EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

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POWERS EXERCISED BY THE SENATE

The Senate furnished an admirable school for debate. Any senator could
speak as long and as often as he chose. The opportunities for discussion
were numerous, for all weighty matters came before this august assemblage.
It managed finances and public works. It looked after the state religion.
It declared and conducted war, received ambassadors from foreign
countries, made alliances, and administered conquered territories. The
Senate formed the real governing body of the republic.

"AN ASSEMBLY OF KINGS"

The Senate proved not unworthy of its high position. For two centuries,
while Rome was winning dominion over Italy and the Mediterranean, that
body held the wisest and noblest Romans of the time. To these men office
meant a public trust--an opportunity to serve their country with
distinction and honor. The Senate, in its best days, was a splendid
example of the foresight, energy, and wisdom of republican Rome. An
admiring foreigner called it "an assembly of kings." [23]

[Illustration: A SCENE IN SICILY
Taormina, on the Sicilian coast, thirty one miles southwest of Messina.
The ruins are those of a theater, founded by the Greeks, but much altered
in Roman times. The view of Aetna from this site is especially fine.]

[Illustration: BAY OF NAPLES AND VESUVIUS]

53. EXPANSION OF ROME OVER ITALY, 509(?)-264 B.C.

ROME SUPREME IN LATIUM, 338 B.C.

The first centuries of the republic were filled with constant warfare. The
Romans needed all their skill, bravery, and patriotism to keep back the
Etruscans on the north, and the wild tribes of the Apennines. About 390
B.C. the state was brought near to destruction by an invasion of the
Gauls. [24] These barbarians, whose huge bulk and enormous weapons struck
terror to the hearts of their adversaries, poured through the Alpine
passes and ravaged far and wide. At the river Allia, only a few miles from
Rome, they annihilated a Roman army and then captured and burned the city
itself. But the Gallic tide receded as swiftly as it had come, and Rome
rose from her ashes mightier than ever. Half a century after the Gallic
invasion she was able to subdue her former allies, the Latins, and to
destroy their league. The Latin War, as it is called, ended in 338 B.C.,
the year of the fateful battle of Chaeronea in Greece. [25] By this time
Rome ruled in Latium and southern Etruria and had begun to extend her sway
over Campania. There remained only one Italian people to contest with her
the supremacy of the peninsula--the Samnites.

ROME SUPREME IN CENTRAL ITLAY, 290 B.C.

The Samnites were the most vigorous and warlike race of central Italy.
While the Romans were winning their way in Latium, the Samnites were also
entering on a career of conquest. They coveted the fertile Campanian plain
with its luxurious cities, Cumae and Neapolis, which the Greeks had
founded. The Romans had also fixed their eyes on the same region, and so a
contest between the two peoples became inevitable. In numbers, courage,
and military skill Romans and Samnites were well matched. Nearly half a
century of hard fighting was required before Rome gained the upper hand.
The close of the Samnite wars found Rome supreme in central Italy. Her
authority was now recognized from the upper Apennines to the foot of the
peninsula.

ROME SUPREME IN SOUTHERN ITALY, 264 B.C.

The wealthy cities of southern Italy offered a tempting prize to Roman
greed. Before long many of them received Roman garrisons and accepted the
rule of the great Latin republic. Tarentum, [26] however, the most
important of the Greek colonies, held jealously to her independence.
Unable single-handed to face the Romans, Tarentum turned to Greece for
aid. She called on Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, the finest soldier of his age.
Pyrrhus led twenty-five thousand mercenary soldiers into Italy, an army
almost as large as Alexander's. The Romans could not break the bristling
ranks of the Greek phalanx, and they shrank back in terror before the huge
war elephants which Pyrrhus had brought with him. The invader won the
first battle, but lost many of his best troops. He then offered peace on
condition that the Romans should give up their possessions in southern
Italy. The Senate returned the proud reply that Rome would not treat with
the enemy while he stood on Italian soil. A second battle was so bitterly
contested that Pyrrhus declared, "Another such victory, and I am lost."
[27] Weary of the struggle, Pyrrhus now crossed over to Sicily to aid his
countrymen against the Carthaginians. The rapid progress of the Roman arms
called him back, only to meet a severe defeat. Pyrrhus then withdrew in
disgust to Greece; Tarentum fell; and Rome established her rule over
southern Italy.

POLITICAL SITUATION IN 264 B.C.

The triumph over Pyrrhus and the conquest of Magna Graecia mark a decisive
moment in the history of Rome. Had Pyrrhus won Italy, as well as Asia and
Egypt, might have become a Greek land, ruled by Hellenistic kings. Now it
was clear that Rome, having met the invader so bravely, was to remain
supreme in the Italian peninsula. She was the undisputed mistress of Italy
from the strait of Messina northward to the Arnus and the Rubicon.
Etruscans, Latins, Samnites, and Greeks acknowledged her sway. The central
city of the peninsula had become the center of a united Italy. [28]

[Illustration: Map, THE EXPANSION of ROMAN DOMINIONS in ITALY, 500-264
B.C.]

54. ITALY UNDER ROMAN RULE

THE ROMAN CITIZENS

Italy did not form a single state under Roman rule. About one-third of
Italy composed the strictly Roman territory occupied by Roman citizens.
Since ancient Rome knew nothing of the great principle of representative
government, [29] it was necessary that citizens who wished to vote or to
stand for office should visit in person the capital city. Few men, of
course, would journey many miles to Rome in order to exercise their
political rights. The elections, moreover, were not all held on one day,
as with us, but consuls, praetors, and other magistrates were chosen on
different days, while meetings of the assemblies might be held at any time
of the year. A country peasant who really tried to fulfill his duties as a
citizen would have had little time for anything else. In practice,
therefore, the city populace at Rome had the controlling voice in ordinary
legislation. The Romans were never able to remedy this grave defect in
their political system. We shall see later what evils government without
representation brought in its train.

THE ITALIANS

Over against this body of Roman citizens were the Italian peoples. Rome
was not yet ready to grant them citizenship, but she did not treat them as
complete subjects. The Italians were called the "allies and friends" of
the Roman people. They lost the right of declaring war on one another, of
making treaties, and of coining money. Rome otherwise allowed them to
govern themselves, never calling on them for tribute and only requiring
that they should furnish soldiers for the Roman army in time of war. These
allies occupied a large part of the Italian peninsula.

THE LATIN COLONIES

The Romans very early began to establish what were called Latin colonies
[30] in various parts of Italy. The colonists were usually veteran
soldiers or poor plebeians colonies who wanted farms of their own. When
the list of colonists was made up, they all marched forth in military
array to lake possession of their new homes and build their city. The
Latin colonies were really offshoots of Rome and hence were always
faithful to her interests. Scattered everywhere in Italy they formed so
many permanent camps or garrisons to keep the conquered peoples in
subjection. At the same time they helped mightily in spreading the Latin
language, law, and civilization throughout the peninsula.

ROMAN ROADS

All the colonies were united with one another and with Rome by an
extensive system of roads. The first great road, called the Appian Way,
was made during the period of the Samnite wars. It united the city of Rome
with Capua and secured the hold of Rome on Campania. The Appian Way was
afterwards carried across the Apennines to Brundisium on the Adriatic,
whence travelers embarked for the coast of Greece. Other trunk lines were
soon built in Italy, and from them a network of smaller highways was
extended to every part of the peninsula.

[Illustration: Map, COLONIES AND MILITARY ROADS IN ITALY]

[Illustration: THE APPIAN WAY
A view in the neighborhood of Rome. The ancient construction of the road
and its massive paving blocks of lava have been laid bare by modern
excavations. The width of the roadway proper was only fifteen feet. The
arches, seen in the background, belong to the aqueduct built by the
emperor Claudius in 52 A.D.]

USES OF ROMAN ROADS

Roman roads had a military origin. Like the old Persian roads [31] they
were intended to facilitate the rapid dispatch of troops, supplies, and
official messages into every corner of Italy. Hence the roads ran, as much
as possible, in straight lines and on easy grades. Nothing was allowed to
obstruct their course. Engineers cut through or tunneled the hills,
bridged rivers and gorges, and spanned low, swampy lands with viaducts of
stone. So carefully were these roads constructed that some stretches of
them are still in good condition. These magnificent highways were free to
the public. They naturally became avenues of trade and travel and so
served to bring the Italian peoples into close touch with Rome.

ROMANIZATION OF ITALY

Rome thus began in Italy that wonderful process of Romanization which she
was to extend later to Spain, Gaul, and Britain. She began to make, the
Italian peoples like herself in blood, speech, customs, and manners. More
and more the Italians, under Rome's leadership, came to look upon
themselves as one people--the people who wore the gown, or _toga_, as
contrasted with the barbarous and trousers-wearing Gauls.

[Illustration: A ROMAN LEGIONARY
From a monument of the imperial age. The soldier wears a metal helmet, a
leather doublet with shoulder-pieces, a metal-plated belt, and a sword
hanging from a strap thrown over the left shoulder. His left hand holds a
large shield, his right, a heavy javelin.]

55. THE ROMAN ARMY

THE LEGION

While the Romans were conquering Italy, they were making many improvements
in their army. All citizens between the ages of seventeen and forty-six
were liable to active service. These men were mainly landowners--hardy,
intelligent peasants--who knew how to fight and how to obey orders. An
army in the field consisted of one or more legions. A legion included
about three thousand heavy-armed footmen, twelve hundred light infantry,
and three hundred horsemen. After the conquest of Italy the states allied
with Rome had to furnish soldiers, chiefly archers and cavalry. These
auxiliaries, as they were called, were at least as numerous as
legionaries. The Romans, in carrying on war, employed not only their
citizens but also their subjects.

METHOD OF FIGHTING

The legion offered a sharp contrast to the unwieldy phalanx. [32] Roman
soldiers usually fought in an open order, with the heavy-armed infantry
arranged in three lines: first, the younger men; next, the more
experienced warriors; and lastly the veterans. A battle began with
skirmishing by the light troops, which moved to the front and discharged
their darts to harass the enemy. The companies of the first line next
flung their javelins at a distance of from ten to twenty paces and then,
wielding their terrible short swords, came at once to close quarters with
the foe. It was like a volley of musketry followed by a fierce bayonet
charge. If the attack proved unsuccessful, the wearied soldiers withdrew
to the rear through the gaps in the line behind. The second line now
marched forward to the attack; if it was repulsed, there was still the
third line of steady veterans for the last and decisive blow.

[Illustration: A ROMAN STANDARD BEARER (Bonn Museum)
From a gravestone of the first century A.D. The standard consists of a
spear crowned with a wreath, below which is a crossbar bearing pendant
acorns Then follow, in order, a metal disk, Jupiter's eagle standing on a
thunderbolt, a crescent moon, an amulet, and a large tassel.]

FORTIFIED CAMPS

A very remarkable part of the Roman military system consisted in the use
of fortified camps. Every time the army halted, if only for a single
night, the legionaries intrenched themselves within a square inclosure. It
was protected by a ditch, an earthen mound, and a palisade of stakes. This
camp formed a little city with its streets, its four gates, a forum, and
the headquarters of the general. Behind the walls of such a fortress an
army was always at liberty to accept or decline a battle. As a proverb
said, the Romans often conquered by "sitting still."

DISCIPLINE: REWARDS AND HONORS

Roman soldiers lived under the strictest discipline. To their general they
owed absolute, unquestioning obedience. He could condemn them to death
without trial. The sentinel who slept on his watch, the legionary who
disobeyed an order or threw away his arms on the field of battle, might be
scourged with rods and then beheaded. The men were encouraged to deeds of
valor by various marks of distinction, which the general presented to them
in the presence of the entire army. The highest reward was the civic crown
of oak leaves, granted to one who had saved the life of a fellow-soldier
on the battle field.

THE TRIUMPH

The state sometimes bestowed on a victorious general the honor of a
triumph. This was a grand parade and procession in the city of Rome. First
came the magistrates and senators, wagons laden with booty, and captives
in chains. Then followed the conqueror himself, clad in a gorgeous robe
and riding in a four-horse chariot. Behind him marched the soldiers, who
sang a triumphal hymn. The long procession passed through the streets to
the Forum and mounted the Capitoline Hill. There the general laid his
laurel crown upon the knees of the statue of Jupiter, as a thank offering
for victory. Meanwhile, the captives who had just appeared in the
procession were strangled in the underground prison of the Capitol. It was
a day of mingled joy and tragedy.

MILITARY GENIUS OF THE ROMANS

The Romans, it has been said, were sometimes vanquished in battle, but
they were always victorious in war. With the short swords of her
disciplined soldiers, her flexible legion, and her fortified camps, Rome
won dominion in Italy and began the conquest of the world.

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the Roman dominions in 509 B.C.; in 338
B.C.; in 264 B.C.

2. Make a list of the Roman magistrates mentioned in this chapter, and of
the powers exercised by each.

3. Give the meaning of our English words "patrician," "plebeian,"
"censor," "dictator," "tribune," "augury," "auspices," and "veto."

4. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 753 B.C.; 509 B.C.;
and 338 B.C.

5. Why have Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica been called the "suburbs of
Italy"?

6. "Italy and Greece may be described as standing back to back to each
other." Explain this statement.

7. What is the origin of our names of the two months, January and March?

8. Compare the early Roman with the early Greek religion as to (a)
likenesses; (b) differences.

9. Why have the consuls been called "joint kings for one year"?

10. What do you understand by "martial law"? Under what circumstances is
it sometimes declared in the United States?

11. Compare the position of the Roman patricians with that of the Athenian
nobles before the legislation of Draco and Solon.

12. What officers in American cities perform some of the duties of the
censors, praetors, and aediles?

13. In the Roman and Spartan constitutions contrast: (a) consuls and
kings; (b) censors and ephors; and (c) the two senates.

14. Compare the Roman Senate and the Senate of the United States as to
size, term of office of members, conditions of membership, procedure,
functions, and importance.

15. How far can the phrase, "government of the people, by the people, for
the people," be applied to the Roman Republic at this period?

16. What conditions made it easy for the Romans to conquer Magna Graecia
and difficult for them to subdue the Samnites?

17. What is a "Pyrrhic victory"?

18. Compare the nature of Roman rule over Italy with that of Athens over
the Delian League.

19. Trace on the map, page 156, the Appian and Flaminian ways, noting some
of the cities along the routes and the terminal points of each road.

20. Explain: "all roads lead to Rome."

21. Contrast the legion and the phalanx as to arrangement, armament, and
method of fighting.

22. "Rome seems greater than her greatest men." Comment on this statement.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Webster, _Readings in Ancient History_, chapter xiv, "Legends of Early
Rome."

[2] See page 67.

[3] See page 28.

[4] See pages 53, 61.

[5] Naples, the ancient Neapolis, was a colony of Cumae. See page 89.

[6] See the map facing page 50.

[7] The Romans believed that their city was founded in 753 B.C., from
which year all Roman dates were reckoned.

[8] See the map, page 293.

[9] See page 146.

[10] Cato, _De agricultura_, I.

[11] See page 6.

[12] See the illustration, page 7.

[13] Since a door (_janua_) had two sides, Janus, the door god, was
represented with the curious double face which appears on Roman coins (See
the plate facing page 134) The month of January in the Julian calendar was
named for him.

[14] Latin _auspicium_, from _auspex_, a bird seer.

[15] The title of the president of the pontiffs, _Pontifex Maximus_
(Supreme Pontiff), is still that of the pope. See page 364.

[16] See page 81.

[17] See page 143.

[18] See page 83.

[19] From the Latin _patres_, "fathers."

[20] Latin _plebs_, "the crowd."

[21] See page 85.

[22] See page 105.

[23] The four letters inscribed on Roman military standards indicate the
important place held by the Senate. They are _S. P. Q. R._, standing for
_Senatus Populusque Romanus_, "The Senate and the People of Rome."

[24] See page 129.

[25] See page 118.

[26] See page 89.

[27] Plutarch, _Pyrrhus_, 21.

[28] It should be noticed, however, that as yet Rome controlled only the
central and southern parts of what is the modern kingdom of Italy. Two
large divisions of that kingdom, which every Italian now regards as
essential to its unity, were in other hands--the Po valley and the island
of Sicily.

[29] See page 106.

[30] Latin colonists did not have the right of voting in the assemblies at
Rome. This privilege was enjoyed, however, by members of the "Roman"
colonies, which were planted mainly along the coast. See the map, page
156.

[31] See page 40.

[32] See page 116.

CHAPTER VIII

THE GREAT AGE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, 264-31 B.C. [1]

56. THE RIVALS: ROME AND CARTHAGE, 264-218 B.C.

THE PUNIC WARS

The conquest of Italy made Rome one of the five leading states of the
Mediterranean world. In the East there were the kingdoms of Macedonia,
Syria, and Egypt, which had inherited the dominions of Alexander the
Great. In the West there were Carthage and Rome, once in friendly
alliance, but now to become the bitterest foes. Rome had scarcely reached
the headship of united Italy before she was involved in a life-and-death
struggle with this rival power. The three wars between them are known as
the Punic wars; they are the most famous contests that ancient history
records; and they ended in the complete destruction of Carthage.

FOUNDATION OF CARTHAGE

More than a century before the traditional date at which Rome rose upon
her seven hills, Phoenician colonists laid the foundations of a second
Tyre. The new city occupied an admirable site, for it bordered on rich
farming land and had the largest harbor of the north African coast. A
position at the junction of the eastern and western basins of the
Mediterranean gave it unsurpassed opportunities for trade. At the same
time Carthage was far enough away to be out of the reach of Persian or
Macedonian conquerors.

COMMERCIAL EMPIRE OF CARTHAGE

By the middle of the third century B.C. the Carthaginians had formed an
imposing commercial empire. Their African dominions included the strip of
coast from Cyrene westward to the strait of Gibraltar. Their colonies
covered the shores of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and southern Spain. The
western half of the Mediterranean had become a Carthaginian lake.

CARTHAGINIAN CIVILIZATION

Before the opening of the Punic wars Carthage had been much enlarged by
emigrants from Tyre, after the capture of that city by Alexander. [2] The
Phoenician colonists kept their own language, customs, and beliefs and did
not mingle with the native African peoples. Carthage in form was a
republic, but the real power lay in the hands of one hundred men, selected
from the great merchant families. It was a government by capitalists who
cared very little for the welfare of the poor freemen and slaves over whom
they ruled. The wealth of Carthage enabled her to raise huge armies of
mercenary soldiers and to build warships which in size, number, and
equipment surpassed those of any other Mediterranean state. Mistress of a
wide realm, strong both by land and sea, Carthage was now to prove herself
Rome's most dangerous foe.

[Illustration: COLUMN OF DUILIUS (RESTORED)
The Roman admiral, Duilius, who won a great victory in 260 B.C., was
honored by a triumphal column set up in the Forum. The monument was
adorned with the brazen beaks of the captured Carthaginian vessels. Part
of the inscription, reciting the achievements of the Roman fleet, has been
preserved.]

ORIGIN OF THE FIRST PUNIC WAR

The First Punic War was a contest for Sicily. The Carthaginians aimed to
establish their rule over that island, which from its situation seems to
belong almost as much to Africa as to Italy. But Rome, having become
supreme in Italy, also cast envious eyes on Sicily. She believed, too,
that the Carthaginians, if they should conquer Sicily, would sooner or
later invade southern Italy. The fear for her possessions, as well as the
desire to gain new ones, led Rome to fling down the gage of battle.

COURSE AND RESULTS OF THE WAR, 264-241 B.C.

The contest between the two rival states began in 264 B.C. and lasted
nearly twenty-four years. The Romans overran Sicily and even made an
unsuccessful invasion of Africa, but the main struggle was on the sea.
Here at first the Romans were at a disadvantage, for they had no ships as
large and powerful as those of the Carthaginians. With characteristic
energy, however, they built several great war fleets and finally won a
complete victory over the enemy. The treaty of peace provided that
Carthage should abandon Sicily, return all prisoners without ransom, and
pay a heavy indemnity.

THE INTERVAL OF PREPARATION, 241-218 B.C.

Carthage, though beaten, had not been humbled. She had lost Sicily and the
commercial monopoly of the Mediterranean. But she was not ready to abandon
all hope of recovering her former supremacy. The peace amounted to no more
than an armed truce. Both parties were well aware that the real conflict
was yet to come. The war, however, was delayed for nearly a quarter of a
century. During this interval Rome strengthened her military position by
seizing the islands of Sardinia and Corsica from Carthage and by
conquering the Gauls in the Po valley. The Carthaginians, meanwhile, began
to create a new empire in Spain, whose silver mines would supply fresh
means for another contest and whose hardy tribes would furnish soldiers as
good as the Roman legionaries.

57. HANNIBAL AND THE GREAT PUNIC WAR, 218-201 B.C.

BEGINNING OF THE SECOND PUNIC WAR, 218 B.C.

The steady advance of the Carthaginian arms in Spain caused much
uneasiness in Rome and at length led that city to declare war. Carthage
herself was not unwilling for a second trial of strength. Her leading
general, Hannibal, who had been winning renown in Spain, believed that the
Carthaginians were now in a position to wage an aggressive war against
their mighty rival. And so the two great Mediterranean powers, each
confident of success, renewed the struggle for supremacy.

HANNIBAL

At the opening of the conflict Hannibal was not quite twenty-seven years
of age. While yet a mere child, so the story went, his father had led him
to the altar, and bade him swear by the Carthaginian gods eternal enmity
to Rome. He followed his father to Spain and there learned all the duties
of a soldier. As a master of the art of war, he ranks with Alexander the
Great. The Macedonian king conquered the world for the glory of conquest;
Hannibal, burning with patriotism, fought to destroy the power which had
humbled his native land. He failed; and his failure left Carthage weaker
than he found her. Few men have possessed a more dazzling genius than
Hannibal, but his genius was not employed for the lasting good of
humanity.

HANNIBAL'S INVASION OF ITALY

The Romans planned to conduct the war in Spain and Africa, at a distance
from their own shores. Hannibal's bold movements totally upset these
calculations. The Carthaginian general had determined that the conflict
should take place in the Italian peninsula itself. Since Roman fleets now
controlled the Mediterranean, it was necessary for Hannibal to lead his
army, with its supplies, equipment, and beasts of burden, by the long and
dangerous land route from Spain to Italy. In the summer of 218 B.C.
Hannibal set out from Spain with a large force of infantry and cavalry,
besides a number of elephants. Beyond the river Ebro he found himself in
hostile territory, through which the soldiers had to fight their way. To
force the passage of the Pyrenees and the Alps cost him more than half his
original army. When, after a five months' march he stood on the soil of
Italy, Hannibal had scarcely twenty-five thousand troops with which to
meet the immense power of Rome--a power that, given time, could muster to
her defense more than half a million disciplined soldiers.