CLAS-2160-A01 – Sept.

23, 2024
The Roman Republic
 Roman senate
 The senate was an executive body within the Roman
government that was responsible for the following
 Reception of foreign embassies from their
neighbors
 Finalize decisions that are financial in nature
 Passage of decrees, which were new expectations
on Roman conduct but were strictly not legislative
legality
 Considered auctoritas partum within senatorial
affairs, which was the expectation of senators to
act much like their wise forefathers
 The senate also acted as Roman society’s base of
collective knowledge, forming into institutional
memory by offering various perspectives and
experiences
 Many senators had previous political and/or
martial careers before their ascension to senate
office
 Lex Hortensia
 At the end of the Third Samnite War in 290 BCE, the
Romans had primarily allocated the land gains to
Patricians, adding to further tension between the
classes
 Culminating from a Fifth Secession event by the
Plebeians in 387 BCE
 As a means of mitigating potential fallout from this
Patrician-Plebeian divide in Rome, Plebeian Quintus
Hortensius was made dictator and in 287 BCE, when
he passed the Lex Hortensia in which plebiscites are
given force of law
 Mediterranean politics during the Middle Republic
 From previous colonization efforts, there laid many
Greek city-states across the Italian peninsula’s
southern end
 King Pyrrhus of Epirus had staged a campaign
between 280-275 BCE to conquer Roman territory
from the invitation by the Greco-Italian city of
Tarentum, sieging successfully the settlements of
Heraclea and Ausculum but met his defeat in
Beneventum
 With Pyrrhus pulling his forces and support from
the Italian colonies of Greece, the Greek military
might in Italy had outright collapsed by 272 BCE
and caused the city of Tarentum to surrender to
the Romans
 Pyrrhus had fielded an invasion force of 20000 men
and 20 elephants, managing victories at Heraclea in
280 BCE and Ausculum in 279 BCE
 The phrase “Pyrrhic victory” is derived from the
etched-out victories taken by Pyrrhus for levying
heavy losses of his own forces
 At the Battle of Malventum in 275 BCE, Pyrrhus
would suffer his crushing defeat by the Romans,
who renamed the settlement to Beneventum
 Potential archeological evidence may exist with an
artistic depiction of a Greek elephant troop onto a
platter, found at the Capena archeological site
 It can be interpreted to be a display of
Roman triumph over the superiority of Greek
elephant units at Malventum
 From Rome itself, there existed various colonies and
roads that connected them within the Republic
 From across the peninsula were roads towards
Aternum (Via Tiburtina) and Castrum
Truentinum (Via Salaria); northern roads led to
the west toward Pisae (Via Clodia → Via Aurelia;
Via Cassia) and Genua (Via Cassia, Via Aurelia →
 Via Julia Augusta), and eastward to Ariminum
(Via Flaminia) and Placentia (Via Aemilia);
southern roads led down to Capua (Via Latina,
Via Appia) and Rhegium (Via Popilia)
 During the Second Samnite War, the roads
connecting Capua and Rome by the Via Appia
were extensively used by the Romans to reinforce
their positions and actively push against the
Samnites, similarly doing so toward the site of the
First Samnite War east toward the Alps from
Placentia (Via Postumia)
 After 275 BCE, with the defeat of Pyrrhus by
Roman forces at Malventum, the road between
Capua and Brundisium (Via Traiana) was
constructed, connecting to the eastern part of the
Italian peninsular tip
 These roads were considered all-weather roads
due to their composite materials of gravel and
compacted stones, lessening erosion and allowing
for otherwise smoother access between sites
 Heading directly northeast from Rome, one would
take the Via Aemilia from the settlement of
Ariminum to Placentia
 Carthage was considered the largest city in the
western hemisphere of the Mediterranean world
 It had been first colonized by the Phoenicians
from the eastern city of Tyre in 814 BCE
 The Romans had referred to Carthage as Puni, as
was the word for Phoenicians
 There are not any surviving records of
Carthaginian sources, yet an abundance of Greek
and Roman
 Polybius refers to treaties between Carthage and
Rome in 508 BCE, 348 BCE, and 278 BCE
 What is known is that their societal structure was
oligarchical that had elected its leaders and
 generals, as well as purchasing mercenary armies
and being a naval power through its citizen
rowers
 Both Greeks and Carthaginians had colonized
various settlements in Sicily
 The First Punic War between 264-241 BCE began with
Campanian mercenaries holding the Sicilian colony of
Messana against the siege of joint Carthaginian-
Syracusan assault, which they had levied Rome for
military aid
 Initially, the Romans sought to maintain
Messana’s sovereignty, at least publicly
 However, some other concerns may have been
due to strategic and national security, as well as
potential for larger wealth and more knowledge
other foreign powers across the Mediterranean
 Strategically, the Carthaginians could launch
an invasion campaign into Rome through
Sicily, using it as a stage ground to muster
their forces, which necessitated martial and
economic control of Messana
 For many Romans, it proved to be an
enticing martial career path, as many
aristocrats sought to add glory to their
retinue and potential other wealth
 Polybius’ Histories book 1, chapters 10 and 11
discuss the debate to enter the conflict from the
Roman perspective against the naval powers of
Carthage and Syracuse
 For the Romans, gaining Sicily as a territory
becomes pivotal in their long-term planning after
successfully repelling the Syracusan-Carthaginian
forces
 Though the Roman infantry manage to
capture various Sicilian cities across the
island, the Carthaginians still have ample
 supplies for their own troops and more
manpower
 Polybius discusses the Roman initiative
towards constructing its first navy to rival
the Carthaginians’ massive fleet in Histories
book 1, chapters 20 to 24, on how Romans
acquired seafaring expertise, rowing
knowledge, and naval tactics
 The Romans had successfully employed their
corvus (Latin: “raven”) ships into their first fleet
to combat the Carthaginians at sea
 It saw success during the Battle of Mylae in
260 BCE under Rome’s first Admiral Gaius
Duilius, and saw further service during its
campaign as part of Roman boarding tactics
until 248 BCE
 It had mounted several victories that
decimated the Carthaginian fleet and shook
their morale as the sole naval superpower in
the region
 However, Rome had also constructed and
lost 3 fleets of its ships to heavy storms and
raucous waves in 255 BCE, 253 BCE, and
249 BCE
 The Romans began their African campaign of the
conflict in 256 BCE, assigning General Regulus
to command its troops on the continent and as
admiral for its ships
 At the Battle of Ecnomus, Regulus achieved
Roman victory against equal odds, each fleet
having about 350 ships, becoming the
largest naval contest until the Battle of
Actium in 31 BCE
 While Regulus continued to fight for the
Roman cause, his success had been short-
 lived, and he had been defeated by the
Carthaginians on their territorial stretch
 The war between the Carthaginians and
Romans became heavy in its attrition, and
eventually the Carthaginian navy had
recovered between 248-242 BCE
 In response, Rome had paid a tributum
(Latin: “war tax”) to construct another fleet
to combat them
 The war came to an end at the Battle of the
Aegetes Islands in 241 BCE, when the
Romans struck a decisive blow to the
Carthaginians and shattered their martial
monopoly on navy strategy and technology