Download The Expansion of Rome After the last Etruscan

The Expansion of Rome
After the last Etruscan king was overthrown in 509 BCE the Romans began to extend
their influence throughout Italy. In 493 BCE Roman leaders established an alliance with
the other Latin speaking tribes
IN 493 BCE Roman leaders established an alliance with the other Latin speaking tribes in
Latium, the broad plain encircling Rome. Following this diplomatic move, Roman
armies with support from their new Latin allies- defeated three powerful tribes to the
north and east, and took control of the mountainous areas surrounding Latium.
In 390 BCE however, the tide of Roman expansion was turned back when Celtic tribes
from Gaul crossed the Alps and sacked the city of Rome. Still, over the next hundred
years, through a combination of perseverance, military skill, and insightful diplomacy,
the Romans reestablished their supremacy in central Italy.
Finally in 272 BCE the Romans captured the Greek colony of Tarentum in southern Italy
and by 264 BCE they took control of the entire Italian peninsula
The Romans perfected two methods of consolidating their control over the territories they
conquered. First, they established military colonies in strategically important areas.
Second they offered full roman citizenship to those who quickly adopted the Latin
language and promised to obey Roman laws. In return for such faithfulness, the Romans
built roads and public buildings in these conquered lands. This policy of Romanization
proved highly effective, as it provided Rome with loyal allies. However, the policy also
brought Rome into conflict with Carthage- the other major imperial power of the
Mediterranean region- as both competed for territory on which to establish new colonies.
The Punic Wars
The wars with Carthage had a momentous effect on Roman military expansion in the
Mediterranean region. Victory in the First Punic War (264-241 BCE) left Rome with
control of Sicily, and eventually neighboring Sardinia and Corsica
During the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE) in addition to taking control of Spain,
Roman armies began to acquire territories in the eastern Mediterranean. Philip V of
Macedon had entered into an alliance with Carthage during the Second Punic War and
had plotted with the King of Syria to divide Egypt between them. The Romans sent an
army into the east to punish Philip and to forestall the execution of his plans. The result
led to the eventual Roman conquest of Greece, Macedonia, Syria, Asia Minor, and
Palestine in later years. Finally, victory in the Third Punic War (149-146 BCE) left
Rome with control of most of North Africa.
Rome continued its expansion into the western Mediterranean in the years following the
Punic Wars. In the 50s BCE the Romans sent Julius Caesar into Gaul (present day
France) to subdue the fierce tribes there. Caesar spent 9 years in Gaul during which time
he turned the area now known as France, Belgium, Switzerland and parts of southern
Holland and western Germany into a single Roman province. He also led two invasions
of Britain laying the foundation for future conquest there. By the time of Caesar’s death
in 44 BCE Rome controlled nearly all of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
These conquests made Rome the most powerful nation in the western world. However,
territorial expansion created tremendous social and economic problems for the leaders of
the Roman Republic.