Early European History Part 31

The Roman state called itself a republic--_respublica_--"a thing of the people." Roman citizens made the laws and elected public officers. Though the people in their gatherings had now become supreme, their power was really much limited by the fact that very little discussion of a proposed measure was allowed. This formed a striking contrast to the vigorous debating which went on in the Athenian a.s.sembly. [22] Roman citizens could not frame, criticize, or amend public measures; they could only vote "yes"

or "no" to proposals made to them by a magistrate.

MAGISTRATES

Rome had many magistrates. Besides the two consuls and an occasional dictator there were the ten tribunes, the praetors, who served as judges, and the quaestors, or keepers of the treasury. The two censors were also very important officers. It was their business to make an enumeration or census of the citizens and to a.s.sess property for taxation. The censors almost always were reverend seniors who had held the consulship and enjoyed a reputation for justice and wisdom. Their office grew steadily in importance, especially after the censors began to exercise an oversight of the private life of the Romans. They could expel a senator from his seat for immorality and could deprive any citizen of his vote. The word "censorious," meaning faultfinding, is derived from the name of these ancient officials.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE SENATE

The authority of the magistrates was much limited by the Senate. This body contained about three hundred members, who held their seats generally for life. When vacancies occurred, they were filled, as a rule, by those who had previously held one or more of the higher magistracies. There sat in the Senate every man who, as statesman, general, or diplomatist, had served his country well.

POWERS EXERCISED BY THE SENATE

The Senate furnished an admirable school for debate. Any senator could speak as long and as often as he chose. The opportunities for discussion were numerous, for all weighty matters came before this august a.s.semblage.

It managed finances and public works. It looked after the state religion.

It declared and conducted war, received amba.s.sadors from foreign countries, made alliances, and administered conquered territories. The Senate formed the real governing body of the republic.

"AN a.s.sEMBLY OF KINGS"

The Senate proved not unworthy of its high position. For two centuries, while Rome was winning dominion over Italy and the Mediterranean, that body held the wisest and n.o.blest Romans of the time. To these men office meant a public trust--an opportunity to serve their country with distinction and honor. The Senate, in its best days, was a splendid example of the foresight, energy, and wisdom of republican Rome. An admiring foreigner called it "an a.s.sembly of kings." [23]

[Ill.u.s.tration: A SCENE IN SICILY Taormina, on the Sicilian coast, thirty one miles southwest of Messina.

The ruins are those of a theater, founded by the Greeks, but much altered in Roman times. The view of Aetna from this site is especially fine.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BAY OF NAPLES AND VESUVIUS]

53. EXPANSION OF ROME OVER ITALY, 509(?)-264 B.C.

ROME SUPREME IN LATIUM, 338 B.C.

The first centuries of the republic were filled with constant warfare. The Romans needed all their skill, bravery, and patriotism to keep back the Etruscans on the north, and the wild tribes of the Apennines. About 390 B.C. the state was brought near to destruction by an invasion of the Gauls. [24] These barbarians, whose huge bulk and enormous weapons struck terror to the hearts of their adversaries, poured through the Alpine pa.s.ses and ravaged far and wide. At the river Allia, only a few miles from Rome, they annihilated a Roman army and then captured and burned the city itself. But the Gallic tide receded as swiftly as it had come, and Rome rose from her ashes mightier than ever. Half a century after the Gallic invasion she was able to subdue her former allies, the Latins, and to destroy their league. The Latin War, as it is called, ended in 338 B.C., the year of the fateful battle of Chaeronea in Greece. [25] By this time Rome ruled in Latium and southern Etruria and had begun to extend her sway over Campania. There remained only one Italian people to contest with her the supremacy of the peninsula--the Samnites.

ROME SUPREME IN CENTRAL ITLAY, 290 B.C.

The Samnites were the most vigorous and warlike race of central Italy.

While the Romans were winning their way in Latium, the Samnites were also entering on a career of conquest. They coveted the fertile Campanian plain with its luxurious cities, c.u.mae and Neapolis, which the Greeks had founded. The Romans had also fixed their eyes on the same region, and so a contest between the two peoples became inevitable. In numbers, courage, and military skill Romans and Samnites were well matched. Nearly half a century of hard fighting was required before Rome gained the upper hand.

The close of the Samnite wars found Rome supreme in central Italy. Her authority was now recognized from the upper Apennines to the foot of the peninsula.

ROME SUPREME IN SOUTHERN ITALY, 264 B.C.

The wealthy cities of southern Italy offered a tempting prize to Roman greed. Before long many of them received Roman garrisons and accepted the rule of the great Latin republic. Tarentum, [26] however, the most important of the Greek colonies, held jealously to her independence.

Unable single-handed to face the Romans, Tarentum turned to Greece for aid. She called on Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, the finest soldier of his age.

Pyrrhus led twenty-five thousand mercenary soldiers into Italy, an army almost as large as Alexander's. The Romans could not break the bristling ranks of the Greek phalanx, and they shrank back in terror before the huge war elephants which Pyrrhus had brought with him. The invader won the first battle, but lost many of his best troops. He then offered peace on condition that the Romans should give up their possessions in southern Italy. The Senate returned the proud reply that Rome would not treat with the enemy while he stood on Italian soil. A second battle was so bitterly contested that Pyrrhus declared, "Another such victory, and I am lost."

[27] Weary of the struggle, Pyrrhus now crossed over to Sicily to aid his countrymen against the Carthaginians. The rapid progress of the Roman arms called him back, only to meet a severe defeat. Pyrrhus then withdrew in disgust to Greece; Tarentum fell; and Rome established her rule over southern Italy.

POLITICAL SITUATION IN 264 B.C.

The triumph over Pyrrhus and the conquest of Magna Graecia mark a decisive moment in the history of Rome. Had Pyrrhus won Italy, as well as Asia and Egypt, might have become a Greek land, ruled by h.e.l.lenistic kings. Now it was clear that Rome, having met the invader so bravely, was to remain supreme in the Italian peninsula. She was the undisputed mistress of Italy from the strait of Messina northward to the Arnus and the Rubicon.

Etruscans, Latins, Samnites, and Greeks acknowledged her sway. The central city of the peninsula had become the center of a united Italy. [28]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, THE EXPANSION of ROMAN DOMINIONS in ITALY, 500-264 B.C.]

54. ITALY UNDER ROMAN RULE

THE ROMAN CITIZENS

Italy did not form a single state under Roman rule. About one-third of Italy composed the strictly Roman territory occupied by Roman citizens.

Since ancient Rome knew nothing of the great principle of representative government, [29] it was necessary that citizens who wished to vote or to stand for office should visit in person the capital city. Few men, of course, would journey many miles to Rome in order to exercise their political rights. The elections, moreover, were not all held on one day, as with us, but consuls, praetors, and other magistrates were chosen on different days, while meetings of the a.s.semblies might be held at any time of the year. A country peasant who really tried to fulfill his duties as a citizen would have had little time for anything else. In practice, therefore, the city populace at Rome had the controlling voice in ordinary legislation. The Romans were never able to remedy this grave defect in their political system. We shall see later what evils government without representation brought in its train.

THE ITALIANS

Over against this body of Roman citizens were the Italian peoples. Rome was not yet ready to grant them citizenship, but she did not treat them as complete subjects. The Italians were called the "allies and friends" of the Roman people. They lost the right of declaring war on one another, of making treaties, and of coining money. Rome otherwise allowed them to govern themselves, never calling on them for tribute and only requiring that they should furnish soldiers for the Roman army in time of war. These allies occupied a large part of the Italian peninsula.

THE LATIN COLONIES

The Romans very early began to establish what were called Latin colonies [30] in various parts of Italy. The colonists were usually veteran soldiers or poor plebeians colonies who wanted farms of their own. When the list of colonists was made up, they all marched forth in military array to lake possession of their new homes and build their city. The Latin colonies were really offshoots of Rome and hence were always faithful to her interests. Scattered everywhere in Italy they formed so many permanent camps or garrisons to keep the conquered peoples in subjection. At the same time they helped mightily in spreading the Latin language, law, and civilization throughout the peninsula.

ROMAN ROADS

All the colonies were united with one another and with Rome by an extensive system of roads. The first great road, called the Appian Way, was made during the period of the Samnite wars. It united the city of Rome with Capua and secured the hold of Rome on Campania. The Appian Way was afterwards carried across the Apennines to Brundisium on the Adriatic, whence travelers embarked for the coast of Greece. Other trunk lines were soon built in Italy, and from them a network of smaller highways was extended to every part of the peninsula.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Map, COLONIES AND MILITARY ROADS IN ITALY]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE APPIAN WAY A view in the neighborhood of Rome. The ancient construction of the road and its ma.s.sive paving blocks of lava have been laid bare by modern excavations. The width of the roadway proper was only fifteen feet. The arches, seen in the background, belong to the aqueduct built by the emperor Claudius in 52 A.D.]

USES OF ROMAN ROADS

Roman roads had a military origin. Like the old Persian roads [31] they were intended to facilitate the rapid dispatch of troops, supplies, and official messages into every corner of Italy. Hence the roads ran, as much as possible, in straight lines and on easy grades. Nothing was allowed to obstruct their course. Engineers cut through or tunneled the hills, bridged rivers and gorges, and spanned low, swampy lands with viaducts of stone. So carefully were these roads constructed that some stretches of them are still in good condition. These magnificent highways were free to the public. They naturally became avenues of trade and travel and so served to bring the Italian peoples into close touch with Rome.

ROMANIZATION OF ITALY

Rome thus began in Italy that wonderful process of Romanization which she was to extend later to Spain, Gaul, and Britain. She began to make, the Italian peoples like herself in blood, speech, customs, and manners. More and more the Italians, under Rome's leadership, came to look upon themselves as one people--the people who wore the gown, or _toga_, as contrasted with the barbarous and trousers-wearing Gauls.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A ROMAN LEGIONARY From a monument of the imperial age. The soldier wears a metal helmet, a leather doublet with shoulder-pieces, a metal-plated belt, and a sword hanging from a strap thrown over the left shoulder. His left hand holds a large shield, his right, a heavy javelin.]

55. THE ROMAN ARMY

THE LEGION

While the Romans were conquering Italy, they were making many improvements in their army. All citizens between the ages of seventeen and forty-six were liable to active service. These men were mainly landowners--hardy, intelligent peasants--who knew how to fight and how to obey orders. An army in the field consisted of one or more legions. A legion included about three thousand heavy-armed footmen, twelve hundred light infantry, and three hundred hors.e.m.e.n. After the conquest of Italy the states allied with Rome had to furnish soldiers, chiefly archers and cavalry. These auxiliaries, as they were called, were at least as numerous as legionaries. The Romans, in carrying on war, employed not only their citizens but also their subjects.

METHOD OF FIGHTING

The legion offered a sharp contrast to the unwieldy phalanx. [32] Roman soldiers usually fought in an open order, with the heavy-armed infantry arranged in three lines: first, the younger men; next, the more experienced warriors; and lastly the veterans. A battle began with skirmishing by the light troops, which moved to the front and discharged their darts to hara.s.s the enemy. The companies of the first line next flung their javelins at a distance of from ten to twenty paces and then, wielding their terrible short swords, came at once to close quarters with the foe. It was like a volley of musketry followed by a fierce bayonet charge. If the attack proved unsuccessful, the wearied soldiers withdrew to the rear through the gaps in the line behind. The second line now marched forward to the attack; if it was repulsed, there was still the third line of steady veterans for the last and decisive blow.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A ROMAN STANDARD BEARER (Bonn Museum) From a gravestone of the first century A.D. The standard consists of a spear crowned with a wreath, below which is a crossbar bearing pendant acorns Then follow, in order, a metal disk, Jupiter's eagle standing on a thunderbolt, a crescent moon, an amulet, and a large ta.s.sel.]