From Republic to Empire
SS.6.W.3.8,9&12
The 1st Period of Expansion: 509-264 B.C.E
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At the start of this period,
Rome was still just a tiny
republic, or democracy, in
central Italy.
The 1st period of expansion
included more than 200
years of almost constant
warfare.
During this time, Rome
gradually took control of the
entire Italian peninsula by
conquering some city-states
and signing treaties with
others.
The 1st Period of Expansion Continued
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As Rome’s territory grew,
the city had to keep a large,
permanent army to defend it
and the conquered lands.
As a result, more and more
Romans were forced to
serve in the army.
Most of the soldiers were
plebeians.
This was one reason for the
struggle between the
plebeians and the patricians
you learned about in the last
chapter!
The 2nd Period of Expansion: 264-146 B.C.E
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The Greek cities in southern
Italy had frequently clashed
with Carthage, a powerful
city in North Africa, over
trading rights.
During Rome’s 2nd period of
expansion, it fought 3 savage
wars with Carthage which
became known as the Punic
Wars.
Punic was the Greek name
for the people of Carthage.
The First Punic War
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The 1st Punic War began in
264 B.C.E. and was fought
mostly at sea.
Carthage had a very
powerful navy, but the
Romans built up their own
by copying and improving on
the Carthaginians’ ship
designs.
A decisive victory at sea in
241 B.C.E. won the war for
the Romans who took Sicily
and some other islands.
The Second Punic War
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The 2nd Punic War began 23
years later when the
Carthaginians attacked Italy.
In 218 B.C.E., Hannibal, a
brilliant Carthaginian general,
surprised the Romans by
marching his army from
Spain across the Alps into
Italy using elephants for
transportation!
Hannibal was eventually
defeated, and Carthage was
forced to give Spain to
Rome along with a huge sum
of money.
The Third Punic War
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50 years later, Rome
attacked Carthage and
sparked the 3rd Punic War
which lasted 3 years.
In 146 B.C.E., the Romans
burned Carthage to the
ground.
They killed many people and
sold others into slavery.
Rome was now the greatest
power in the Mediterranean
controlling North Africa,
Spain, Macedonia, and
Greece.
The 3rd Period of Expansion: 145-44 B.C.E.
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By 145 B.C.E., Roman conquests had
brought great wealth to Rome, but
there were also strains on their
republic.
As Romans conquered other lands,
they brought hundreds of thousands
of prisoners as slaves to Roman lands.
Romans often treated their slaves
harshly, so slave revolts became
increasingly common.
In one famous revolt in 73 B.C.E., a
slave named Spartacus raised an army
of slaves to fight the Romans.
He was eventually killed, and the
Romans hung thousands of surviving
rebels on crosses.
With so many slaves to do work,
thousands of citizens had no jobs,
leading to labor demonstrations as
well.
The 3rd Period of Expansion Continued
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The event that put an end to
democracy, or the republic, of Rome
began with a fight between 2 generals,
Pompey and Julius Caesar.
Both had conquered much land for
Rome, and they each wanted to take
command of the city, but Pompey had
the support of the Roman Senate.
In 49 B.C.E., Pompey was back in
Rome while Caesar commanded an
army to the north of Italy.
The Senate forbade Caesar from
reentering Italy, but on January 11th, he
crossed the Rubicon River into Italy
with his army anyway.
After 3 years of fighting Caesar
defeated Pompey, and the frightened
Senate named him dictator for life.
The republican form of government in
Rome was over.
The 3rd Period of Expansion Continued
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As dictator, Julius Caesar introduced
many reforms.
He put thousands to work making
new roads and buildings.
To keep the poor happy, he staged
gladiator contests they could watch
for free.
He adopted a new calendar that is still
used today.
He also started new colonies and gave
citizenship to the people of Gaul
(France) and Spain.
To many, though, Caesar had become
too powerful, so on March 15, 44
B.C.E., he was stabbed to death as he
entered the Senate.
The date became known as the “Ides
of March.”
The 4th Period of Expansion: 44-14 B.C.E.
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Caesar’s murder plunged Rome
into a series of civil wars that
lasted more than 10 years.
When the fighting ended,
Octavian, Caesar’s
grandnephew and adopted son,
emerged victorious.
One of the rivals Octavian had
to defeat was a Roman general
named Marc Antony who was
married to Queen Cleopatra of
Egypt.
Octavian defeated Antony and
Cleopatra in a sea battle, and
his army chased the lovers
back to Egypt where they killed
themselves.
The 4th Period of Expansion Continued
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The Senate gave Octavian the
title Augustus, which means
honored.
Historians call him Rome’s 1st
emperor.
As ruler, Augustus encouraged
education, art, literature, and
construction.
He also gave Rome its 1st
police force, firefighters, and
library.
During this time, the Romans
also improved trade routes by
building harbors, canals, and
roads.
Roman coins made trade easier
The 4th Period of Expansion Continued
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As emperor, Augustus ruled over 50
million people.
To defend his empire, he pushed its
borders to natural boundaries such as
the Rhine and Danube Rivers in the
north, the Sahara Desert in the south,
and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
Later emperors added to the territory,
and the Roman empire eventually
stretched from Britain to the Red Sea.
Under Roman rule, the Mediterranean
world was mostly at peace for 200
years.
This period became known as the Pax
Romana, or Roman peace.
As time went on, though, defending
the empire became increasingly
challenging and costly.