Early European History Part 33

[17] See page 143.

[18] See page 83.

[19] From the Latin _patres_, "fathers."

[20] Latin _plebs_, "the crowd."

[21] See page 85.

[22] See page 105.

[23] The four letters inscribed on Roman military standards indicate the important place held by the Senate. They are _S. P. Q. R._, standing for _Senatus Populusque Roma.n.u.s_, "The Senate and the People of Rome."

[24] See page 129.

[25] See page 118.

[26] See page 89.

[27] Plutarch, _Pyrrhus_, 21.

[28] It should be noticed, however, that as yet Rome controlled only the central and southern parts of what is the modern kingdom of Italy. Two large divisions of that kingdom, which every Italian now regards as essential to its unity, were in other hands--the Po valley and the island of Sicily.

[29] See page 106.

[30] Latin colonists did not have the right of voting in the a.s.semblies at Rome. This privilege was enjoyed, however, by members of the "Roman"

colonies, which were planted mainly along the coast. See the map, page 156.

[31] See page 40.

[32] See page 116.

CHAPTER VIII

THE GREAT AGE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, 264-31 B.C. [1]

56. THE RIVALS: ROME AND CARTHAGE, 264-218 B.C.

THE PUNIC WARS

The conquest of Italy made Rome one of the five leading states of the Mediterranean world. In the East there were the kingdoms of Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt, which had inherited the dominions of Alexander the Great. In the West there were Carthage and Rome, once in friendly alliance, but now to become the bitterest foes. Rome had scarcely reached the heads.h.i.+p of united Italy before she was involved in a life-and-death struggle with this rival power. The three wars between them are known as the Punic wars; they are the most famous contests that ancient history records; and they ended in the complete destruction of Carthage.

FOUNDATION OF CARTHAGE

More than a century before the traditional date at which Rome rose upon her seven hills, Phoenician colonists laid the foundations of a second Tyre. The new city occupied an admirable site, for it bordered on rich farming land and had the largest harbor of the north African coast. A position at the junction of the eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean gave it unsurpa.s.sed opportunities for trade. At the same time Carthage was far enough away to be out of the reach of Persian or Macedonian conquerors.

COMMERCIAL EMPIRE OF CARTHAGE

By the middle of the third century B.C. the Carthaginians had formed an imposing commercial empire. Their African dominions included the strip of coast from Cyrene westward to the strait of Gibraltar. Their colonies covered the sh.o.r.es of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and southern Spain. The western half of the Mediterranean had become a Carthaginian lake.

CARTHAGINIAN CIVILIZATION

Before the opening of the Punic wars Carthage had been much enlarged by emigrants from Tyre, after the capture of that city by Alexander. [2] The Phoenician colonists kept their own language, customs, and beliefs and did not mingle with the native African peoples. Carthage in form was a republic, but the real power lay in the hands of one hundred men, selected from the great merchant families. It was a government by capitalists who cared very little for the welfare of the poor freemen and slaves over whom they ruled. The wealth of Carthage enabled her to raise huge armies of mercenary soldiers and to build wars.h.i.+ps which in size, number, and equipment surpa.s.sed those of any other Mediterranean state. Mistress of a wide realm, strong both by land and sea, Carthage was now to prove herself Rome's most dangerous foe.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COLUMN OF DUILIUS (RESTORED) The Roman admiral, Duilius, who won a great victory in 260 B.C., was honored by a triumphal column set up in the Forum. The monument was adorned with the brazen beaks of the captured Carthaginian vessels. Part of the inscription, reciting the achievements of the Roman fleet, has been preserved.]

ORIGIN OF THE FIRST PUNIC WAR

The First Punic War was a contest for Sicily. The Carthaginians aimed to establish their rule over that island, which from its situation seems to belong almost as much to Africa as to Italy. But Rome, having become supreme in Italy, also cast envious eyes on Sicily. She believed, too, that the Carthaginians, if they should conquer Sicily, would sooner or later invade southern Italy. The fear for her possessions, as well as the desire to gain new ones, led Rome to fling down the gage of battle.

COURSE AND RESULTS OF THE WAR, 264-241 B.C.

The contest between the two rival states began in 264 B.C. and lasted nearly twenty-four years. The Romans overran Sicily and even made an unsuccessful invasion of Africa, but the main struggle was on the sea.

Here at first the Romans were at a disadvantage, for they had no s.h.i.+ps as large and powerful as those of the Carthaginians. With characteristic energy, however, they built several great war fleets and finally won a complete victory over the enemy. The treaty of peace provided that Carthage should abandon Sicily, return all prisoners without ransom, and pay a heavy indemnity.

THE INTERVAL OF PREPARATION, 241-218 B.C.

Carthage, though beaten, had not been humbled. She had lost Sicily and the commercial monopoly of the Mediterranean. But she was not ready to abandon all hope of recovering her former supremacy. The peace amounted to no more than an armed truce. Both parties were well aware that the real conflict was yet to come. The war, however, was delayed for nearly a quarter of a century. During this interval Rome strengthened her military position by seizing the islands of Sardinia and Corsica from Carthage and by conquering the Gauls in the Po valley. The Carthaginians, meanwhile, began to create a new empire in Spain, whose silver mines would supply fresh means for another contest and whose hardy tribes would furnish soldiers as good as the Roman legionaries.

57. HANNIBAL AND THE GREAT PUNIC WAR, 218-201 B.C.

BEGINNING OF THE SECOND PUNIC WAR, 218 B.C.

The steady advance of the Carthaginian arms in Spain caused much uneasiness in Rome and at length led that city to declare war. Carthage herself was not unwilling for a second trial of strength. Her leading general, Hannibal, who had been winning renown in Spain, believed that the Carthaginians were now in a position to wage an aggressive war against their mighty rival. And so the two great Mediterranean powers, each confident of success, renewed the struggle for supremacy.

HANNIBAL

At the opening of the conflict Hannibal was not quite twenty-seven years of age. While yet a mere child, so the story went, his father had led him to the altar, and bade him swear by the Carthaginian G.o.ds eternal enmity to Rome. He followed his father to Spain and there learned all the duties of a soldier. As a master of the art of war, he ranks with Alexander the Great. The Macedonian king conquered the world for the glory of conquest; Hannibal, burning with patriotism, fought to destroy the power which had humbled his native land. He failed; and his failure left Carthage weaker than he found her. Few men have possessed a more dazzling genius than Hannibal, but his genius was not employed for the lasting good of humanity.

HANNIBAL'S INVASION OF ITALY

The Romans planned to conduct the war in Spain and Africa, at a distance from their own sh.o.r.es. Hannibal's bold movements totally upset these calculations. The Carthaginian general had determined that the conflict should take place in the Italian peninsula itself. Since Roman fleets now controlled the Mediterranean, it was necessary for Hannibal to lead his army, with its supplies, equipment, and beasts of burden, by the long and dangerous land route from Spain to Italy. In the summer of 218 B.C.

Hannibal set out from Spain with a large force of infantry and cavalry, besides a number of elephants. Beyond the river Ebro he found himself in hostile territory, through which the soldiers had to fight their way. To force the pa.s.sage of the Pyrenees and the Alps cost him more than half his original army. When, after a five months' march he stood on the soil of Italy, Hannibal had scarcely twenty-five thousand troops with which to meet the immense power of Rome--a power that, given time, could muster to her defense more than half a million disciplined soldiers.

FIRST VICTORIES OF HANNIBAL

The Romans were surprised by the boldness and rapidity of Hannibal's movements. They had expected to conduct the war far away in foreign lands; they now knew that they must fight for their own homes and firesides. The first battles were complete victories for the Carthaginians and opened the road to Rome. Hannibal's plans, however, did not include a siege of the capital. He would not shatter his victorious army in an a.s.sault on a fortified town. Hannibal's real object was to bring the Italians over to his side, to ruin Rome through the revolts of her allies. But now he learned, apparently for the first time, that Italy was studded with Latin colonies, [3] each a miniature Rome, each prepared to resist to the bitter end. Not a single city opened its gates to the invader. On such solid foundations rested Roman rule in Italy.

A DICTATORs.h.i.+P

The Senate faced the crisis with characteristic energy. New forces were raised and intrusted to a dictator, [4] Quintus Fabius Maximus. He refused to meet Hannibal in a pitched battle, but followed doggedly his enemy's footsteps, meanwhile drilling his soldiers to become a match for the Carthaginian veterans. This strategy was little to the taste of the Roman populace, who nicknamed Fabius _Cunctator_, "the Laggard." However, it gave Rome a brief breathing s.p.a.ce, until her preparations to crush the invader should be completed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A CARTHAGINAN OR ROMAN HELMET (British Museum, London) Found on the battle field of Cannae.]