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From Republic to Empire
34,1 Introduction
In the lastchapter,you learnedhow Romebecamea republic.
In thischapter,you'll discoverhow the republicgrew into a
mightyempire that ruled the entireMediterranean
world.
The expansion of Romanpowertook placeover about
500years,from 509 B.c.E.to l4 c.E.At the srartof this period,
Romewas a tiny republicin centralltaly. Five hundredyears
later,it was a thrivingcenterof a vastempire.At its height,the
RomanEmpireincludedmost of Europetogetherwith North
Africa,Egypt,Syria,andAsia Minor.
The growth in Rome'spower happenedgradually.and it came
ata price.Romanshad to fight countlesswarsto defendtheir
growingterritoryand to conquernew lands.Along the way,
Romeitself changed.Romans
hadoncebeenproudto be governedby electedleaders.Their
heroes
were men who had
helped
to preservethe republic.
By l4 c.e.,the republicwas
justa memory.Powerwas in
thehandsof a singlesupreme
ruler.the emperor.Romans
evenworshipedthe emperor
asa god.
In this chapter,you'll see
howthis dramaticchange
occurred.
You'll tracethe
gradual
expansionof Roman
power.
You'll alsoexplorethe
costs
of this expansion,both
forRomansand fbr the people
theyconquered.
From Republicto Empire
323
34.2 From Republic to Empire:
An Overview
powerovernew
R om eg ained
l an d sth rough
threesavage
wa r sw ithCarthage
acrossthe
M ed iterranean
S ea.
The growth of Romefrom a republicto an empiretook place
years.The storycan be divided into four major periods.
ovcr -5(X)
The First Period of Expansion The first periodbeganin
-509n.c'.t'.whenthe Rornansdrovethe lastEtruscanking outof
power.At thattime. Roniebecarnea republic.
The Ronranswantedto protecttheir bordersand to gainmore
lancl.This led to a seriesof wars.Dr.rring
the next245 years.the
Ronransfiru-shtone enernyafier another.They conqueredtheir
Latin neighborsin centralltaly.They alsodef'eated
theirold
nustcrs.the Etruscans.
Wisely.the Rornanseventuallyrnadeallies,or friends.of their
I n rn re re n e n rie sB. y 2 6 1 t s . (' . rr.
Ro
. n rea n d it s a llie sc on t r o l l eadl l
o 1 ' I t a ly .
The Second Period of Expansion Rome'sgrowththreatcneclanothergreatpower.the city of Cartha-qe
in North Afiica.
Duringthe secondperiodof expansion.
fl'orn264to 146e.c.E..
RomeanclCarthagetou-uhtthreernajorwilrs.Throughtheseuars.
Rorre gaineclcontrolof NorthAfiica. rluch of Spain.andtheisland
ol'Sicily.Rornanarnricsalsoconquered
MacedoniaandGreece.
(
I
I
(
tl
()
rl
h
p
r,
I
n
e
I
b
d
a
fl
f,
A
rl
Ro magne n e raJlu liu sCa e s a r
helpedexpand
theRoman
Empire
by conquering
Gaulandinvading
Britain.
I
,s.
I
err
ill
rtt
'&fs,
land
te.
TheThird Period of Expansion During the third periodof
expansion,
from 145to 44 s.c.e.,Romecameto rule the entire
Mediterranean
world. In the east,Rometook controlof Asia
Minor,Syria,and Egypt.In the west,a generalnamedJulius
Caesar
conqueredmuch of Gaul (modern-dayFrance).
ProudRomansnow calledthe Mediterranean
"our sea."But
ttrerepublicwas in trouble.Civil wars dividedthe city. Roman
generals
were becomingdictators.They settheir armiesagainst
thepowerof the Senate.Caesarhimselfruled as a dictatorbefore
hewasmurderedin 44 e.c.E.
Themen who killed Caesarthoughtthey were savingthe
pwer of the Senate.However,severalmore yearsof civil war
followed.
Then Caesar'sgrandnephew,
Octavian,seizedpower.
"honored
Senatenamedhim Augustus,or
one." Romewas
mw an empire governedby one supremeruler.
civil war a warbetween
regions
ofthesamecountry
grandnephew,
JuliusCaesar's
0 c t a v ia nb,e c a me
Ca e s a r
Augustus,
thesupreme
ruler
of theRoman
Empire.
TheFourth Periodof Expansion Thefourthperiodof
ion beganwith the startof the empire.It lasteduntil l4 c.p.
first emperor,Augustus,addeda greatdeal of new territory
pushingthe bordersof the empire all the way to naturalbounies,like rivers,to makeit easierto defend.Later emperors
moreterritory.At its height,the RomanEmpirestretched
the islandof Britain in the west to the Black Seain the east.
Eachperiodof expansioninvolvedcost and sacrifice.The next
sectionsgive more detailsabouteachperiodof expansion.
youread,ask yourselfwhat Romansof the time might have
abouttheseevents.
FromRepublicto Empire 325
\
On eof th eh eroes
oftheRoman 34.3 Rome's
Gonquest of the ltalian
r ep u b lic
w asLucius
Ouintius
Peninsula, 5O9 to 2G4 B.c.E.
Cincinnatus.
In458B.C.E.,
the
Rome'sfirst periodof expansionincludedmore than 200yean
Ro m aSen
n ate
madeCincinnatus
of almostconstantwarfare.During this time, Rome gradually
dictator,
or supreme
ruler,sothat
took controlof the entireItalianpeninsula.
he couldrescuethecityfroman
After the last Etruscanking was overthrownin 509 s.c.e.,
attackby a neighboring
tribe.After
the Romansbeganto expandtheir territory and influence.In
defeating
theenemy,
Cincinnatus
493 s.c.n.,Romanleaderssigneda treaty,or agreement,
with
g a veup hispowerand
willin g ly
their Latin neighborsto the south.The treaty said, "There shall
returned
to hisfarm.
be peacebetweenthe Romansand all the communitiesof Latins
as long as heavenand earthendure."The new allies agreedto
bandtogetheragainsttheir commonenemies.During the next100
years,the Romansfought a numberof wars againstthe Etruscans
as well as againsttribesliving in hills in the areaaroundRome.
Then,in 390 B.c.E.,Rome nearlycameto an end.A band
of Gauls,a warlike peoplefrom the north, crusheda Roman
army and surgedinto the city. Most of Rome,speoplefled into
the countryside.The Gauls looted the city and burnedmostof
it down.
326 Chapter34
otht
rebr
thei
T
man
calle
B. C. I
Rorr
sion
centr
A
nent
and r
soldi
betwt
Rc
Rome
cities
as we
tytot
and sr
By
diers t
soon, I
,s
1,00
MS
With the city in ruins.the Romansconsideredfleeingto some
place.Instead,they bravelydecidedto startover.They
other
rebuilt
theircity and surrounded
it with walls.They alsobuilt up
theirarmy.Beforelong, Romansoldierswereon the marchagain.
Duringthe 300sB.c.E.,Romeconqueredthe Etruscansand
manyneighboringtribes.To the south,they battleda people
calfed
the Samnites,
as well as severalGreekcities.By 275
B.c.E.,
Rome'sconquestof the Italianpeninsula
was complete.
Rome
now controlledthe Italianpeninsula.
But Rome'sexpansion
cameat greatcost.Romanshad beenfighting warsfor two
centuries.
And the Gaulshad oncedestrovedtheir citv.
As Rome'sterritorygrew.the city had to keepa large,permanent
army to defendit and the conqueredlands.As a result.more
and
moreRomanswere fbrcedto servein the army.Most of the
soldiers
were plebeians.This was one reasonfbr the struggle
between
the plebeiansand the patricians.
Romancitizenswerenot the only oneswho paida costfor
Rome's
expansion.Rome allowedthe peopleof somedefeated
cities
to becomeRomancitizens.But othercitieswere not treated
well.Many receivedmorelimitedprivileges.suchas the abilito tradewith Rome.And Romanallieshad to pay Romantaxes
supplysoldiersfor Romanarmies.
Bv 264 B.c.E..Romehad morecitizensand well-trained
solthanany otherpower in the Mediterranean
world. But very
, the Romanswould facetheir sreatestchallensevet.
From Republicto Empire 327
Punic Wars warsfought
RomeandCarthage
between
theCarthaginian
In 2 1 8B.c.E.,
g e n e r aHl an nibal
ledhistroops
acrosstheAlpsto attackRome.
34.4 Overseas Expansion During the
Punic Wars, 264 B.c.E.to 146 e.c.e.
During Rome's secondperiod of expansion,it fought three
savagewars with Carthage,a powerful city in North Africa, for
control of the Mediterraneanregion.
When the wars began,Carthageheld North Africa, mostof
Spain,and part of Sicily.It alsocontrolledmost of the tradein
the westernMediterranean.The Greek cities in southernItaly had
frequentlyclashedwith Carthageover trading rights. WhenRome
conqueredthesecities, it was drawn into the fight with Carthage.
Rome's wars with Carthageare called the Punic Wars, after
the Greek namefor the peopleof Carthage.The First PunicWar
beganin 264 s.c.p.It was
fought mostly at sea.Carthage
had a very powerful navy.But
the Romansbuilt up theirown
navy by copyingand improving on the Carthaginians'ship
A decisivevictory
designs.
at searn 241 e.c.E.won the
war for the Romans.The triumphantRomanstook over
Sicily, as well as otherislands.
The SecondPunic Warstatted 23 yearslater.This time,the
Carthaginiansdecidedto attack
Italy itself.In 218 B.c.E.,
Hannibal,a brilliant Carthaginian general,surprisedthe
Romansby marchinghis army
from Spain acrossthe Alps(a
high mountainrange)andinto
Italy. His troops rode elephan$
and braved snowstorms,landslides,and attacksby local
tribes.For l5 years,Hannibal\
men fought the Romans.
In202 B.c.E.,Hannibal
returnedhome to defend
Carthageagainsta Roman
army. There he was defeated
in the battle that endedthe
328 Chapter34
Seco
alon6
Fc
Cartt
the d,
Tt
Rom:
and s
the M
Spain
Th
Rome
count
peopL
army
negle
the tin
from I
large e
stock.
poor fi
Altt
quered
from (
build (
te
t-.
.hree
ca, for
I
u
I Uonqueslol the llal an penrnsula.
500 2648c E
f---_l Overseas expansron dufinq
i U
the punrc Wars 264-146 s-cE
rst of
lde in
Italy had
en Rome
)arthage.
rs, after
nic War
WAS
Jarthage
avy. But
reir own
Lmprovns' sh i p
ctory
>n the
fhe trik over
r islands.
War starti time, the
I to attack
1.E.,
larthased the
;his ar m y
: Alps (a
) and into
: elephants
ms, landr local
Hannibal's
ans.
rnibal
fend
.oman
defeated
.edthe
Second
PunicWar.Carthagewas fbrcedto give Spainto Rorne
alongwith hu-9esumsof ntoney.
For about50 years.therewas peacebetweenRclnteand
Cartha-ge.
Then, spurredon by Cato.a senatorwho clemanded
thedestructionof Carthage.the Romansattackecl
once lnore.
TheThird PunicWar lastedthreeyears.In 146B.r..rr..
the
Romans
burnedCarthageto the
They killeclrnanypeople
-rround.
and
soldothersinto slavery.Romewas now the greatest
powerin
fteMediterranean
region.It controlledNorth Afi-ica.rnuchof
Spain.
Macedonia.
andGreece.
ThePunicWarsexpandedRontanpowerand territor-y.
but
Rome's
victoriescameat a price.Farniliesrnournedfor the
countless
soldierswho haddied in the long wars.In addition.
people
living outsideRomesuffbredhugelosses.Hannibal's
army
had destroyedthousandsof farms.Otherfarrnshad been
neglected
while farmerswentoff to fight in Rorne'sarmies.By
the
timethe soldiersreturnedhome.grainwas flowing into Italy
ftomSicilyand otherplaces.Snrallfarmswerebeingreplacedby
large
estates
wherethe wealthyplantedvineyardsand raisedlivestock.
Unableto competewith the wealthylandowners.
lnany
poor
farmershad to sell their land.
Althou-sh
richesand slavesflowed into Rornefiont the conquered
lands,so did new customs.Many of the new ideascarne
ftom
Greece.WealthyRomanscompetedwith one anotherto
Greek-style
homesandbeautifulternples.
From Republicto Empire 329
34.5 Expansion During the FinalYears
of the Republic, 145 e.c,E.to 44 e.c.e.
By 145B.c.E.,Romanconquestshad broughtgreatwealthto
the city of Rome. But they had also put the republicanform of
governmentundergreatstrain.By the end of Rome'sthird period
of expansion,the republiccollapsed.
The final yearsof the republic were markedby still morewan.
Many of Rome'salliesresentedhavingto pay Romantaxesand
fight in Romanarmieswithout enjoyingthe rights of citizens.ln
9l s.c.s.,they rebelled.To end the revolt,Rome agreedto letall
free ItaliansbecomeRomancitizens.
Rome also had to fight to put down slaverevolts.As Romans
conqueredother lands,they brought hundredsof thousandsof
prisonersto Roman lands.They turned them into slaveswho
laboredon farms and in the city. Romansoften treatedtheirslaves
very harshly.A slavenamedSpartacusled a famous revolt in
73 s.c.p.After crushinghis army and killing Spartacusin battle,
the Romanshung thousandsof the survivingrebelson crosses.
Therewas troublein the city, too. With so many slavesto do
the work, thousandsof farmersand laborershad no jobs. They
crowdedinto Rome, becominga mob that an ambitiousleader
could turn into an army.
Rome'sarmy was producingmany suchleaders.Generals
usedtheir armiesto gain fame in far-off lands and then fight
for powerin Rome.In one civil war in the 80s s.c.s.,200,000
Romanswere killed.
Forty yearslater,anothercivil war broke out betweentwo
ambitiousgenerals,Pompeyand JuliusCaesar.Pompeyhad
CX
isl
49
an
wa
Ro
Ita
he
in€
dic
go
wc
ro:
glt
ne
co
an
Mr
AS
Juliu sCa esar
wasstabbed
23timesandbledto deathat
thedo o ro ftheS enate.
330 Chapter34
rel
SO,
E
rtarian
Peninsura'
3SJ:!fft"":::."
r 8:%i?il
fif,:58t-1{sg
".
I
t#ffliil"oH:??,l?,8,',ioL.o
"" ,
trs.
I
.n
rll
le,
i.
lo
v
r
expanded
Roman rule in sucheasternlands as Syria and the
islandof Cyprus.Caesarhad conqueredmuch of Gaul. By
49s.c.e.,Pompeywas back in Rome,while Caesarcommanded
anarmyto the north of Italy, acrossthe Rubicon River. Both men
wanted
to control Rome, but Pompeyhad the supportof the
Roman
Senate.
Urgedon by Pompey,the SenateforbadeCaesarfrom entering
Italywith his army.Caesardisobeyed.On January11,49 B.c.E.,
hecrossedthe Rubicon with his army.After three yearsof fighting,he defeatedPompey.The frightenedSenatenamedCaesar
tor for life. With Caesarin control, the republicanform of
rnmentwas at an end.
As dictator,Julius Caesarintroducedmany reforms.He gave
to thousandsof Romansby startingprojectsto make new
and public buildings.To keep the poor happy,he staged
iatorconteststhey could watch for free. He also adopteda
calendarthat is still usedtoday.
Caesar
had a vision of Rome as a greatempire.He startednew
ies and grantedcitizenshipto the peopleof cities in Gaul
Spain.But he did not live to seehis vision cometrue.On
15,44 B.c.E.,a groupof enemiesstabbedCaesarto death
hewasenteringthe Senate.
Theplotterswho killed Caesarthoughtthey were savingthe
blic.But they were wrong. Instead,a true Romanemperor
emergedto take Caesar'splace.
FromRepublicto Empire 331
34.6 Rome Becomes an Empire,
4 4 e. c . E.t o 14 c . e.
Caesar'snrurderplungedRomeinto a seriesof civil warsthat
lastedfbr rnorethan 10 years.When the fightingended,oneman
stooclas the abscllr,rte
ruler of Rome.He was Octavian.Caesar's
andadoptedson.So beganthe RomanEmpire,and
-urandnephew
Rorle'sfburthperiodof expiursion.
jealousrivals.Oneof
power,Octavianhad to def-eat
To
-tain
ther-nwas Marc Antony.a populargeneral.Antony had married
QueenCleopatraof Egypt.In 3l s.c.n..Octaviandef-eated
AntonyandCleopatrain a seabattlenearActiurn,Greece.His
armychasedthe loversto E_sypt.
wherethey killed themselves.
Octavianwas now the supreme
rulerof the Mediterranean
region.
Octavianknew thatthe
Rornansprizedtheirrepublic.
He told them he was restorin-9
the authorityof the Senate
and
the Romanpeople.But in fact
he was in completecontrol.
The Senatesavehim thetitle
Augustns.which means
"revered"(honored).
Historians
call hirn Rorne'sfirst emperor.
As ruler of Rorne,Au-uustus
encouraged
education.art.and
grand
literature.He cornpleted
*\ jfu constructionprojects.repairing
ld'\ =.
rnorethan 80 ruinedtemples.
"l
As e m p e r oAugustus
r,
encouraged firundRomebrick and lefi it nrarble."he boasted.He alsogave
e d u ca ti on
an dliterature.
Herehe Ronreits first policefirrce.firefighters.
and library.
r e a d sto a gr oupof citizens.
As ernperor.
Augustusruledover -50million people.He turned
Aug u stus
r uledfor41years,
until easternkingdornslike JudeaandArrneniainto Romanprovinces.
h isd e a thi n 1 4CE .
To def-end
the cnrpire.he pushedits bordersto naturalboundaries:thc Rhineand Danr.rbe
Riversin the north.the Sahara
Desertin the south.andtheAtlanticOceanin the west.
Tlris vasternpireneededa stron-s
economy.The Romans
irnprovedtraderoutesby buildingharbors.canals.androads.
Goodsflowed into Romefrom throughoutthe ernpireandasfat
awayas China.Romancoinsmadetradeeasierby providin-e
a
singlesystemof currency(rrioney).
332 Chapter3;l
Bu
refbrr
bei ng
empe
In latt
empel
Un
peace
Roma
Durin
years
Roma
La
From
greate
empir
went
34.'.
In
empir
expan
Yet, ir
years.
like fi
wars that
, one man
Caesar's
npire, and
. One of
married
,ted
:ce.His
mselves.
le supreme
'anean
ratthe
republic.
; restoring
Senateand
But in fact
control.
n the title
lans
). Historians
st emperor.
e,Augustus
on, art, and
leted grand
ts, repairing
J temples.
{e also gave
:. He turned
r provinces.
I boundlahara
It.
J MAN S
d roads.
: and as far
oviding a
But Rome'sfinal expansion
brou-eht
new problems.To
reformRomanmorals.Augustusharshlypunishedpeoplefbr
beingunfaithfulto theirhusbands
or wives.To protectthe
emperor,
he established
a privateanny.the PraetorianGuard.
Inlateryears,this sameGuardsometimesrnurderedthe
emperors
it was supposedto protect.
UnderRomanrule.the Mediterranean
world was mostlyat
peace
fbr 200 years.This periodis calledthe Pax Romana,or
Roman
Peace.But keepingthe peacecostthe Romansdearly.
During
Augustus'sreign.one rebellionin the easttook three
years
and 100.000soldiersto put down.Beforeit wasover,a
Roman
army was completelydestroyed.
Lateremperorsaddedto the territorycontrolledby Rome.
FromBritainto the Red Sea.a singlepowerruledover the
greatest
empirethe world had ever known. Def-ending
this vast
empire
becameincreasingly
challenging
andcostlyas time
wenton.
34.7Ghapter Summary
In this chapter,you read abouthow Rome becamea great
empire.
Roman power grew through four main periodsof
ion. In eachperiod, the costsof expansionwere great.
Yet,in the end, Rome ruled over an empire that lasted500
years.
[n the next chapter,you will discoverwhat daily life was
for Romansat the height of the empire'spower.
From Republicto Empire 333