Rome: Expansion, Wars, and the Late Republic

Civic virtue and military service

Civic virtue: sacrifice of private interests for the common good.
Roman military service: citizen militia with allies; not a professional army for most of the republic.
Conscription: all able-bodied male citizens, roughly from 16-45, served for about 20 years.
Most soldiers were small farmers or tradespeople; multiple wars kept Rome in constant military activity.

Infantry strength, organization, and command

Strength lies in the infantry; cavalry on horseback exists but is small; naval power develops later.
Legion size: generally 4{,}000-6{,}000 men, with a precise average around 5{,}500.
Legions are well armed, well trained, and highly flexible; can reorganize on the battlefield up to three times.

Fides, perseverance, and pragmatism

Fides: perseverance and tenacity; Rome pursues goals relentlessly (e.g., defeating enemies, building roads).
Pragmatism: adapt tactics and strategy to achieve ends; willingness to change methods.
Example emphasis: Rome’s determined approach in the Second Punic War against Carthage.

Empire and governance: republic with territorial reach

Empire in two senses: (1) republic with a territorial empire through conquest; (2) later, a political empire ruled by emperors.
Territorial expansion begins in the Italian peninsula and expands outward; initially through conquest and lenient peace terms, sometimes through treaties.
Provinces under local rule; few Roman officials early on; Augustus later centralizes authority but maintains a light administrative hand relative to outposts.
By mid to late republic, the provincial administration expands in numbers and becomes harsher as empire grows.

Expansion pattern and early planning

Early expansion: often opportunistic; Rome intervened in Italian city-state affairs and then conquered.
Long-term plans emerge with Caesar and Pompey (Gaul, the East), but initially expansion is reactive.
Rome and Carthage emerge as competing regional powers in the western Mediterranean.

Carthage and Rome as rivals

Carthage: Phoenician colony in North Africa (near modern Tunis); republic with a Senate; expansive influence in Sicily and parts of Spain.
Both Rome and Carthage create landed empires and control key coastal regions and islands.

The Punic Wars: three wars that shift power westward

First Punic War (ca. 264-241 BCE): long, primarily naval and Sicilian-focused; Rome becomes a naval power; harsh peace terms for Carthage; Sicily and parts of the western Mediterranean come under Roman influence.
Second Punic War (ca. 218-201 BCE): Hannibal leads a dramatic invasion, crossing the Pyrenees and Alps with war elephants; early Roman losses at battles like Cannae (
- Roman casualties at Cannae: roughly 50{,}000-70{,}000 of 80{,}000 troops; Hannibal around 54{,}000).
- Rome’s perseverance and strategic shift under Scipio Africanus: victories in Spain and ultimately invasion of North Africa.
- End of the war: Carthage loses its empire outside Africa; Spain becomes Roman; Carthage forced to accept harsh terms.
Third Punic War (ca. 149-146 BCE): Rome destroys Carthage entirely; city razed and population enslaved; Carthage ceases to be a regional power; myth of salt is not true, but the city is permanently erased as an independent power.

Hannibal, Scipio, and the arc of the war

Hannibal: brilliant Carthaginian general, famous for tactical genius and early successes; relied heavily on mercenaries.
Scipio Africanus: Roman general who adopts Hannibal’s tactics where effective, wins in Spain, then defeats Carthage in North Africa.
The Second Punic War shifts momentum from Carthage’s invasion of Italy to Roman strategic dominance in the western Mediterranean.

Aftermath of the wars: Rome’s rise and Carthage’s fall

By the end of the Punic Wars, Rome dominates the western Mediterranean.
Carthage’s power is reduced to a small city-state; Rome becomes the major regional power in the Mediterranean.

Slavery and economic strains in the late Republic

Slavery expansion: large influx of enslaved peoples from conquered territories; especially intense in Sicily.
Servile Wars in Sicily: major slave uprisings (First Servile War, Second Servile War, Third Servile War) that destabilize the Republic but are ultimately crushed.
Economic fragility: small farmers sell land to wealthier elites; unemployment rises in cities; trade disruptions after wars.
Consequences: concentration of land in the hands of senators; urban unemployment and crime; increased dependence on slave labor.

Military reform and political instability: Marius and Sulla

Marius reforms: professionalized army by allowing landless citizens to enlist and promising pay, equipment, and retirement; army loyalty increasingly shifted from the state to generals.
Sulla’s rise: uses army to march on Rome; defeats Marius’ faction and becomes dictator for two years.
Constitutional crisis: generals command armies; purges of political opponents; shows that control of legions equates to political power.
Key takeaway: the army’s power begins to threaten the Senate’s authority; sets a precedent for later figures, including Julius Caesar.

The Social War (Socii) and citizenship

Social War (ca. 91-88 BCE): northern Italian allies demand full political rights and Roman citizenship.
Outcomes: initially, political rights granted selectively; after the conflict, all Italian communities eventually receive full citizenship and rights, though timing and terms vary by region.

Prelude to Caesar

The crises of the late Republic—slavery, economic inequality, military reforms, political violence, and the rise of powerful generals—create conditions for Julius Caesar’s ascent.
The stage is set for the shift from republic to imperial rule under successors of these dynamics.

Quick reference takeaways

Rome’s power grows through a pattern of fierce conquest and strategic leniency toward defeated foes.
Military power increasingly supersedes senatorial authority, especially after Marius and Sulla.
The Punic Wars establish Rome as the dominant power in the western Mediterranean.
Slavery and economic consolidation contribute to political and social instability in the late Republic.
Citizenship expansion to Italian allies reshapes Rome’s political landscape and foreshadows broader imperial governance.