THE PERIOD OF FOREIGN CONQUEST
The most glorious period of Roman history, from the military
standpoint, followed closely upon the cessation of fierce national
contests in the fourth century before Christ. The united efforts of
patricians and plebeians, devoted to the task of foreign conquest,
proved sufficient in a few generations to win for Rome her world
empire.
"The fifth century is the most beautiful century of Rome.
The plebeians had conquered the consulship and are
succeeding in conquering their admission to other
magistracies which the patricians wished to reserve; they
free themselves from the servitude which, under the name of
Nexus, weighed on the debtors. They arrive at political
equality and individual independence; at the same time the
old aristocracy still dominates in the Senate and maintains
there the inflexibility of its resolves and the persistence
of its designs. It was thanks to this interior condition
that the Roman people was able to survive the strongest
tests from without over which it had triumphed, and to make
that progress which cost it most dear. We see the peoples
fight, one by one, and often all together; the Latin people,
the Etruscans, the Goths, the Samnites, the other Sabellic
peoples of the Apennines; and the end is always victory.
The beginnings of this history were somber. Rome was
afflicted by one of those pestilences which one finds in all
the epochs of the history of this unsanitary city. Thence
was the origin of those scenic pieces imported by the
Etruscans and giving origin to comedy--a means devised to
appease the gods; so that Roman comedy had an origin
religious and dismal. The fifth century is for Rome the age
of great devotions and of grand sacrifices." (J. J. Ampère
in _L'empire romaine à Rome_.)
A full description of the various military campaigns of Rome would
tend to obscure rather than to illumine the political and economic
history of the city. An enumeration of the foreign conquests of Rome
during this period, however, is necessary to indicate the rapid
increase in the territorial possessions of Rome, with their inevitable
reaction upon the domestic conditions of the republic.
The first wars of Rome after the passage of the Licinian Laws were
renewed contests with her neighboring enemies. In 361 B.C. Rome was
again threatened by a new invasion of the Gauls. The following year
the Roman records mention a victory over the Hernicans by one Roman
consul, and over the Gauls, and the Latins of Tibur, by the other.
This alliance of the Gauls with a portion of the Latins so alarmed
the majority of the Latin cities that a new league between the Romans
and Latins was formed in 358 B.C. The Gauls soon after retired from
the neighborhood of Latium, and their allies, Tibur and Privernum,
were compelled to enter the new Latin League.
A war waged against Rome by the Etruscan city of Tarquinii and its
allies so seriously threatened Rome that the Roman political factions
forgot their differences so far as to agree to the appointment (for
the first time in the history of the city) of a plebeian, in the
person of C. Marcius Rutilus, to the office of dictator. The old
jealousy of the patricians, however, was soon manifested again in the
opposition of the Senate to the granting of a triumph to this plebeian
for the great military victory which he soon won.
In 350 B.C. a third invasion of the Gauls was repulsed by the Romans.
The next great contest in which Rome was engaged was that with the
Samnites. This race was both the most worthy and the most bitter of
the enemies of Rome within Italy, and the long warfare between Rome
and the Samnites was terminated only by the practical extermination
of the latter race. The First Samnite War extended from 343 to 341
B.C. and was indecisive in its results, the Samnites at its close
agreeing to give a year's pay and three months' provisions to the
Roman army, and being permitted to make war on the Sidicini.
The close of the First Samnite War was followed closely by the Latin
War (340-338 B.C.). This war was brought about by the jealousy felt by
the other Latin towns toward Rome. Rome had been abusing her position
as the capital of the Latin League, and desired to acquire an
acknowledged supremacy over Latium. The war was an effort on the part
of the other Latin cities to restrain the too rapidly increasing power
of Rome and to reëstablish the balance of power in Latium. In this war
was seen the extraordinary spectacle of the Samnites appearing as
allies of Rome. The Hernicans also aided the Romans, and the Sidicini
and Campanians aided the Latins. The war resulted in the complete
overthrow of the Latins; but the Romans showed great generosity and
good judgment in their treatment of the conquered cities after the
war, and thus did much toward binding the Latins to Rome for the
future.
The main provisions of the peace agreements were as follows: Roman
citizenships, in different degrees, were conferred upon the
inhabitants of the various Latin towns, who were, however, forbidden
to form any leagues among themselves or to hold diets; intermarriage
and commerce between the different Latin towns were prohibited; the
_municipium_ such as the Latins had previously possessed was given to
the citizens of Capua, Cumæ, Formiæ, Fundi, and Suessula; the Latin
contingents in the Roman army were henceforth to be permitted to serve
apart from the legions under their own officers; and the Latin public
land, two thirds of that of Privernum, and the lands in the Falernian
district of Campania were taken by Rome, as were also the lands of the
principal families of Velitræ, who were compelled to emigrate beyond
the Tiber.
Ten years of peace followed, and then came the second and greatest of
the Samnite wars (327-304 B.C.). The Samnites were aided during part
of the war by the Etruscans and the Hernicans, but at the end the
Samnites were compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome and give
up their independence. The Hernicans were completely overthrown in 307
B.C., and were united to Rome on conditions very similar to those
possessed by the Latins.
In the Third Samnite War (298-290 B.C.) the Romans were again
victorious, although a league of Samnites, Etruscans, Gauls, and
Umbrians was formed against them. The exact terms of the treaty of
peace at the conclusion of this war are not recorded, but undoubtedly
riveted Roman control still more strongly upon Samnium.
It was the final result of the Roman-Samnite wars which finally
determined the question of the overlordship of Italy. Of all the
numerous races of Italy, two and only two possessed the stamina which
rendered them possible unifiers of the whole peninsula. Rome's defeat
of Samnium left her without a rival in Italy and ready for contests
with her later and greater rivals. The close of the Third Samnite War,
however, did not end the resistance of the Samnites to Roman rule.
Even down to the time of the contests of Marius and Sulla we find this
race grasping every opportunity to strike a blow against Roman
dominion.
In 284 B.C. the Tarentines succeeded in bringing about a union of the
Samnites, Lucanians, Umbrians, Bruttians, Etruscans, and Gauls against
Rome. This war was a series of victories for the Romans. By the year
282 B.C. all of the Roman enemies were subdued except the Etruscans,
with whom the war continued until 280 B.C. In this last-named year the
Romans, alarmed by the danger of war with Pyrrhus, concluded a peace
with the Etruscans on such terms as changed these people from
bitterest enemies into most faithful allies.
The time had now arrived when Rome was called upon for the first time
to cross arms with enemies from beyond the Italian peninsula. The
first of these contests with a foreign power was fought out entirely
within the confines of Italy.
The year 280 B.C. saw the beginning of the contest between Rome and
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, who had been summoned to Italy as an ally of
the Greek city of Tarentum. At the outset the Romans suffered two
great defeats, at Heraclea and on the plain of Apulian Asculum,
largely through their inability to meet the attacks of the phalanxes
and of the war elephants. In the end, however, Pyrrhus, although aided
by all the enemies of Rome in southern and central Italy, ended his
campaign in failure and returned to Epirus in 275 B.C., his dream of a
great western empire forever shattered.
In the ten years following the departure of Pyrrhus the subjugation of
all Italy was completed, followed by a reorganization of the
government of the Roman colonies and subject cities.
The second foreign enemy of Rome was Carthage, and the most dramatic
pages in the whole history of Roman conquest are those which relate
the story of the contest between these two titanic rivals for world
supremacy. The immediate cause of the First Punic War arose over the
possession of Messana, a city in Sicily separated from Italy by only a
narrow strait; but war between Rome and Carthage was inevitable; and
if Messana had not become the bone of contention, another would have
been found. The First Punic War lasted from 264 to 241 B.C. and
resulted in victory for Rome. By the terms of peace Carthage gave up
Sicily and all the small islands between Sicily and Italy, and paid a
heavy war indemnity to Rome. Shortly after the close of the war the
Romans, by threats, compelled the Carthaginians to surrender also the
islands of Sardinia and Corsica.
In 230 B.C. the Romans were engaged in war with the Illyrian pirates;
and from 226 to 221 B.C. with the Insubrian Gauls, both of which
conflicts resulted in easy victories for the Roman arms.
In the meantime Hamilcar, his son Hannibal, and his son-in-law
Hasdrubal had been busy in Spain, reducing it under Carthaginian rule
and preparing it to be used as a base of operation from which an
invasion of Italy might be attempted whenever a favorable opportunity
should present itself.
In 227 B.C. the Romans, becoming alarmed at the spread of the
Carthaginian empire in Spain, insisted on a treaty by which the river
Ebro was fixed as the northern boundary beyond which the control of
Carthage should never extend. In 219 B.C. Hannibal (whose father and
brother-in-law had by this time both fallen in the war) attacked the
city of Saguntum, which, though south of the Ebro, was an ally of
Rome. No heed being taken of the Roman remonstrances, war was again
declared.
The Second Punic War lasted from 218 to 202 B.C. The early years of
this war saw a long series of Carthaginian victories, and their great
general, Hannibal, has ever since ranked as one of the greatest
military geniuses in history. This war, however, has been well
described as that of a man against a nation; and in the end the nation
conquered. The final battle was that of Zama, fought in Africa in 202
B.C.
By the terms of the treaty of peace made at the close of this war
Carthage surrendered to Rome all her territorial possessions outside
of Africa, all her elephants, and all her war ships except three
triremes, and also bound herself to pay a heavy annual tribute for
fifty years. In addition, Carthage was prohibited from making war,
under any circumstances, outside of Africa, nor within Africa except
with the consent of Rome; and was compelled to return to the ally of
the Romans, Masinissa, king of Numidia, all the territory and property
which had been taken from him or his predecessors by Carthage. In
many respects, however, the treaty was favorable to Carthage, who was
permitted to keep her African territory practically intact, who was
also permitted to keep her independence, and was not required to
receive any Roman garrison.
The Second Punic War was the decisive contest between Rome and
Carthage, the First Punic War being indecisive and the third being
merely the destruction of an already conquered people. This Second
Punic War, however, was something more than the decisive contest
between Rome and Carthage; it was the decisive contest between two
continents, two races, two systems of institutions. The battle of
Metaurus has justly been classed as one of the decisive battles of the
world. The capture of Rome by Hannibal could not have failed to have
entirely altered the whole future course of history. If Hannibal had
been able to carry back to Carthage the spoils of a conquered Rome he
would also have carried with them to Africa the scepter of world
empire. He would have wrested race supremacy and the leading place in
civilization from the Aryan for the Hamitic races. For many
centuries, at least, the center of power and civilization would have
been upon the southern instead of the northern shores of the
Mediterranean, and it is at least doubtful whether, even to-day, the
northern races could have completely eradicated the effects of such an
event.
In spite of the earlier triumphs of Persia and Greece, it was not
until the Roman victory over the Carthaginians that the position of
the Aryan races became definitely assured.
Mommsen writes on the results of the Second Punic War as follows:
"It remains for us to sum up the results of this terrible
war, which for seventeen years had devastated the lands and
islands from the Hellespont to the Pillars of Hercules. Rome
was henceforth compelled by the force of circumstances to
assume a position at which she had not directly aimed, and
to exercise sovereignty over all the lands of the
Mediterranean. Outside Italy there arose the two new
provinces in Spain, where the natives lived in a state of
perpetual insurrection; the kingdom of Syracuse was now
included in the Roman province of Sicily; a Roman instead of
a Carthaginian protectorate was now established over the
most important Numidian chiefs; Carthage was changed from a
powerful commercial state into a defenseless mercantile
town. Thus all the western Mediterranean passed under the
supremacy of Rome. In Italy itself, the destruction of the
Celts became a mere question of time: the ruling Latin
people had been exalted by the struggle to a position of
still greater eminence over the heads of the non-Latin or
Latinized Italians such as the Etruscans and Sabellians in
lower Italy. A terrible punishment was inflicted on the
allies of Hannibal. Capua was reduced from the position of
second city to that of first village in Italy; the whole
soil, with a few exceptions, was declared to be public
domain-land, and was leased out to small occupiers. The same
fate befell the Picentes on the Silarus. The Bruttians
became in a manner bondsmen to the Romans and were forbidden
to carry arms. All the Greek cities which had supported
Hannibal were treated with great severity; and in the case
of a number of Apulian, Lucanian, and Samnite communities a
loss of territory was inflicted, and new colonies were
planted. Throughout Italy the non-Latin allies were made to
feel their utter subjection to Rome, and the comedies of the
period testify to the scorn of the victorious Romans.
"It seems probable that not less than three hundred thousand
Italians perished in this war, the brunt of which loss fell
chiefly on Rome. After the battle of Cannæ it was found
necessary to fill up the hideous gap in the Senate by an
extraordinary nomination of 177 senators; the ordinary
burgesses suffered hardly less severely. Further, the
terrible strain on the resources of the state had shaken the
national economy to its very foundations. Four hundred
flourishing townships had been utterly ruined. The blows
inflicted on the simple morality of the citizens and farmers
by a camp life worked no less mischief. Gangs of robbers and
desperadoes plundered Italy in dangerous numbers. Home
agriculture saw its existence endangered by the proof, first
given in war, that the Roman people could be supported by
foreign grain from Sicily and Egypt. Still, at the close and
happy issue of so terrible a struggle, Rome might justly
point with pride to the past and with confidence to the
future. In spite of many errors she had survived all danger,
and the only question now was whether she would have the
wisdom to make right use of her victory, to bind still more
closely to herself the Latin people, to gradually Latinize
all her Italian subjects, and to rule her foreign dependents
as subjects, not as slaves--whether she would reform her
constitution and infuse new vigor into the unsound and
fast-decaying portion of her state."
Up to the close of the third century before Christ the wars of Rome
had been mainly forced upon her by the aggressions of others, or had
grown out of disputes which had arisen in the natural course of
events; but after the battle of Zama, Rome entered deliberately upon a
career of foreign conquest.
In 200 B.C. a Roman army invaded Macedon, and Philip, the king of this
country, was completely defeated at the battle of Cynoscephalæ in 197
B.C., but the Romans consented to easy terms of peace at this time on
account of the expectation of a war with Syria. The first war between
Rome and Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, began in 191 B.C. and
ended in 187 B.C. By the terms of peace Antiochus gave up all his
claims in Europe, and in Asia west of the Taurus.
The Second Macedonian War began in 172 B.C. and was concluded by the
great Roman victory at Pydna in 168 B.C. Macedon was at first divided
into four republics, between which the rights of _connubium_ and
_commercium_ were prohibited, but soon sank into the condition of a
Roman province. Roman influence and interference were also rapidly
increasing in Greece during this period, although no formal annexation
of territory was made at this time.
The Third Punic War (149-146 B.C.), forced by Rome upon an almost
helpless antagonist, resulted in the complete overthrow of the
greatest of Rome's rivals. Carthage was completely destroyed, and
Africa became a Roman province.
The Achæan War (147-146 B.C.) resulted in the practical subjection of
all Greece to Rome; and between the years 143 and 133 B.C. the
conquest of Spain was completed.
The interest in Roman history during the period from 367 to 133 B.C.
is mainly centered in the military achievements of the republic, but
certain events in the political history of Rome during this period
must be noted before passing to a consideration of the violent
political conflicts which arose over the proposed reforms of the
Gracchi.
By the Lex Horatia and the Lex Publilia (339 B.C.) it was provided
that the _plebiscita_ (that is, the decrees of the comitia tributa)
should be binding as laws; that one of the censors must be a plebeian;
and that the subsequent ratification by the Senate should not be
necessary to render valid the laws passed by the comitia centuriata.
In 326 B.C. the Lex Poetelia Papiria prohibited debtors from assigning
themselves as security for debts. This did not interfere with the
selling of a debtor into slavery by means of the _legis actio per
manus injectionem_; it merely prohibited the debtor from using himself
as a special pledge to secure the payment of the debt.
In 304 B.C. the plebeians secured the publication of a manual
containing full information as to the proper steps in the proceedings
in the various _legis actiones_, and also as to the _dies fasti_. In
the early days at Rome all legal knowledge had belonged to the
patricians, who had always strenuously resisted any movement toward
making such information open to all. An exclusive knowledge of the law
is of great advantage to any special class in any community, and one
eagerly sought under different disguises in many countries. The
present attempt to monopolize legal education in the United States,
and to attack all movements which might tend to a general diffusion of
legal knowledge among the mass of the community, is merely another
manifestation of the same spirit which animated the Roman patricians
in their long contests to keep all legal knowledge away from the
plebeians. While the study of all professions which have no political
signification, such as that of medicine, may safely be regulated by
the government, and while the government may without injustice impose
proper qualifications upon those who desire to practice law as their
profession, any attempt of the government to restrict the teaching or
study of the law, or to impose upon those desiring to take bar
examinations restrictions intended merely to keep out of the
profession those not fortunate enough to belong to the wealthy
classes, can be intended only as an attack on democratic principles
and as an attempt to create a monopoly of legal learning for improper
purposes.
In 286 B.C. was passed the Hortensian Law, which brought about the
complete political equality of plebeians and patricians, whatever
slight distinctions still remained being removed by this law.