509 - 146
BC - Early Roman Republic |
|
Formation of the Republic |
509-264 BC |
- Two annually elected consuls serve as chief magistrates
- In
an emergency, the consuls step aside to provide for
a single dictator for six months
|
451-450 BC |
- Twelve Tables established as codified laws and traditions
of the Republic
|
366 BC |
- Office of praetor with the imperium
- Commander of urban defense in absence of consuls
|
264 BC |
- Political officials of the Republic
- 8 quaestors (financial officials), 4 aediles (supervisors
of public markets and roads), 10 tribunes (protectors
of lower classes), 10 judges of liberty (tried suits
involving legal freedom)
- Senate--an advisory body comprised of experienced men,
summoned by the consul or praetor
- Every 5 years, censors collected data for taxation
and infrastructure maintenance
|
|
- Religious officials of the Republic: 9 pontiffs, 9 augurs (supervisors of public sacrifices
and festivals)
|
509-264 BC |
- Roman Conquest of Italian Peninsula
|
496 BC |
- Battle of Lake Regillus
- Latin league secures independence from Rome
|
493 BC |
- Latins and Romans join in an alliance known as foedus
Cassianum against hillsmen
|
396 BC |
- Etruscan stronghold of Veii conquered by Romans
|
390 BC |
- Gauls conquer Roman army north of Rome
|
387-350 BC |
- In response, Romans build a wall five and one-half
miles long around Rome
- Gain control of surrounding area
|
340-264 BC |
- Rome conquers remainder of Italian peninsula
|
340-338 BC |
- Conquers and dissolves the Latin league
|
326 BC |
- Clashes with the Samnites
|
295-282 BC |
- Victory over Samnites and Gauls at Sentinum
|
280-279 BC |
- King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeats the Romans at Heraclea
and Asculum using elephants as weapons
|
275 BC |
- Pyrrhus is defeated at Epirus
|
|
Cultural Achievements |
312 BC |
- Appius Claudius constructs the via Appia (Appian
way) to Capua
|
300 BC |
|
225 BC |
- Italy contains 120-150 city-states
- 1,000,000 males in Italy are Roman citizens, 500,000
are Latins, 1,500,000 are allies
|
|
Military Organization |
|
8 men = 1 contubernium (mess unit/tentful),
probably led by a file leader
10 contubernia = 1 centuria (century), commanded by the centurion
6 centuriae = 1 cohors (cohort), probably commanded by its senior centurion
10 cohortes = 1 legio (legion), commanded by the legatus
or
1 Contubernium |
- |
8 Men |
File Leader |
10 Contubernia |
1 Century |
80 Men |
Centurion |
2 Centuries |
1 Maniple |
160 Men |
experienced Centurion |
6 Centuries |
1 Cohort |
480 Men |
senior Centurion |
10 Cohorts + 120 Horsemen |
1 Legion |
5240 Men * |
Legate |
*1 Legion = 9 normal cohorts
(9 x 480 Men) + 1 "First Cohort" of 5 centuries
(but each century at the strength of a maniple,
so 5 x 160 Men) + 120 Horsemen = 5240 Men |
|
264-241 BC |
First Punic War - visit the Freewalt.com
Punic Wars page |
|
Also called FIRST CARTHAGINIAN WAR, first
of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian
(Punic) Empire that resulted in the destruction of Carthage.
The first Punic war was fought to establish control
over the strategic islands of Corsica and Sicily. In
264 the Carthaginians intervened in a dispute between
the two principal cities on the Sicilian west coast,
Messana and Syracuse, and so established a presence
on the island. Rome, responding to this challenge,
attacked Messana and forced the Carthaginians to withdraw.
In 260 a Roman fleet failed to gain complete control
of Sicily but opened the way to Corsica, from which
the Carthaginians were expelled. A second Roman fleet
sailed in 256 and established a beachhead on the African
continent. Carthage was prepared to surrender, but
the terms offered by Rome were too severe, and in 255
Carthage attacked with a new army built around cavalry
and elephants and drove the invaders to the sea.
The battle for Sicily resumed in 254 but was largely
stalemated until 241, when a fleet of 200 warships
gave the Romans undisputed control of the sea lanes
and assured the collapse of the Punic stronghold in
Sicily. One year later Carthage surrendered, ceding
Sicily and the Lipari Islands to Rome and agreeing
to pay an indemnity. |
|
- Hiero, king of Syracuse, attacks Campanian mercenaries
in northeastern Sicily
- Mercenaries plead to Rome and Carthage for help
- Carthage sends naval assistance to the Mamertines (Campanian
mercenaries)
- Senate and assembly fear a Carthaginian advantage in
gaining control of Sicily, so they vote to protect the
Mamertines
- Roman soldiers oust Carthaginian forces, leading to
war
|
263 BC |
- King Hiero of Syracuse joins Romans
|
261 BC |
- Romans, having a weak navy compared to Carthage, build
20 triremes and 100 quinqueremes (each
oar pulled by five men)
|
260 BC |
- Romans used a "crow" (corvus), a gangway
lowered by Roman ships onto enemy ships allowing the
Roman sailors to board Carthaginian ships and capture
them, giving them victory at Mylae
|
256 BC |
- Romans attack Carthage
- Spartan mercenary general, Xanthippus, combines Carthaginian
infantry with Numidian cavalry and elephants to defeat
the Roman land forces
|
244 BC |
- Senate assesses a public loan to build 200 warships
|
241 BC |
- Carthage surrenders Sicily, paying 3200 talents over
10 years
- Rebellion ensues by Carthaginian mercenaries in Africa,
Sardinia, and Corsica
|
218-201 BC |
Second Punic War - visit
the Freewalt.com Punic Wars page |
|
Read
a children's story about the 2nd Punic War written by
Karissa A., Hope B., and Anna L.
Punic War, Second (218-201 BC), also called
SECOND CARTHAGINIAN WAR, second in a series of wars between
the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) Empire
that resulted in Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean.
In the years after the First Punic War, Rome wrested
Corsica and Sardinia from Carthage and forced Carthaginians
to pay an even greater indemnity than the payment exacted
immediately following the war. Eventually, however,
under the leadership of Hamilcar Barca, his son Hannibal,
and his son-in-law Hasdrubal, Carthage acquired a new
base in Spain, whence they could renew the war against
Rome.
In 219 Hannibal captured Saguntum (Sagunto) on the
east coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Rome demanded
his withdrawal, but Carthage refused to recall him,
and Rome declared war. Because Rome controlled the
sea, Hannibal led his army overland through Spain and
Gaul and across the Alps, arriving in the plain of
the Po River valley in 218 BC with 20,000 infantry
and 6,000 cavalry.
Roman troops tried to bar his advance but were outmatched,
and Hannibal's hold over northern Italy was established.
In 217 Hannibal, reinforced by Gallic tribesmen, marched
south. Rather than attack Rome directly, he marched
on Capua, the second largest town in Italy, hoping
to incite the populace to rebel. He won several battles
but still refrained from attacking the city of Rome,
even after annihilating a huge Roman army at Cannae
in 216. The defeat galvanized Roman resistance. A brilliant
defensive strategy conducted by Quintus Fabius Maximus
Cunctator harried the Carthaginians without offering
battle. Thus, the two armies remained deadlocked on
the Italian peninsula until 211 BC, when Rome recaptured
the city of Capua.
In 207 Hasdrubal, following Hannibal's route across
the Alps, reached northern Italy with another large
army supported by legions of Ligurians and Gauls. Hasdrubal
marched down the peninsula to join Hannibal for an
assault on Rome. Rome, exhausted by war, nevertheless
raised and dispatched an army to check Hasdrubal. Gaius
Nero, commander of the southern Roman army, slipped
away north also and defeated Hasdrubal on the banks
of the Metauros River.
Hannibal maintained his position in southern Italy
until 203, when he was ordered to return to Africa;
Italy was free of enemy troops for the first time in
15 years. During the long mainland campaign, fighting
had continued as well on Sardinia and Sicily, which
had become Rome's chief sources of food. Aided by internal
upheaval in Syracuse, Carthage reestablished its presence
on the island in 215 and maintained it until 210. Meanwhile,
in Spain, Roman forces maintained pressure on Carthaginian
strongholds. The Roman general Publius Scipio won a
decisive battle at Ilipa in 206 and forced the Carthaginians
out of Spain.
After his Spanish victory Scipio determined to invade
the Carthaginian homeland. He sailed for Africa in
204 and established a beachhead. The Carthaginian council
offered terms of surrender but reneged at the last
minute, pinning its hopes on one last battle. The massed
Carthaginian army, led by Hannibal, was defeated at
Zama. The Carthaginians accepted Scipio's terms for
peace: Carthage was forced to pay an indemnity and
surrender its navy, and Spain and the Mediterranean
islands were ceded to Rome. |
|
- Silver coinage known as denarius (equaling 10
asses of bronze) are introduced, becoming the standard
exchange medium in the Mediterranean region
|
|
Read
a children's story about the 2nd Punic War written by Karissa
A., Hope B., and Anna L. |
218 BC |
- Rome sends ambassadors to Carthage demanding they surrender
Hannibal
- Carthaginians refuse and the ambassadors declare war
(March)
- Hannibal crosses the Pyrenees into Gaul, crosses the
Rhone, and crosses the Alps into Italy
- Romans defeated at Trebia river, losing two-thirds
of its military force and losing the Po valley to Hannibal
(December)
|
217 BC |
- Flaminius elected consul
- Killed in battle near Lake Trasimene
|
|
- Q. Fabius Maximus chosen as Roman dictator
- Employed "Fabian tactics" of harassing
small detachments sent out by Hannibal near Campania,
with the intent of forcing Hannibal out of his
fortifications
|
216 BC |
- Under newly elected consuls L. Aemilius Paullus and
C. Terentius Varro, 50,000 Roman soldiers are slaughtered
at Cannae due to Hannibal's brilliant tactical maneuver
- Rome prepared for war, calling to "wailing women" indoors
and forbidding mention of the word pax (peace)
- Much of southern Italy revolts from Roman rule
- Capua, Syracuse, Gauls in the Po valley
|
211 BC |
|
210-205 BC |
- First Macedonian war against Rome
- Philip V of Macedonia allies with Hannibal, attempting
to liberate the Dalmatian coast from Roman rule
|
210 BC |
- P. Scipio (Africanus), son of a consul, is given command
of Roman forces in Spain
|
209 BC |
- Scipio Africanus captures New Carthage (Cartagena)
behind enemy lines
|
207 BC |
- Hasdrubal, brother of Hannibal, is killed in northern
Italy at the Metaurus river and thrown into Hannibal's
camp by a Roman cavalryman
|
204 BC |
- Scipio reaches a tentative peace treaty with Carthage
on the condition that Hannibal evacuates Italy
|
203 BC |
- Hannibal agrees to armistice and withdraws
|
202 BC |
- Battle of Zama
- Armistice broken, Scipio enlists the Numidian cavalry
and defeats Hannibal with Hannibal's own strategies
|
201 BC |
- Harsh conditions of peace agreement
- Carthage yields elephants and all but 10 warships,
surrenders Spain to Rome, promises to pay 10,000
talents over 50 years, and agrees not to wage war
in Africa without Roman approval
|
183 BC |
- Hannibal commits suicide rather than suffer Roman capture
|
200-196 BC |
- Second Macedonian war with Rome
- Rhodes and King Attalus I of Pergamum ask for Roman
intervention against Philip V
- Through consul T. Quinctius Flamininus, Rome "liberated" Greece
and established boundaries
- Livy 33.33.5-7 "There was one people in
the world which would fight...and law might prevail.
|
192-188 BC |
- War with Antiochus III
- Antiochus III fills the power vacuum left by
Philip V
- Romans engage Antiochus' naval force at Thermopylae
- Romans engage Antiochus' land force at Magnesia,
destroying it
- Peace is concluded at Apamea, yielding Asia Minor
to the Romans
|
186 BC |
- Senate works to curtail growth of cults worshiping
Bacchus and Dionysus
Hermes
and Dionysus |
171-167 BC |
- Third Macedonian war
- Roman province of Macedonia emerges as a result
|
167-151 BC |
- Slavery increases in the Republic
- Polybius brought to Rome as a hostage
|
149 BC |
- Senate develops a standing court to try cases of extortion
|
149-146 BC |
Third Punic War - visit
the Freewalt.com Punic Wars page |
|
(149-146 BC), also called Third Carthaginian
War, third of three wars between the Roman Republic and
the Carthaginian (Punic) Empire that resulted in the final
destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population,
and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. The
first and second Punic wars (264-241 BC and 218-201 BC)
had effectively deprived Carthage of its political power.
Nevertheless, its commercial enterprises expanded rapidly
in the 2nd century BC, exciting the envy of Rome's growing
mercantile community. When the Carthaginians in 150 resisted
Masinissa's aggressions by force of arms, thus formally
breaking the treaty with Rome, a Roman army was dispatched
to Africa.
Although the Carthaginians consented to make reparation
by giving hostages and surrendering their arms, they
were goaded into revolt by the further stipulation
that they must emigrate to some inland site, where
commerce by sea would no longer be possible. Carthage
resisted the Roman siege for two years. In 147, however,
the command was given to Scipio Aemilianus, the adopted
grandson of the former conqueror of Carthage.
Scipio made the blockade stringent by walling off
the isthmus on which the town lay and by cutting off
its sources of supplies from overseas. His main attack
was delivered on the harbour side, where he effected
an entrance in the face of a determined and ingenious
resistance. House by house he captured the streets
that led up to the citadel.
Of a city population that may have exceeded a quarter
of a million, only 50,000 remained at the final surrender.
The survivors were sold into slavery; the city was
razed, and the territory was made a Roman province
under the name of Africa. |
|
- Led to the destruction of Carthage
- Romans sowed salt on the destroyed city to prohibit
the growth of future crops
|