 78 BC dominated in turn the Republic; both used extraordinary powers to purge their opponents. These multiple tensions led to a series of civil wars ; the first between the two generals Julius Caesar and Pompey. Despite his victory and appointment as dictator for lifeCaesar was murdered in 44 BC. The final defeat of Mark Antony alongside his ally and lover Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and the Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian as Augustus in 27 BC — which effectively made him the first Roman emperor — thus ended the Republic. Since the foundation of Romeits rulers had been monarchs, elected for life by the patrician noblemen who made up the Roman Senate. In the traditional histories, Tarquin was expelled in because his son Sextus Tarquinius had raped the noblewoman Lucretiawho afterwards took her own life. Lucretia's father, her husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinusand Tarquin's nephew Lucius Junius Brutus mustered support from the Senate and army, and forced Tarquin into exile in Rome in the Late Republic. The Senate agreed to abolish kingship. Most of the king's former functions were transferred to two consuls, who were elected to office for a term of one year. Each consul Rome in the Late Republic the capacity to act as a check on his colleagueif necessary through the same power of veto that the kings had held. If a consul abused his powers in office, Rome in the Late Republic could be prosecuted when his term expired. Brutus and Collatinus became Republican Rome's first consuls. Despite Collatinus' role in the creation of Rome in the Late Republic Republic, he belonged to the same family as the former king, and was forced to abdicate his office and leave Rome. He was replaced as co-consul by Publius Valerius Publicola. Most modern scholarship describes these events as the quasi-mythological detailing of an aristocratic coup within Tarquin's own family, not a popular revolution. They fit a narrative of a personal vengeance against a tyrant leading to his overthrow, which was common among Greek cities and even theorised by Aristotle. According to Rome's traditional histories, Tarquin made several attempts to retake the throne, including the Tarquinian conspiracywhich involved Brutus' own sons, the war with Veii and Tarquinii and finally the war between Rome and Clusium ; but none succeeded. The first Roman republican wars were wars of both expansion and defence, aimed at protecting Rome itself from neighbouring cities and nations and establishing its territory in the region. One by one Rome defeated both the persistent Sabines and the local cities, both those under Etruscan control and those that had cast off their Etruscan rulers. Rome defeated the Latin cities in the Battle of Lake Regillus inthe Battle of Mount Algidus inthe Battle of Corbio inthe Battle of Aricia, however it suffered Rome in the Late Republic significant defeat at the Battle of the Cremera in wherein it fought against the most important Etruscan city of Veii. By the end of this period, Rome had effectively completed the conquest of their immediate Etruscan and Latin neighbours, and also secured their position against the immediate Rome in the Late Republic posed by the nearby Apennine hill tribes. Beginning with their revolt against Tarquin, and continuing through the early years Rome in the Late Republic the Republic, Rome's patrician aristocrats were Rome in the Late Republic dominant force in politics and society. They initially formed a closed group of about 50 large families, called genteswho monopolised Rome's magistracies, state priesthoods and senior military posts. The most prominent of these families were the Cornelii[i] followed by the AemiliiClaudiiFabiiand Valerii. The power, privilege and influence of leading families derived from their wealth, in particular from their landholdings, their position as patronsand their numerous clients. The vast majority of Roman citizens were commoners of various social degrees. They formed the backbone of Rome's economy, as smallholding farmers, managers, artisans, traders, and tenants. In times of war, they could be summoned for military service. Most had little direct political influence over the Senate's decisions or the laws it passed, including the Rome in the Late Republic of the monarchy and the creation of the consular system. During the early Republic, the plebs or plebeians emerged as a self-organised, culturally distinct group of commoners, with their own internal hierarchy, laws, customs, and interests. Plebeians had no access to high religious and civil office, [ii] and could be punished for offences against laws of which they had no knowledge. The first such secession occurred inin protest at the abusive treatment of plebeian debtors by the wealthy during a famine. To represent their interests, the plebs elected tribuneswho Rome in the Late Republic personally sacrosanctimmune to arbitrary arrest by any magistrate, and had veto power over the passage of legislation. Byseveral Gallic tribes were invading Italy from the north. The Romans were alerted to this when a particularly warlike tribe, the Senones[22] invaded two Etruscan towns close to Rome's sphere of influence. These towns, overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers and ferocity, called on Rome for help. The Gauls, led by the chieftain Brennusdefeated the Roman army of approximately 15, troops, pursued the fleeing Romans back to Rome, and sacked the city before being either driven off or bought off. From toRome won two battles against their Samnite neighbours, Rome in the Late Republic were unable to consolidate their gains, due to the outbreak of war with former Latin allies. The Latins submitted to Roman rule. A Second Samnite War began in The war ended with Samnite defeat at the Battle of Bovianum By the following year, Rome had annexed most Samnite territory and began to establish colonies there; but in the Samnites rebelled, and defeated a Roman army, in a Third Samnite War. Following this success they built a coalition of several previous enemies of Rome. At the Battle of Populonia in Rome finished off the last vestiges of Etruscan power in the region. In the 4th century, plebeians gradually obtained political equality with patricians. The starting point was inwhen the first plebeian consular tribunes were elected; likewise, several subsequent consular colleges counted plebeians in, and The reason behind this sudden gain is unknown, [26] but it was limited as patrician tribunes retained preeminence Rome in the Late Republic their plebeian colleagues. The issue of debt relief for the plebs remained indeed pressing throughout the century. Livy tells that Capitolinus sold his estate to repay the debt of many of them, and even went over to the plebs, the first patrician to do so. Nevertheless, the growing unrest he had caused led to his trial for seeking kingly power; he was sentenced to death and thrown from the Tarpeian Rock. Between andthe tribunes of Rome in the Late Republic plebs Gaius Licinius Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus continued the plebeian agitation and pushed for an ambitious legislation, known as the Leges Liciniae Sextiae. Two of their bills attacked patricians' economic supremacy, by creating legal protection against indebtedness and forbidding excessive use of public land, as the Ager publicus was monopolised by large landowners. The most important bill opened the consulship Rome in the Late Republic plebeians. Finally, the resolution of the crisis came from the dictator Camilluswho made a compromise with the tribunes; he agreed to their bills, while they in return consented to the creation of the offices of praetor and curule aediles, both reserved to patricians. Lateranus also became the first plebeian consul in ; Stolo followed in Soon after, plebeians were able to hold both the dictatorship and the censorship, since former consuls normally filled these senior magistracies. The four time consul Gaius Marcius Rutilus became the first plebeian dictator in and censor in Inthe tribune of the plebs Lucius Genucius passed his Leges Genuciaewhich abolished interest on loans, in a renewed effort to tackle indebtedness, required the election of at least one plebeian consul each year, and prohibited a magistrate from holding the same magistracy for the next ten years or two magistracies in the same year. His first law followed the Lex Genucia by reserving one censorship to plebeians, the second made plebiscites binding on all citizens including patriciansand the third stated that the Senate had to give its prior approval to plebiscites before becoming binding on all citizens the Lex Valeria- Horatia of had placed this approval after the vote. During the early republic, senators were chosen by the consuls among their supporters. Shortly beforethe Lex Ovinia transferred this power to the censors, who could only remove senators for misconduct, thus appointing them for life. This law strongly increased the power of the Senate, which was by now protected from the influence of the consuls and became the central organ of government. He also incorporated these freedmen in the rural tribes. Inthe two tribunes of the plebs Gnaeus and Quintus Ogulnius passed the Lex Ogulniawhich created four plebeian pontiffs, therefore equalling the number of patrician pontiffs, and five plebeian augurs, outnumbering the four patricians in the college. The details are Rome in the Late Republic known precisely as Livy's books on the period are lost. Debt is once again mentioned by ancient authors, but it seems that the plebs revolted over the distribution of the land conquered on the Samnites. Hortensius passed the Lex Hortensia which re-enacted the law ofmaking plebiscites binding on all citizens, but also removed the Senate's prior approval to plebiscites. Popular assemblies were by now sovereign; this put an end to the crisis, and to plebeian agitation for years. These events were a political victory of the wealthy plebeian elite who exploited the economic difficulties of the plebs for their own gain, hence why Stolo, Lateranus, and Genucius bound their bills attacking patricians' political supremacy with debt-relief measures. They had indeed little in common with the mass of plebeians; Stolo was noteworthy fined for having exceeded the limit on land occupation he had fixed in his own law. They were replaced by plebeian aristocrats, of whom the most emblematic were the Caecilii Metelliwho received 18 consulships until the end of the Republic; the DomitiiFulviiLiciniiMarciior Sempronii were as successful. About a dozen remaining patrician gentes and twenty plebeian ones thus formed a new elite, called the nobilesor Nobilitas. By the beginning of the 3rd century, Rome had established itself as the major power in Italy, but had not yet come into conflict with the dominant military powers of the Mediterranean : Carthage and the Greek kingdoms. It triggered a violent reaction from the Tarentine democrats, who sank some of the ships; they were in fact worried that Rome could favour the oligarchs in the city, as it had done with the other Rome in the Late Republic cities under its control. The Roman embassy sent to investigate the affair was insulted and war was promptly declared. A cousin of Alexander the Greathe was eager to build an empire for himself in the western Mediterranean, and saw Tarentum's plea as a perfect opportunity towards this goal. Pyrrhus and his army of 25, men and 20 war elephants landed in Italy in ; he was immediately named Strategos Autokrator by the Tarentines. Publius Valerius Laevinusthe consul sent Rome in the Late Republic face him, rejected the king's negotiation offer, as he had more troops and hoped to cut the invasion short. The Romans were nevertheless defeated at Heracleaas their cavalry were afraid of the elephants of Pyrrhus, who lost a large portion of his army. Pyrrhus then marched on Rome in the Late Republic, but could not take any Roman city on his way; facing the prospect of being flanked by the two consular armies, he moved back to Tarentum. His adviser, the orator Cineasmade a peace offer before the Roman Senate, asking Rome to return the land it took from the Samnites and Lucanians, and liberate the Greek cities under its control. The offer was rejected after Appius Caecus the old censor of spoke against it in a celebrated speech, which was the earliest recorded by the time of Cicero.

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