Over the next century, it cemented its status by conquering coastal territory in the modern-day countries of Greece, Turkey, Egypt and others until it completely surrounded the Mediterranean Sea.Īfter that, Rome used its impressively large army to extend outward in various bursts, sometimes just taking advantage of neighboring states and kingdoms as they fell. ![]() Rome was now the major hegemonic power in the Mediterranean region. It also conquered all of Carthage’s territory in North Africa and made it a Roman province. ![]() This time, Rome destroyed the capital city of Carthage in modern-day Tunisia and enslaved the city’s inhabitants. “And that’s very different from what they were doing even in the third century.” Conquering Territory in North Africa Yet by the time it entered the Third Punic War, “Rome has definitely decided that it is just going to take territory,” he says. Again, Rome defeated Carthage and conquered some of its territory, this time in Spain. During the Second Punic War, Rome found itself on the defense as the Carthagian general Hannibal and his elephants marched over the Alps and south into Italy. “The First Punic War is something that they kind of stumble into, but they’re happy to take territory as a result of it,” Watts says.Īfter Rome pushed Carthage out of Sicily in the first war, the Italian island became Rome’s first foreign province. Taking this new territory wasn’t something Rome had initially intended to do. Yet instead of extending its republic into these territories or forming alliances, Rome designated these new territories as provinces and appointed Roman governors to oversee them. to 146 B.C., Rome spread over multiple Mediterranean islands and onto the east coast of modern-day Spain. During the Punic Wars with Carthage between 264 B.C. This strategy of absorption changed as Rome conquered its first overseas territories. From Hutchinson's History of the Nations, published 1915. The Roman victory at The Battle of Mylae, 260 B.C. READ MORE: Why Ancient Rome Needed Immigrants to Become Powerful Roman Conquests Reach Overseas Still, it never extended citizenship to the many enslaved people in Italy obtained through trade, piracy, wars and other means. Later, in the first century B.C., it extended Roman citizenship to all free people. “The absorption of Italy was actually an absorption it wasn’t supposed to be a colonial regime,” he says. Over the next two-and-a-half centuries, Rome spread throughout the Italian Peninsula by conquering territories and either making them independent allies or extending Roman citizenship. The conquest of Veii was “a big turning point for because they take over a territory that’s half the size of the territory they already have,” Watts says. Instead of destroying Veii, the classicist Mary Beard argues the Romans largely let the city continue operating as it had before, only under Roman control and with the understanding that Rome could conscript free men for the Roman army. The republic’s first significant expansion came in 396 B.C., when Rome defeated and captured the Etruscan city of Veii. Įven so, Rome was still relatively small by the time it transitioned from a kingdom to a republic in 509 B.C. After a siege of many years they finally won victory after digging into the soft tuff rock below the walls while distracting the Veiians with attacks on the walls and infiltrating the city's drainage system to emerge in the citadel. The taking of the Etruscan city of Veii by the Romans in 396 B.C. So the idea of them expanding is always deep in the historical DNA of the republic, and even the monarchy before the republic.” Rome Expands With Capture of Etruscan City “Marcius is one of the early Roman kings, and he’s said to actually have engaged in expansion and extended the city to incorporate other hills. “There’s a tradition going back to basically Roman prehistory, mythological history, where they talk about the expansion of the city under the kings,” he says. WATCH: Full episodes of Colosseum online now. Watts, a professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, and author of Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell Into Tyranny. Rome’s desire to expand had deep historical roots, says Edward J. The Roman Empire conquered these lands by attacking them with unmatched military strength, and it held onto them by letting them govern themselves. ![]() Over the next eight and a half centuries, it grew from a small town of pig farmers into a vast empire that stretched from England to Egypt and completely surrounded the Mediterranean Sea. Legend has it that Romulus and Remus-twin brothers who were also demi-gods- founded Rome on the River Tiber in 753 B.C.
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