The Vitality of Rome’s Loyal Allies for Expansion Essay

The powerful and well known Roman army was another key factor in maintaining the empire. The Roman army was large, well equipped, well trained, disciplined and skilled military force that was stationed throughout the empire to prevent uprisings and crush rebellion. Military training was a very important and arduous affair in the Roman Empire. It was essential for each soldier to achieve a high level of skill in fighting and using their weapons. They also had to march 30 kilometers 3 times a month wearing 20kg armor, do drills twice a day, learn to build camps, swim, mount and ride a horse and fight mock battles. The Roman army was quite ruthless when it came to crushing rebellion. They did not hesitate to hurt or even slaughter the people who went against the Roman rule.

After the Punic Wars, Rome controlled all of Italy, Sicily, much of Spain and part of Africa, as well as Greece and the eastern Mediterranean world. As you can see, at that time Rome and Carthage had very

The military might of Rome was second to none in its prime. Victorious battle after battle did nothing but

As Rome conquered communities, more and more people were becoming Romanized, and noticed as Roman citizens. Of course these new citizens were expected to pay taxes, allowing the empire to grow economically as well as militarily. During the Roman rule of Augustus, Caesar and Trajan, Rome's laws were continually improved making Rome ever more powerful and ethical. (Ferril)

For a long period of time, Rome seemed like an unstoppable empire. It conquered the majority of the land surrounding it, including Greece, Turkey, Iraq, and many of its other neighboring countries. It seemed as though Rome would conquer the entire world, as it was the center of it, until it began to decline in 476 C.E. The very aspects that made it so successful were the ones that caused its collapse. Various political, religious, and economic reasons caused its downfall. The fact that the entire economy of Rome collapsed and money became worthless was a major reason for the empire’s collapse. In addition, the loss of a common religion and lack of efficient ruling in relation to its vast territory affected the empire. The Roman

Eventually Rome’s policy of coming to the aid of those who asked, led them into battle with King Pyrrhus of Epirus when Thurii asked for Roman aid from Tarentun, which was, in turn, assisted by Pyrrhus. The Romans lost two battles to Pyrrhus in 282 B.C. and 280 B.C., leaving King Pyrrhus of Epirus with, what has become known as Pyrrhic victories. Both sides sustained substantial losses, making the victories as good as losses. Eventually, in 275 B.C. Pyrrhus left battle to save what was left of Greece, providing the Romans with a default victory. King Pyrrhus would later be killed, by a loosened roofing tile pushed over by an old woman, when he had taken a break from the war in Argos, which he believed he had won.

The Roman Empire’s rise began before its coming into existence. Founded in 753 BCE on the Tiber River, Roman myths say that two brothers founded Rome. Rome “became known for its generosity, particularly toward refugees…” (35). Rome formed military alliances with other nations and tried to incorporate other Italian tribes such as the Etruscans and Umbrians into Roman society and culture. Rome was not harsh or cruel after they defeated their foes. They were like the Persians and offered a treaty with the conquered group. The groups

The defeats were majorly successful because of the lack of experience in Rome’s soldiers. Soldiers began working for pay to help protect the borders of Rome. The people who were working in the military were mainly free citizens. The people hired were called mercenaries who were mainly Germanic. Germany meanwhile, had resented Rome and could have turned on them. It was hard to afford such a costly military. In order to afford to be able to pay the mercenaries, taxes were raised to afford this military filled with paid mercenary soldiers. Rome had been invaded by the Visigoths, while their borders were not protected. The capital had been destroyed by these invaders, burning their way through the city. Before the Visigoths had invaded, Rome’s military already had a hard time communicating lack to their efficient road systems. There were not enough troops to defend the wide territory they had to cover. The military overall lacked the basic necessities of a strong army, which contributed to the fall of Rome. Since Rome was now weaker because they had split their empire, their military had gotten weaker as well. To help try to make their military just as powerful separate than they were united, they made mistakes including overspending and inviting enemies into the military. This had happened only to the western half of the army while the eastern half

The Roman empire owed its existence to Julius Caesar’s military genius and leadership. At the time of his birth, the Roman republic was rife with corruption, losing touch with the people as Rome rapidly expanded. In addition, the republic suffered much unrest due to an excess of slave labor, leaving many unemployed for the government to sustain with basic food and entertainment, or “bread and circuses.” Caesar changed this, joining partnership with two other prominent men, the wealthy Crassus and the general Pompey, to form the First Triumvirate. However, he quickly took the reins of the new government, securing his position as dictator with many populist actions, such as distributing land to poor farmers. They, in turn, showed loyalty toward their leader, providing unity and patriotism. The Roman empire was born into the perfect geographical and cultural circumstances to rise to greatness.

Another theme that runs through Roman history is their tendency for warfare. It originated because of the precarious physical location Rome had for enemies surrounded them, a position that demanded they fight. Unfortunately, this meant a large part of their armies were pulled away from cultivating the land in order to go to war. This is the first area we will look at to determine how the systemic political flexibility became one of Rome’s greatest assets during the Republic period.

Rome is known for its’ empire (The Roman Empire). Rome started out small and ended up becoming this huge and undefeatable force of nature. Rome received their success by either attacking other nearby towns/neighbors or granting them treaties or citizenships. E. Badien, the author who created an article called, The Organization Of Italy, explains how Rome organized Italy, and got their neighboring cities and nations to join them and turn ancient Italy into a leading state of power. In Badien’s observations, he finds that granting citizenship and the Latin’s helped Rome to become powerful and assisting Italy to be more structured.

This was made possible because the army was comprised of Roman citizens, as well as a great deal of semi-citizens. Therefore, Rome immensely relieved on its semi-citizens during in times of conflict, such as the Second Punic War; they “...were the linchpin in the war…” as John T. Medin IV puts it, “The power of Rome was directly related to the ability of Rome to keep its allies within the system.” With a seemingly endless supply of allies, Rome could afford to lose every battle in the war, yet still win because they controlled not only their own resources, but all of Italy’s resources. Another example of Rome’s firm resilience was proven at the battle of Cannae, where around 70,000 soldiers died, according to Polybius. Despite the enormous loss, a mere five years later the Roman army was able to come back and recapture part of Sicily. The powerful loyalty of semi-citizenship made Rome and her allies not only strong, but

Victory over Carthage brought Rome to greater heights. Romans had secured world supremacy and established dominant power. As a result, Rome suffered and experienced crises more than they could have imagined such as different forms of slavery, plunder, land reform, expansion of citizenship, wars within and outside of Rome, and the changing of the Roman armies.

Rome became a powerful empire engulfing much of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia and what seemed like this great entity called the Romans were always in the search of more territory and land to conquer and assimilate into their ever growing vast empire. However, this was not always the case, before Rome became one of the greatest empires in all of history, Rome was a republic. They were government consisted of a Senate who much like our country today represented certain classes of the citizens of the Republic. During the growth and rise of the Roman republic conquering neighboring territories and competing for land grabs was not Romans primary objectives. Romans

of several motivations, next to the promise of glory that got Rome to aid in the