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Home , 221 BC, 241 BC, 264 BC, First Punic War, Punic Wars, Scipio Aemilianus

Rise of an Empire The lasted for centuries, gaining territory largely by being attacked. Neighboring civilizations attempted to conquer , but were defeated and their existing territory lost to Roman control. Over time, the empire grew from a city to a city-state and into an empire with several people groups under the control of the Republic. Throughout this long period of time their form of government evolved, with lower classes gaining a voice in government. But there remained the idea of self-government – that at least some of the people would be able to elect their leaders and they would not have a king. Eventually, that system would come to an end, though the Empire would last for several more centuries.

REXCERPTS FROM THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE CHOSEN BY MRS. SOLTESZ UPDATED: SEP 13, 2019 ORIGINAL: OCT 29, 2009 The three Punic Wars between and Rome took place over nearly a century, beginning in 264 B.C. and ending in Roman victory with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C. By the time the broke out, Rome had become the dominant power throughout the , while Carthage–a powerful city-state in northern –had established itself as the leading maritime power in the world. The First Punic War began in 264 B.C. when Rome interfered in a dispute on the Carthaginian-controlled island of ; the war ended with Rome in control of both Sicily and and marked the empire’s emergence as a naval as well as a land power. In the , the great Carthaginian general invaded and scored great victories at Lake Trasimene and Cannae before his eventual defeat at the hands of Rome’s Africanus in 202 B.C., which left Rome in control of the western Mediterranean and much of . In the , the Romans, led by Scipio the Younger, captured and destroyed the city of Carthage in 146 B.C., turning Africa into yet another province of the mighty .

Background and First Punic War (264-241 B.C.) Tradition holds that Phoenician settlers from the Mediterranean port of Tyre founded the city-state of Carthage on the northern coast of Africa, … around 814 B.C. (The word “Punic” was derived from the word for Phoenician.) By 265 B.C., Carthage was the wealthiest and most advanced city in the region, as well as its leading naval power. Though Carthage had clashed violently with several other powers in the region, notably Greece, its relations with Rome were historically friendly, and the cities had signed several treaties defining trading rights over the years. In 264 B.C., Rome decided to intervene in a dispute on the western coast of the island of Sicily (then a Carthaginian province) involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of . While Carthage supported Syracuse, Rome supported Messina, and the struggle soon exploded into a direct conflict between the two powers, with control of Sicily at stake. Over the course of nearly 20 years, Rome rebuilt its entire fleet in order to confront Carthage’s powerful navy, scoring its first sea victory at Mylae in 260 B.C. and a major victory in the Battle of Ecnomus in 256 B.C. Though its of that same year ended in defeat, Rome refused to give up, and in 241 B.C. the Roman fleet was able to win a decisive victory against the Carthaginians at sea, breaking their legendary naval superiority. At the end of the First Punic War, Sicily became Rome’s first overseas province.

Comprehension questions: First Punic War 1. Were relations between Rome and Carthage friendly or hostile before the First Punic War? 2. What event sparked the first Punic War? 3. What did Rome have to develop in order to confront Carthage? 4. Who won?

Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.) Over the next decades, Rome took over control of both Corsica and as well, but Carthage was able to establish a new base of influence in Spain beginning in 237 B.C., under the leadership of the powerful general Barca and, later, his son-in-law Hasdrubal. According to and in their histories of Rome, , who died in 229 B.C., made his younger son Hannibal swear a blood oath against Rome when he was just a young boy. Upon Hasdrubal’s death in 221 B.C., Hannibal took command of Carthaginian forces in Spain. Two years later, he marched his army across the River into Saguntum, a city under Roman protection, effectively declaring war on Rome. The Second Punic War saw Hannibal and his troops–including as many as 90,000 , 12,000 and a number of elephants–march from Spain across the and into Italy, where they scored a string of victories. Hannibal’s daring invasion of Rome reached its height at the in 216 B.C., where he used his superior cavalry to surround a twice the size of his own and inflict massive casualties. After this disastrous defeat, however, the Romans managed to rebound, and the Carthaginians lost hold in Italy as Rome won victories in Spain and North Africa under the rising young general Publius Cornelius Scipio (later known as ). In 203 B.C., Hannibal’s forces were forced to abandon the struggle in Italy in order to defend North Africa, and the following year Scipio’s army routed the Carthaginians at . Hannibal’s losses in the Second Punic War effectively put an end to Carthage’s empire in the western Mediterranean, leaving Rome in control of Spain and allowing Carthage to retain only its territory in North Africa. Carthage was also forced to give up its fleet and pay a large indemnity to Rome in silver.

Comprehension questions: Second Punic War 1. What event in Hannibal’s childhood might have prompted him to attack Rome? 2. What unusual item(s) did Hannibal take across the Alps into Rome? 3. Who was the Roman general who won victories in Spain and Northern Italy during the Second Punic War? By what name was he known later? Why do you think his name was changed?

Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.) The Third Punic War, by far the most controversial of the three conflicts between Rome and Carthage, was the result of efforts by and other hawkish members of the to convince their colleagues that Carthage (even in its weakened state) was a continuing threat to Rome’s supremacy in the region. In 149 B.C., after Carthage technically broke its treaty with Rome by declaring war against the neighboring state of , the Romans sent an army to North Africa, beginning the Third Punic War. Carthage withstood the Roman for two years before a change of Roman command put the young general (later known as Scipio the Younger) in of the North Africa campaign in 147 B.C. After tightening the Roman positions around Carthage, Aemilianus launched a forceful attack on its harbor side in the spring of 146 B.C. After seven days of horrific bloodshed, the Carthaginians surrendered. The surviving 50,000 citizens of Carthage were sold into slavery. By year’s end, Rome reigned supreme over an empire stretching from the Atlantic coast of Spain to the border between Greece and Asia Minor (now Turkey).

Comprehension questions: Third Punic War 1. What started the Third Punic War? 2. What do you think “hawkish” means in the first paragraph of the section on the Third Punic War? 3. What did Rome gain from the Third Punic War?

Citation Information Article Title: Punic Wars Author: History.com Editors Website Name: HISTORY URL: https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/punic-wars Access Date: April 23, 2020 Publisher: A&E Television Networks Last Updated: September 13, 2019 Original Published Date: October 29, 2009

Roman Republic to Roman Empire

Abridged by Mrs. Soltesz https://rvms.dcsdk12.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_142278/File/Becky%20Carson/Roman%20Republic%20to %20Roman%20Empire%20--%20Foldable%20Reading%20Article.pdf Start of the Roman Revolution By the second century B.C., the Senate had become the real governing body of the Roman state. Members of the Senate were usually wealthy landowners, and they remained Senators for life. Rome’s government had started out as a Republic in which citizens elected people to represent them. But the Senate was filled with wealthy aristocrats who were not elected. Rome was slowly turning into an aristocracy, and the majority of middle and lower class citizens began to resent it. Land was usually at the center of class struggles in Rome. The wealthy owned most of the land while the farmers had found themselves unable to compete financially with the wealthy landowners and had lost most of their lands. As a result, many of these small farmers drifted to the cities, especially Rome, forming a large class of landless poor. Changes in the Roman army soon brought even worse problems. Starting around 100 B.C. the Roman Republic was struggling in several areas. 1)The territory of Rome was expanding quickly and the republic form of government could not make decisions and create stability for the new territories. 2) The Republic was also experiencing problems with collecting taxes from its citizens. The larger area of the growing Roman territory created difficulties with collecting taxes from a larger population. 3) The Roman Republic struggled to have a strong police force. Without police it was difficult to enforce the laws and bring justice to those who committed crimes. 4) There was also a lot of corruption within the Roman Senate. Many Senators were only focused on gaining more power and not making decisions that were best for the civilization. Many Senators were also taking bribes. Many elections were rigged to support the wealthy, and not the plebeian class. For the next 50 years (82-31 B.C.), Roman history was characterized by civil wars as a number of individuals competed for power. This increased violence in Rome. Three men eventually emerged as victors.

Comprehension Questions: Start of the Roman Revolution 1. How long did Senators get to be Senators? 2. Who could be a Senator? 3. How could this create a problem?

The First Triumvirate Triumvirate = 3 people ruling with equal power In 60 B.C., joined with Marcus Crassus and Gnaeus to form the First Triumvirate. Crassus was known as the richest man in Rome. Pompey was a general (and also Caesar’s son-in-law) who had returned as a military hero from a successful command in Spain. Julius Caesar also had a military command in Spain. The combined wealth and power of these three men was enormous and allowed them to become very powerful. In 60 B.C., Caesar, Crassus and Pompey joined together to form the First Triumvirate, or a government by three people with equal power. Pompey received command of Spain, Crassus was given command of , and Caesar was given command of (modern-day France). When Crassus was killed in battle in 53 B.C., however, only two powerful men were left. Leading senators decided that rule by Pompey alone would be to their benefit. They voted for Caesar to lay down his command. Caesar refused. During his time in Gaul (modern France), his soldiers became loyal to him, not to Rome. He chose to move his army into Italy by illegally crossing the Rubicon River (to this day the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” is used to mean being unable to turn back because when Caesar made the decision to cross his army and attack, he would not be able to take it back). Caesar marched on Rome, starting a civil war between his forces and Pompey’s. Caesar chased Pompey into Egypt where Caesar met the beautiful female pharaoh and fell in love with her. Pompey was killed in Egypt in the eventual defeat of his forces. This left Caesar in control of the Roman government. He was officially made dictator in 45 B.C., but his decisions still had to be approved by the Senate. He enacted many reforms and had plans for many more, but in 44 B.C. he was assassinated by a group of Senators who had become afraid of Caesar’s power. Comprehension Questions: The First Triumvirate 1. Who were the members of the first Triumvirate? What was each man known for? 2. Why did the Senate vote for Caesar to “lay down his command”? 3. What does “crossing the Rubicon” mean today? 4. How did Julius Caesar die?

The Second Triumvirate After Caesar’s death, a new struggle began. Three men - Octavian (Caesar’s heir and grandnephew); Marc Antony, Caesar’s ally and assistant; and Marcus Lepidus, who had been a commander of Caesar’s cavalry - joined forces to form the Second Triumvirate. Within a few years, however, Lepidus was pushed out of the Triumvirate. The remaining two men divided the Roman world between them. Octavian took the west; Antony took the east. Octavian and Antony soon came into conflict. Antony allied himself with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII. Like Caesar before him, Antony had fallen deeply in love with her. To gain power, Octavian had to defeat Antony. At the Battle of Actium in Greece in 31 B.C., Octavian’s forces smashed the army and the navy of Antony and Cleopatra. Both fled to Egypt, where they eventually committed suicide together. Octavian Becomes Emperor Octavian, at the age of 32, stood as the ruler over the Roman world. The civil wars in Rome had ended. So had Rome’s Republican form of government. The period beginning in 31 B.C. and lasting until 14 A.D. came to be known as the Age of . In 27 B.C., the Roman Senate granted Octavian the name Augustus, meaning “the exalted or honored.” They also gave him the legal power to rule Rome’s religious, civil and military affairs. The Senate gave advice to Augustus. The Senate gave him the title imperator, or commander in chief. Imperator gave us the word emperor. Augustus proved to be a very popular ruler, but his continuing control of the army was the chief source of his power. Rome achieved great glory under Octavian/Augustus. He restored peace after 100 years of civil war; maintained an honest government and a sound currency (money) system; extended the highway system connecting the different parts of Rome, developed an efficient postal service; helped free trade among the provinces; and built many bridges, aqueducts and buildings adorned with beautiful works of art created in the classical style. The empire expanded under Augustus with his generals subduing Spain, Gaul (now France), Panonia and Dalmatia (now parts of Hungary and Croatia). He added Egypt and most of southwestern Europe up to the Danube River. Augustus’s rise to power initiated the end of self-government in Rome. After his death, the people of the Roman Empire worshipped Augustus as a god. He was a wise ruler, but many of the Roman emperors who came after him were not. Without any limits placed on the emperor’s power, the Roman people were at an emperor’s mercy.

Comprehension Questions: Second Triumvirate 1. What 3 men made up the second Triumvirate? How does the article identify each man? (general, son of, etc.) 2. What female pharaoh is mentioned twice in this article? How is she important to the events? 3. What happened to Marc Antony? 4. What happened to Octavian?