Rome, a city-state on the Italian Peninsula, conquered the entire Mediterranean world under the Republic and built the largest empire of antiquity.
Roman Republic (509〜27 BCE)
- Senate: an assembly centered on the aristocracy (patricians)
- Consuls: two officials, each serving a one-year term
- Expansion of plebeian rights: the tribune system → the Twelve Tables → the Licinian-Sextian Laws
The Punic Wars and Control of the Mediterranean
In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, Rome fought Carthage (North Africa) three times in the Punic Wars. Hannibal crossed the Alps and invaded Italy (the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE), but Rome ultimately won.
Rome then conquered Macedonia and Syria, and “the Mediterranean became a Roman sea.”
In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, Rome fought Carthage (North Africa) three times in the Punic Wars. Hannibal crossed the Alps and invaded Italy (the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE), but Rome ultimately won.
Rome then conquered Macedonia and Syria, and “the Mediterranean became a Roman sea.”
Key Points
- Roman Republic = Senate plus consuls (aristocratic dominance, although plebeians also gained rights)
- Rome destroyed Carthage in the Punic Wars and gained control of the Mediterranean
- After the conquests, the development of slave-based agriculture caused small farmers to decline → social unrest
Practice Questions
- What was the first codified law in Rome?
- Who was the Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps and attacked Rome?
- What reforms did the Gracchi brothers attempt to carry out?
Answers
- The Twelve Tables
- Hannibal
- They attempted to limit large landownership and redistribute land to impoverished small farmers (agrarian reform)