Download Conquest of Italy

Roman military expansion
The Conquest of Italy
5th century to 264 BCE
Part I
Lecture Outline
Sources for the period  Political/Social Context
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Major historical sources
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For earliest period:
Livy (end of 1st century BCE)
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a Greek (end of 1st century BCE)
Both anachronistic – projecting army of of 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE
back onto regal period and 5th – 4th centuries BCE Genre of historical writings focused on politics and military affairs –
but excluded technical details of early army organization and
structure
No historical writings in Rome before ca. 200 BCE
Polybius – wrote in 2nd century BCE – had personal military
experience, interest in technical details – has good understanding of
evolution of tactics and weaponry
Polybius’ purpose to explain success of Rome’s army to a Greek
audience; provides comparison of Roman tactical formations with
Greek infantry phalanx
Best account we have of Roman army in mid 2nd century BCE
Our sources for this period:
the antiquarians
Varro (M. Terentius Varro) mid 1st century
BCE (only fragments survived)
 Antiquarians had narrow focus: interested
in details: use of technical terms and
institutional development
 probably the sources for technical
digressions (i.e. Servian army) by Livy and
Dionysius
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Material sources for the period
supporting written sources, etc.
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Pictorial representations of equipment and combat
Weapons finds
Archaeology (i.e. discovery of five 2nd century Roman camps near Numantia
in north central Spain
Only few inscriptions exist for this period
Fasti – list of religious events, list of consuls including commanders who
received a military triumph (list seems accurate as far back as mid 4th
century BCE)
Fasti form basis for chronological reconstruction of earlier periods
Earliest campaigns our sources provide some idea of strategy in campaign –
against the Samnites and Gauls after 300 BCE
From that time on we are able to reconstruct with some degree of accuracy
at least general course of some individual battles, i.e. the battle at
Sentinum in 295 BCE
Difficulty remains to match the troop and casualty numbers
Difficult to match topography of many battles with description of places in
our sources, i.e. battle at Cannae in 216;
Political and Social Context
Important social changes at the end of the Regal Period:
6th century Greek Hoplite revolution
changes in nature of Roman warfare
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Social changes in archaic Greece, 7th and 6th centuries associated with rise
of Greek city state (polis) – and so-called hoplite revolution Increase in population, rise of polis, non-aristocrats demanded increased
participation in political decisions and military affairs - areas dominated by
aristocrats
Archaic (Homeric warfare) expensive equipment
Hoplite soldier– relative light and less expensive armor drawn from mostly
farmers who could afford this equipment
Resulted in higher proportion of population participating in war
Landowners/citizen of polis had duty to fight for their state, see increase in
political power, right to fight to protect their community
Livy attributes a major reform of Rome’s political, social, and military
organization to 6th king, Servius Tullius – 6th century, (Servian
Constitution)
Servian reform also linked to hoplite warfare,
Archaeology confirms hoplite equipment used in 6th century Rome
Servius Tullius
(578 – 534 BCE – the 6th king)
Credited with most significant social reorganization that
provided basis for Republican organization
 Important reorganization of the citizen body according to
property value and the Comitia Centuriata (Centuriate
Assembly)
 Reorganization of the Comitia Tributa (Tribal Assembly)
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The Servian Constitution:
property classes and the
Comitia Centuriata
Division of population into classes based on their
property value (i.e. originally how many bushels of grain
their land could produce) agrarian society
 Each class had to provide their own set of military
equipment based on their income class
 From full hoplite equipment for Class I to a simple sling
for Class V
 assembled on Campus Martius (plain of Mars) outside
pomerium (sacred boundary of city – established by
Romulus) – place where army mustered and practiced
(no arms allowed inside city boundaries)
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The Comitia Centuriata
and the voting hierarchy
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Citizen body who owned land (only those could afford to bear arms) were
divided hierarchically according to wealth.
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I - Equites (knights) = 18 Centuries = 18 votes
100,000 asses + = 82 Centuries = 82 votes
II - 75,000-100,000 asses = 20 Centuries = 20 votes
III - 50,000-75,000 asses = 20 Centuries = 20 votes
IV - 25,000-50,000 asses = 20 Centuries = 20 votes
V - 11,000-25,000 asses = 32 Centuries = 32 votes
Under 11,000 asses = 1 Century = 1 vote
Total 193 centuries – voting was completed when majority was reached: 96
Heavily in favour of the wealthy
Functions during monarchy not clear; in Republic: declarations of war and
peace; as court for capital trials; elected consuls
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Servian Constitution
the Comitia Tributa = tribal assembly
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The original 3 tribes created by Romulus were divided into
new tribes
4 urban tribes (named after districts of Rome); 17 rural tribes
[named after gentes =(clans) of patricians]
Later more tribes added to total of 35 (4 urban, 31 rural)
Each Roman citizen enrolled in a tribe (name of tribe part of
full name of Roman citizen)
Slaves who were legally manumitted and became citizens also
were enrolled in a tribe
Patricians and Plebeians
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Patrician-plebeian distinction originated in the Regal Period but
continued into the Early Republic - where it led to the struggle of
the orders followed by important social changes
Patricians = landed aristocracy by birth; dominated all public
offices (senate, command of armies) and priestly offices;
Originally warlords who were supported by bands of armed
followers (clientes) ; patron-client system – extremely important
element of Roman social structure
Kings needed their support to rule
Plebeians = everyone else -
Patricians and Plebeians
the ‘struggle of the orders’
494 BCE – 287 BCE:
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Political struggle between Patricians and Plebeians over inequities in
Republican government.
Plebeians were barred from holding public office and sit in senate
barred from intermarriage with Patricians.
All courts in hand of patricians – plebeians resented the unfair treatment by
Patrician magistrates, especially concerning the law.
Many pleibeians were heavily indebted to the point of debt bondage
(nexum) = debtor would give himself as surety (could be sold into slavery),
Resented the unfair distribution of Ager Publicus (public land confiscated
from conquered neighbours.
Resented increasing patricians’ monopoly of military commands
494 Plebeian secession
Patricians yielded to demands: Major reforms: Concilium Plebis = Plebeian
Assembly. And Tribune of the Plebs = Plebeian magistracy.
Plebeian Discontent Over The Law
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 10.1.2-4
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“For there was not as yet among the Romans equality
either of laws or of rights, nor had their rules of justice
been put in writing; but initially, their kings had laid
down judgements for those who asked for it, and
whatever they decreed was law…A few decisions were
kept in sacred books, and had the force of laws, but only
the patricians were aware of these because they spent
their time in the city, while the majority of the people
were merchants or farmers and came to the capital to
the markets at intervals of many days, and were still
unacquainted with them.” (M. Dillon & L. Garland, 2005)
Struggle of the Orders:
major reforms
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Concilium Plebis = Plebeian Assembly.
Tribune of the Plebs = Plebeian magistracy.
Access to law: Law of the XII Tables – 450s BCE
 Between 450 BCE and 287 BCE series of
reforms/laws eliminated distinction between
patricians and plebeians
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**Republican Government from 509 BCE to 287 BCE:
General Characteristics
Republican system evolved gradually between
509 and 287 BCE.
 Government consisted of: 1.Elected
magistrates. 2. Senate. 3. Assemblies.
 Referred to as “Mixed” constitution; 3 elements:
1. monarchic (the 2 consuls who could veto each
other), 2. oligarchic (senate), and 3. democratic
(voting assemblies).
 All magistrates elected for 1 year term and had
colleagues
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Roman Family and
Household (domus)
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Family, most important social unit
domus = household that includes: all members of the
family, slaves, other dependents (freed), as well as all
property and reputation of the domus (very important
for members of elite – the accomplishments of ancestors
and present members increased their prominence in
society)
Head of household = pater familias
According to Laws of the XII Tables –the pater familias
had the right of life and death over all in his patria
potestas (paternal power), i.e. children, slaves,
Marriage - main function to produce heirs, transmit
property, produce Roman soldiers, form political alliances
(among elite)
The Patron-Client System
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Social relations provided basic fabric of Roman social structure
Patron-client system most important social relationship in Roman
Republic
Socially unequal relationship
Patron = Wealthy elite, provided a client with loans, legal help,
other opportunities and services.
Client = of lower social status,
supported his patron by voting for him in elections, supported his
legislative initiatives, other services including social display;
Patrons carried out military levy in early Republic
Patron-Client relationship inheritable
Freedmen, individuals of lower status all could be patrons – their
clients would be of lower status than they
Clients also had the duty of assist the patron when in need, i.e. if
they met with economic disaster, etc.,
Dionysius of Halicarnassus (2.9-10)
on Patricians, Plebeians, and the Patron-Client System
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“After Romulus distinguished the more powerful members of society
from the less powerful, he then set up laws and established what
things were to be done by each of the two groups. The patricians
were to serve as priests and magistrates, lawyers and judges. The
plebeians were to till the land, herd livestock, and work for wages
as craftsmen, tradesmen, and labourers. Romulus entrusted the
plebeians to the protection of the patricians, but permitted each
plebeian to choose for his patron any patrician whom he himself
wished. This system is called patronage. Romulus then established
these rules about patronage. It was the duty of the patricians to
explain the laws to their clients, to bring suits on their behalf if they
were wronged or injured, and to defend them against
prosecutors….It was unlawful or unholy for patricians and clients to
bring suit against one another, to testify against one another in
court, or to vote against the other. If anyone was convicted of some
such misdeed, he was guilty under the law of treason and could be
executed.” (J.A. Shelton, Doc. 7).
The Sacred Bond of Patron and Client
(The Laws of the Twelve Tables – 450 BCE)
“If
a patron shall have
defrauded his client, he must
be solemnly forfeited”
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Forfeited (Latin = sacer) meant that he
was outside the law and could be killed
with impunity by anyone who finds him
Attius Clausus / Appius Claudius and his
clientes 504 BCE
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“The new consuls were M. Valerius and P. Postumius. This year a successful
action was fought with the Sabines; the consuls celebrated a triumph. Then
the Sabines made preparations for war on a larger scale. To oppose them
and also at the same time to guard against danger in the direction of
Tusculum, from which place war, though not openly declared, was still
apprehended, the consuls elected were P. Valerius for the fourth time and T.
Lucretius for the second. A conflict which broke out amongst the Sabines
between the peace party and the war party brought an accession of
strength to the Romans. Attius Clausus, who was afterwards known in
Rome as Appius Claudius, was an advocate for peace, but, unable to
maintain his ground against the opposing faction, who were stirring up war,
he fled to Rome with a large body of clients. They were admitted to the
citizenship and received a grant of land lying beyond the Anio. They were
called the Old Claudian tribe, and their numbers were added to by fresh
tribesmen from that district.” (Livy, 2.16.)