Download Roman Conquests of Italy

Roman Conquests of Italy
The Pyrrhic Wars
280– 275BC
Where was the Pyrrhic War fought?
Background to the Pyrrhic War
• As we saw in the Samnite Wars, Italy was made up of many
different groups; Samnites, Etruscans, Latins, Umbrians,
Sabines, Campanians etc.
• The Samnite Wars finished in 290BC with Rome cementing
its control of Samnium and Latin territory.
• However, Rome had not attempted to control southern
Italia or Sicily; which was controlled by Greek and
Carthaginian groups.
• Rome did not have experience in international affairs in the
Mediterranean and were seen as a local Italian concern. It
had not proven itself against the dominant Greek cultures
or Carthage. The Pyrrhic War would propel Rome in a new
direction; that of international expansion.
• Therefore, the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was a complex
series of battles and shifting political alliances among the
Greeks, Romans, the Italian peoples, and the Carthaginians.
Why did it start?
• The Pyrrhic War initially started as a minor conflict between
Rome and the city of Tarentum over a naval treaty violation
by one of the Roman consuls.
• 282 BC – Tensions boil over in Tarentum
 The city of Thurii asks Rome for military assistance in a
dispute it has with a rival.
 Roman consul Publius Cornelius Dolabella mounts a 10ship exploratory expedition along the southern coast of
Italia.
 Tarentum viewed the Roman fleet as a threat and
attacked it; the Roman fleet had broken a treaty, which
excluded them from Tarentum waters.
 Rome was angered by this incident and send a diplomatic
mission to Tarentum to diffuse the situation.
 Seeking assistance, Tarentum turned to Pyrrhus, King of
Epirus (in Greece) to assist them in their war with Rome.
Pyrrhus lands in Italy
• Pyrrhus saw the dispute between Tarentum and
Rome as an opportunity to build an empire of his
own.
• 280 BC – Escalation and Battle of Heraclea
 Pyrrhus landed with 25,000 troops, including a
score of war elephants, in Italy.
 A Roman army of 50,000 led by Publius Laevinius
was sent into the Lucanian territory, where the
first battle took place near the city of Heraclea.
 Pyrrhus expected the Italic tribes to rise against
Rome, however, the Romans had already secured
support in the area.
Battle of Asculum
• 279 BC – Second major battle of the wars
This one was of a much greater scale, taking
two days in the hills of Apulia.
The Romans lost about 6,000 men while
Pyrrhus' army suffered 3,500 casualties.
According to the Greek historian Plutarch,
Pyrrhus said that "that one other such
(victory) would utterly undo him." Thus, the
phrase "Pyrrhic victory" entered the language.
Rome allies with Carthage: wHAT?!
• Pyrrhus next offered to negotiate a truce with
Rome, but Rome refused to talk as long as
Pyrrhus remained on Italian soil.
• Pyrrhus tried to ally with Carthage against
Rome, but the Carthaginians, seeing Pyrrhus
as the greater threat, refused and sent a fleet
and army up to the Tiber mouth to help the
Romans.
• Third Roman Treaty with Carthage centres on
an alliance against Pyrrhus.
Pyrrhus and invasion of Sicily
• Following success on the Italian mainland, Pyrrhus
moved on to Sicily (278 BC) to aid the Greeks, who
were being hard pressed by the Carthaginians.
• The Roman legions were able to defeat the rearguard
of Pyrrhus’ army in Italy.
• Defeated the Carthaginians on both land and see and
captured the Sicilian cities of Panormus and Eryx.
• Pyrrhus’s losses were heavy and his reinforcements
few. City of Tarentum was besieged by the Roman
army, and the Carthaginian fleet was also putting
pressure on him. He risked being trapped in Sicily.
Pyrrhus returns to Italy
• 275 BC - Battle of Beneventum
• Romans defeat Pyrrhus at the town of Maleventum
(which means ‘Bad Event’) in Southern Italy – Roman
army learnt his tactics.
• The Romans renamed the city; Beneventum (which
means ‘Good Event’)
• The Romans had learned that they could wound the
elephants in the side using their pila; thus creating panic
in the Pyrric army.
• Pyrrhus retreats to Tarentum and leaves a considerable
force there. Pyrrhus famously states upon leaving Italy:
‘What a battlefield I am leaving for Carthage and Rome!’
The Aftermath
• 272 BC Tarentum surrendered to Rome.
• Rome treated Tarentum leniently; allowed self
rule as allies of Rome. Many of the other
Greek cities in southern Italy allied to Rome.
• After the defeat of Pyrrhus Rome was
regarded as a significant world power in the
Mediterranean, as evidenced by the opening
of a permanent embassy of amity by the
Macedonian king of Egypt in Rome in 273 BC.
• Roman colonies were founded in southern
Italy to strengthen control.
How did the Romans control Italy?
A great quote:
“Who is so worthless or indolent that they do not wish
to know by what means and under what political
system the Romans, in less than 53 years, have
succeeded in bringing nearly the whole inhabited
world under a single government, something never
before achieved?”
Polybius (c. 200-118 BC) in his Histories
• Please review chapter 5 and 6 of Ancient Rome Using
Evidence.
• Please make a list of policies that Rome employed to
control Italy. (This will help for the test).