The Punic Wars

South of Italy on the shores of North Africa, a city existed whose democratic prowess, economic stability, and militaristic outlook was very much akin to that of Rome. That city was Carthage. The Carthaginians were descended from Phoenician traders from the Eastern Mediterranean, and were a formidable naval power at the time of Rome first major contact with them in the 3^rd Century B.C. In the southern Mediterranean, trade routes were dominated by Carthage, who controlled the African coast from modern-day Tunisia to the Pillars of Hercules. Unlike the Romans, who required military service from their young men, the Carthaginians relied heavily on a mercenary army, and used more diplomacy in their attempts to settle disputes (Starr, 22). The first major Roman diplomatic interaction with the Carthaginians was at the beginning of the Roman Republic, where the two nations forged a treaty in which Carthage agreed to not interfere with the Roman sphere of interest in Italy and the Roman merchants were banned from the shore of Africa (23). However, as Rome and Carthage both expanded throughout the centuries eventually conflict seemed inevitable.

The rivalry between the Carthaginians and Romans in the 3^rd Century B.C. was fueled by somewhat mythical tales of Aeneas, citizen of Troy and legendary founder of Rome, breaking the heart and betraying Queen Dido, the mythical founder of Carthage. These stories were committed to writing in Virgil’s The Aeneid. Despite these “tensions,” which were likely fiction, the Romans and Carthaginians did come at odds in Sicily in the mid-200s B.C.  For many years preceding the 3^rd Century, the Carthaginians, who had possessions on the western end of the island, had been at odds with the Greek Syracusans, who were centered around the city of Syracuse in southeaster Sicily. On the northeastern tip of the island, there was the Greek city state of Messina (Messana in Latin), which was controlled by a group of former Italian mercenaries known as the Mamertines. The city came under pressure from Syracuse, yet Carthage intervened and housed a garrison within the settlement. The Mamertines, however, did not seek occupation by either the Carthaginians or Syracuscans, and went to Rome for aid in 264 B.C., offering submission if the Romans were to occupy the city (Connolly, 143). Although Roman foreign policy at this time period was wary of expanding across the straits of Messina due to the need to field a strong navy to protect island possessions, the Romans accepted the submission and sent a small force to Messina. Although the Carthaginian garrison left the city peacefully, the Roman occupation of Messina was the equivalent of declaring war on both Carthage and Syracuse. Thus in 264 B.C. the First Punic War began.

After a year of minor skirmishing on Sicily, the Romans decided to fully commit to the conflict and sent both of the consuls to the island with a larger army in 363 B.C. (Connolly, 144). The Romans decided to deal with the weaker forces of Syracuse before focusing all of their energy on the Carthaginian forces. With their superior forces, the Romans had crushed Syracuse by the following year. The Punic fleet, however, ravaged the Sicilian and Italian coast. The Romans saw the need for a major fleet, and, using a Carthaginian ship that had run aground as a model, built up a significant navy. However, with inferior seamanship the Romans stood no chance to the Carthaginian navy. Thus the Romans engineered a boarding plank nicknamed the raven or corvus. With the corvus, the Romans were able to utilize their superior infantry on sea as well as land. However, the corvus made the Roman ships top-heavy and difficult to steer, leading to massive shipwrecks.

The overall war was at a standstill. The Romans had sent an army to invade Africa, but despite the early success of the Romans the Spartan general Xanthippus, hired by the Carthaginians, decimated the invasion with a powerful combination of phalanxes and war elephants. The Romans, who had suffered the loss of hundreds of warships in the war, constructed one last navy, this time without the corvus, and crushed the surprised Punic navy and its supply ships at the Battle of Aegates Islands in the year 214 B.C. (145). The Carthaginians, battered and broken, signed a treaty that gave Sicily to the Romans and provided for Carthage to pay tribute to Rome. Carthage also lost much of its possessions in Spain as a result of the war and lost Sardinia to the Romans in the aftermath of a mercenary uprising in Carthaginian territory.

With a powerful navy and a dominating position in the central Mediterranean, the Romans increased their influence over the Adriatic and the Illyrian coast. To the north, Celtic tribes attempted to invade Italy in 225 B.C. with an army of 70,000 men (146). However, the Romans were able to easily defeat the Gauls due to their availability of resources for the conflict, killing 40,000 of the Celts with a force of over 100,000 troops (146). In Donald Walter Baronowski’s analysis of the ancient historian Polybius’ report on Roman military capacity in 225 B.C., there may have been as many as 130,800 troops immediately available (including allies) and as many as 540,000 in extreme circumstances. The Romans then decided to secure their northern flank by eradicating the remaining Celts in the Po River Valley, securing the region by 220 B.C. Furthermore, in the time between the first and second Punic Wars Rome secured its dominant position in the central Mediterranean.

The Carthaginians, meanwhile, were recovering and rebuilding. Hamilcar Barca, a legendary general who fought in the First Punic War, had helped suppress the mercenary rebellion, stabilized the Carthaginian economy, and reestablished the Punic position in Spain. When Hamilcar died in battle in 228 B.C., his son Hannibal took over his mantle and the legacy of his grand scheme to attack Rome. One thing that the Carthaginians had struggled with in their Spanish campaigns was the insurgencies of many small tribes that were difficult to suppress. Hannibal decided that he could invade Italy and thus enlist the aid of suppressed Italian states along with the recently defeated Celtic tribes. However, with Roman dominance of the seas the Carthaginians could not to transport such a major invasion force to Italy by sea. Instead, Hannibal decided on a bold and risky invasion through the Alps and into the heart of the Roman Republic.

In 226 B.C., the Romans made an agreement with Carthage on the Ebro River in Spain being the limit of Carthaginian expansion (Starr, 26). Hannibal, however, crossed the river to attack Saguntum, an ally of Rome in Spain. The ultimate result was the declaration of war in March of 218, leading to a long and brutal war. The route that Hannibal took from Italy to Spain in under much contention, yet it is known that he evaded the Roman and hostile Gallic forces attempting to intercept him and arrived in the Po valley amongst friendly Gauls with an army of about 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and a very dozen elephants (27). In Michael B. Charles and Peter Rhodan’s ""Magister Elephantorvm": A Reappraisal of Hannibal's Use of Elephants," it is discussed to which species of elephant Hannibal likely utilized (probably a Northern African species that was smaller than Indian elephants) and what tactical purpose they served.

With the need for a quick victory, Hannibal advanced and met an overly eager Roman force at the Trebbia River and destroyed two-thirds of them. Although the official report was that the Romans won the battle in order to avoid upsetting the Roman population (27), many citizens saw the truth and elected the popular Gaius Flaminius Nepos to one of the two consul positions for 217. Flaminius led a force northward, yet was ambushed on the shores of Lake Trasimene, Flaminius killed in battle and his force suffered heavy casualties. Hannibal, lacking the support he was expected from the Etruscans, decided to head further south down the Italian peninsula into Campania in the attempt to get more support to assault Rome. The Romans, now in a state of emergency, appointed Fabius Maximus dictator. Fabius adopted a tactic that became his namesake by harassing any small Carthaginian forces and avoiding full-scale battle. However, Hannibal survived the skirmishes and Fabius was unsuccessful in his attempt to isolate Hannibal’s cavalry and fight his infantry in open ground, a battle scenario favoring the Romans.

The next year, the two consuls, Paullus and Varro, met Hannibal outside the city of Cannae with an army of over 60,000, the largest single army that Rome had ever fielded. Hannibal, with an outnumbered force of about 45,000, developed an ingenious double-envelopment strategy that ultimately surrounded the majority of the Roman force. Only about 10,000 of the Roman soldiers escaped; the rest were slaughtered on the battlefield or taken prisoner. Following this victory, Hannibal decided not to besiege Rome and instead successfully promoted revolt in southern Italy. Many historians, classical and modern, question Hannibal’s decision not to attack. A. D. Fitton Brown discusses many possible explanations for Hannibal’s decision to not attack Rome. Some prominent explanations include Hannibal lacking the willpower or desire to take Rome, as he sought to teach the Romans a lesson rather than destroy them. More grounded in fact is the dispute over whether Hannibal could have logistically taken the city or not. Regardless of why Hannibal did not move on Rome, many historians think that failing to attack the city led to him losing the war.

The Romans attempted to weather the storm by having a small force follow Hannibal while other armies tried to retake rebelling cities in southern Italy and Sicily, including the major settlements of Capua and Syracuse. Roman possessions in Illyria and western Greece also came under pressure from King Phillip V of Macedon, who had allied himself with Hannibal. Although the Romans were on the run in Italy and the Balkans, they were having some success in Spain. A steady stream of reinforcements from Italy had kept the Roman forces there in a good position, and by 210 the rising of Publius Cornelius Scipio, later given the title of Scipio Africanus, who became the commander of Roman forces in Spain and quickly turned the war around. Also, Punic reinforcements en route from Spain led by Hasdrubal Barca were cut off and destroyed in northern Italy; Hannibal received the news when a Roman horseman threw his brother’s head into his camp (34).

By 208 B.C. the Romans, weary from war, hoped to make a direct attack into Africa, yet the most experienced Roman general, Marcellus, was killed in the recaptured Syracuse in 208. Scipio stepped up and led an army of mostly volunteers to Africa, landing in 204. He was able to then secure an armistice which provided, along with a short ceasefire, that Hannibal left Italy. Undefeated in his invasion, Hannibal sailed back to Carthage in 203. In 202 Hannibal led a force to meet Scipio in a climactic battle on the plain of Zama. Scipio led a superior force, including Numidian cavalry, however, and soundly defeated Hannibal. In 201 a treaty ended the Second Punic War. This treaty served to have a similar impact as the Treaty of Versailles did after World War I; after a long war in which there were victories on both sides, one side was forced to pay the price. The brutal treaty imposed on the Carthaginians led to such future treaties being called “Carthaginian peace.”

After its victory in the Punic Wars, Rome ultimately rose from the ashes of one of the most brutal wars of antiquity to rule over much of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Following his defeat, Hannibal attempted to lead Carthage as a statesman after the treaty, yet Rome controlled nearly all of Carthage’s economic and diplomatic activity and Hannibal was eventually disposed. In 183 B.C. Hannibal Barca committed suicide rather than fall into the hands of his Roman pursuers (35). Carthage remained as a type of client state of Rome, and was finally eradicated after a long siege in 146 B.C. The majority of its population was eliminated and the city was leveled; a “Roman” Carthage was built on top of the ruins. Despite the genius of generals such as Hamilcar Barca and his sons Hannibal, Hasdrubal, and Mago and their armies throughout the First and Second Punic Wars and the determined resistance of the Carthaginian people in the final siege for Carthage (the Third Punic War), Carthage was ultimately destroyed. If Hannibal’s reason for not attacking the city of Rome in 216 B.C. hung at all on his respect for his enemy, the Romans showed just the opposite esteem through their elimination of not only the Carthaginian people and empire, but also its culture. The little that we know about Carthaginian culture exists through fragmented archaeology and the biased historical reports of the Romans, which proves, if nothing else, that history is indeed written by the victors.

Works Cited

Baronowski, Donald Walter. "Roman Military Forces in 225 B.C. (Polybius 2.23-4)." Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 42.2 (1993): 181-202. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4436284>.

Brunt, P. A. "The Army and the Land in the Roman Revolution." The Journal of Roman Studies 52 (1962): 69-86. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/297878>.

Charles, Michael B., and Peter Rhodan. ""Magister Elephantorvm": A Reappraisal of Hannibal's Use of Elephants." The Classical World 100.4 (2007): 363-89. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25434049>.

Conolly, Peter. Greece and Rome at War. 4th ed. London: Greenhill, 2012. Print.

Fitton Brown, A. D. "After Cannae." Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 8.3 (1959): 365-71. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4434625>.

Hammond, N. G L. "Illyris, Rome and Macedon in 229-205 B.C." The Journal of Roman Studies 58 (1968): 1-21. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/299691>.

Hassall, Mark, Michael Crawford, and Joyce Reynolds. "Rome and the Eastern Provinces at the End of the Secon Century B.C." The Journal of Roman Studies 64 (1974): 195-220. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/299269>.

Knauer, Elfriede R. "The "Battle of Zama" after Giulio Romano: A Tapestry in the American Academy in Rome, Part II." Memoirs of the American Academy in Rom 51/52 (2006/2007): 239-76. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25609496>.

McDonald, A. H. "Rome and the Italian Confederation (200-186 B.C.)." The Journal of Roman Studies 34 (1944): 11-33. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/296777>.

Prevas, John. Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Enigma Re-examined. Rockville Centre, NY: Sarpedon, 1998. Print.

Rance, Philip. "Hannibal, Elephants and Turrets in Suda Θ 438 [Polybius Fr. 162⁻] — an Unidentified Fragment of Diodorus." The Classical Quarterly 1st ser. 59.1 (2009): 91-111. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20616664>.

Rossi, Andreola. "Parallel Lives: Hannibal and Scipio in Livy's Third Decade." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-) 134.2 (2004): 359-81. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20054112>.

Shean, John F. "Hannibal's Mules: The Logistical Limitations of Hannibal's Army and the Battle of Cannae 216 B.C." Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte 45.2 (1996): 159-87. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4436417>.

Sherwin-White, A. N. "Roman Involvement in Anatolia, 167-88 B.C." The Journal of Roman Studies 67 (1977): 62-75. JSTOR. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/299919>.

Starr, Chester G. "The Second Carthaginian War." The Ancient Romans. New York: Oxford UP, 1971. 21-40. Print.

Roman Expansion from 508-270 B.C.

Following the defeat of the Etruscans at Cumae and the successive fall of Etruscan dominance over the region of Latium, the city of Rome rose up with other Latin states to challenge the Etruscans. While the Romans were one of the most dominant cities in the region when it had been under Etruscan rule, they had fared poorly in wars of rebellion against the Etruscans near the end 6^th Century B.C. Although Livy details an account of how the city of Rome was saved from invasion in these wars, other historical evidence suggests that the city fell. Though Rome was able to eventually oust the Etruscans with the assistance of other Latin states, this defeat meant that Rome was not the foremost power in Latium. At the beginning of the 5^th Century, Rome’s hands were tied and she was forced to sign the Cassian treaty of alliance with the other Latin states, establishing equal partnership.

Despite the decline of the trade-based Etruscan civilization, their legacy continued in ancient Italian culture. Rossella Lorenzi details the archaeological research surrounding the Etruscans and accentuating their conjoining of Greek, Italian, and Near Eastern cultures and ideals in his journal entry for Archaeology Magazine titled Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma. The 5^th Century, however, was no time for Rome to think about expanding her culture. Following the departure of the Etruscans, the Roman economy declined rapidly. “Once the Etruscans were overthrown and expelled, the newly independent nation went into immediate economic decline and the population likewise rapidly fell from a census of 130,000 in 509 B.C. to 120,000 in 503 and on down to a projected 116,000 (- 25,000) by 500 B.C., a loss of some 14,000 people or 11% of the population within nearly a decade” (Ward, 11). To make matters worse for the Romans, Eastern Italian tribes from mountainous regions, the Aequi and Volsci, invaded Latium when they were driven from their homelands by the rising Samnites, and fought against the Latin League for the next 80 years (Connolly, 89). By 431 B.C., the Latin League drove the invaders back and turned its attention to the surviving Etruscan colonies to the north in Etruria.

Etruscan outposts had survived on the north-western coast of the Italian Peninsula throughout the Latin League’s wars with the Aequi and Volsci. Indeed, in 500 B.C the Etruscans established at colony at Bologna in the Po River valley. However, this settlement came under pressure from Celtic tribes that had been pushing southward into Italy. The Etruscans then faced an attack on city of Veii in southern Etruria (quite close to Rome, in fact). The Romans, now the dominant power in the Latin League, led a siege of Veii that culminated with the capture of the city in 396 B.C. The Etruscans, attempting to defend on two fronts, ended up defending neither amply and saw the decline of its colonies in northern Italy. As Fredrick the Great of Prussia put it, “He who defends everything defends nothing.” The incoming hordes of Celts, however, also swept into Rome and sacked the city. Rome lost much of its prestige in the Latin League, but eventually recovered. After recovering from the Celtic attack, the League moved to invade Etruria a second time, pushing forward to meet the army of Tarquinii in 388 and 386. Following savage warfare over many decades the League defeated Tarquinii and the nearby Etruscan city of Falerii, who was also a belligerent. The Etruscan power further diminished with the loss of Bologna to the Celts in 350 B.C.

With secure dominance over Latium, southern Etruria, and northern Campania (further south down the coast of Italy), Rome looked to further assert its position as the leader of the Latin League. Following a few years of civil war at the beginning of the 330s B.C., Rome emerged victorious and the Latin League was absolved into Roman control. From this position, Rome soon came into conflict with the Samnites to their south-east. After subduing the remaining Volsci tribes in the 350s, the Romans engaged in many long and bloody wars with the Samnites. After an initial stalemate where the Samnites refused to fight in the plains and the Romans refused to fight in the hilly lands of the Samnites, the two Roman Consuls in 321 B.C. made an excursion into Samnite territory. The entire Roman army was defeated and captured, and suffered much humiliation. In 316, the Romans broke the peace, but the Samnites outflanked the Roman position and descended upon Latium from the north. The Romans frantically tried to make a stand, but the Samnites crushed their disheveled armies. When Rome looked to be defeated, an unlikely change of events occurred. Acrotatus of Sparta was en route to aid the city of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. After a foray in Illyria, Acrotatus and his army stopped at Taranto in southern Italy (Connolly, 90). The Samnites, wary of a Greek invasion to their southern borders, hesitated in attacking Rome. The distraction was just enough for the Romans to push the Samnites back. After a period of peace from 304-296 B.C. the war was rekindled with another Samnite invasion, but the Romans were in a much stronger position now and brought the Samnites to their knees. The few and scattered remaining Etruscan strongholds, allying with the Samnites due to a mutual enemy, were finally subdued in the aftermath of these wars in the earlier part of the 3^rd Century B.C.

After surviving another attack from Celtic tribes from the north, the Romans stood in a position of dominance over the Italian peninsular in 280 B.C. The only opposing forces on peninsular Italy were the remaining Greek colonies in the south. Rome began to pressure these cities into submission, prompting the response of Pyrrhus of Epirus, king of Epirus in western Greece. Pyrrhus led an army of 25,000 veteran troops and 20 war elephants (received as a gift from the Ptolemies in Egypt) into southern Italy to unite Rome’s enemies, but the Romans anticipated the offensive and met him at Heralea (90). Although Pyrrhus’ phalanx proved victorious in the ensuing battle, he suffered substantial casualties. Despite Pyrrhus’ regard in the ancient world, he became notorious for these victories at great cost, leading to the expression “Pyrrhic victory.” The next year the Romans challenged Pyrrhus with 40,000 troops, yet the second battle had a similar outcome to the one a year before. Dismayed by his losses, Pyrrhus left for Sicily to attack the enemy of the Greeks there: the Carthaginians. When he returned to Italy two years later, however (with the Carthaginians nipping at his heels), he found that the Romans had subdued many of their enemies in the south. Pyrrhus met the Romans in a final battle and was defeated. After surviving the Pyrrhic Wars, the Samnite wars, and invasions from other Italian and Celtic tribes, the Romans stood in a powerful position by 275 B.C. They controlled basically all of peninsular Italy, and became a dominant Mediterranean power in the years to come.

Works Cited:

Connolly, Peter. “Italy and The Western Mediterranean: The Rise of Rome 800-275 B.C., Part 1: the         Struggle for Italy.” Greece and Rome at War. 4th ed. Chicago: Frontline, 2012. 86-95. Print.

Title:  Rome and Latium Vetus, 1980-85
Author(s):  T. J. Cornell
Source:  Archaeological Reports, No. 32  (1985 - 1986), pp. 123-133
Publisher(s): The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
Stable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/581098

Title:  Unraveling the Etruscan Enigma
Author(s):  Rossella Lorenzi
Source:  Archaeology, Vol. 63, No. 6  (November/December 2010), pp. 36-43
Publisher(s): Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/41780629

Title:  The Samnites
Author(s):  R. M. Ogilvie
Source:  The Classical Review, New Series, Vol. 18, No. 3  (Dec., 1968), pp. 330-332
Publisher(s): Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association
Stable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/709309

Title:  News Letter from Rome
Author(s):  A. W. van Buren
Source:  American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 62, No. 4  (Oct., 1958), pp. 415-427
Publisher(s): Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/502066

Title:  Roman Population, Territory, Tribe, City, and Army Size from the Republic's Founding to the Veientane War, 509 B.C.-400 B.C.
Author(s):  Lorne H. Ward
Source:  The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 111, No. 1  (Spring, 1990), pp. 5-39
Publisher(s): The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/295257

Roman Roads and Infrastructure

“All roads lead to Rome” is a well-known colloquial saying that seems metaphorical, yet throughout the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire Rome was the center of an advanced infrastructure system that spanned from Britain to Egypt and from the Carpathian Mountains to the Pillars of Hercules. Over 50,000 miles of paved roads spanned across the Mediterranean and Europe during the last Century B.C. to the decline of the Western Roman Empire during the 4^th and 5^th centuries A.D., when a lack of maintenance led to many roads falling into disrepair. Despite this, the durable building style of the Roman roadways allowed many of them to survive until modern day. Indeed, in many places around Europe (most prominently Italy and France), Roman roads are still used today.

The bulk of the building of was done by the Empire’s full time soldiers, although some additional work was carried out by private workers or slaves. To build the road straight and in the right direction, the Roman surveyors used a tool known as a groma to measure a straight line. (A picture is shown to the left.) When building the roadway, the workers first dug down to either hard packed dirt or base rock. Sand would sometimes be added to make the road more stable. In muddy or boggy places, animal skins and bundles of sticks would often be placed to prevent the road from sinking. After this, layers of crushed rock would be piled on, followed by gravel and mortar. Then a layer of concrete was laid on. The Roman mixture of concrete was made of volcanic ash, hydrate lime, and various rocks, and proved very strong. Finally, smooth stones were placed on top with a slight crown for drainage, and set in such a way that they fit together well. The roads were bordered with a stone curb, and drainage ditches were usually on the side (although some designs have drainage ditches in the center). In all, the roads’ base layers were a few feet deep and of varying widths, usually from 20 to 40 feet wide. Archaeological evidence near Pompeii has also suggested that the Romans put many white seashells between the stones on the road to reflect the moonlight at night, allowing travelers to see the outline of the roadway after dark. Furthermore, the Roman roads were the superior transportation system that surpassed even most modern American roads up until the early 20^th Century. Overall, the roads were built to be durable and ensure quick travel across the Empire.

At the height of the Roman Empire, it is estimated that one could travel across the length of the Empire in just a few months, a distance of a few thousand miles. The infrastructure was also utilized by the military and government on a large scale. The advanced roadways allowed armies to move quickly and efficiently, and news was able to travel quickly. The Legions could move swiftly around the Empire to respond to any threat. Throughout the late Roman Republic and Roman Empire, roads served the military first and foremost, yet there were also many fiscal benefits through improved trade. Foreign and exotic goods were able to make their way to the heart of the empire with great speed. From silver and wool being brought in from Britain, to cotton, spices, silk, slaves and exotic animals from the near east, Africa, and Asia, the Roman infrastructure allowed for goods from all across the Eastern Hemisphere to be available in the central Mediterranean.

The infrastructure of the Romans was not limited to their paved roads. Romans also had running water in their cities and public bath houses, both of which were supplied by aqueducts, which brought water down from natural springs. These ancient plumbing systems still exist in many places today. The Romans’ resourcefulness, ingenuity, and efficiency were realized in many infrastructure projects. Bridges were also designed to be very secure and durable. A bridge over the Danube River shown on Trajan’s column had a wooded structure that was supported by a score of stone piers. Many Roman bridges were built using stone arches and concrete, including the Alcántra Bridge in western Spain, which still stands today. (A photograph is shown to the left.) To build the bridges, wooden frames were constructed, and then stones were placed with mortar. During the Gallic Wars between 55 and 53 B.C., Caesar built two bridges across the Rhine River near the modern day Alsace region in France. These were built out of wood, yet were very sturdy and durable. The speed with which these bridges were assembled, and their physically stable design, proved to be a great engineering feat for the time.

Moreover, the Roman infrastructure helped commerce to efficiently flow across Europe, Asia, and North Africa, allowed military forces and envoys to travel quickly, and provided a durable transportation system for even the average Roman plebeian. The simple fact that many of these structures survive to modern day (many in working order) is a testament to the mechanical inventiveness and prowess of the ancient Romans. The structures were built not just to last, but to endure.

Works Cited:

"Ancient Architecture: Roman Bridges." — Brightside. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.           <http://www.brightknowledge.org/knowledge-bank/architecture/features-and-resources/ancient-architecture-roman-              bridges>.

BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.

                <http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/roads_and_places/>.

Connolly, Peter. “The Roman Empire: The Empire 140 BC-AD 200, Part 4: The Army in the Field.” Greece and Rome at War. 4th ed.                 Chicago: Frontline, 2012. 240. Print.

"Infrastructure - Ancient Rome." Ancient Rome. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.                 <http://apworldromehistory.weebly.com/infrastructure.html>.

"Roman Roads." Roman Roads. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.  

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"Roman Roads." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.

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Images:

Accessed 30 Mar. 2013.

                <http://glenway.net/Students/Matthew/Reflection/Ancient%20Rome_files/image003.jpg>.

Accessed 30 Mar. 2013.

                <http://www.dl.ket.org/latin3/mores/techno/roads/images/rd_map_color.gif>.

Accessed 30 Mar. 2013.

                <http://travelswithnancy.com/EarlyRome/EarlyRomeImages/Technology/Groma.jpg>.

Accessed 3 April 2013.

                <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Bridge_Alcantara.JPG/300px-Bridge_Alcantara.JPG>.

Foundation of Rome and the Early Roman Kingdom

The foundation of the city of Rome is shrouded in mystery and legend. The traditional founder of Rome is Romulus, who, according to mythical accounts, was raised by a she-wolf with his brother Remus and later and killed his brother for control of their new city. Other myths include the city being founded by Aeneas of Troy, whose feuds with Dido was the eventual cause of the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage. (Dido, according to legend, founded the city of Carthage in northern Africa.) Whether or not these people existed, a group of hilltop villages lying upon an Italian trade route on the river Tiber were unified in the mid-8th Century B.C. (traditionally 753). The Iron Age culture of the Tiber river valley was known as Villanovan, and slowly groups of villages unified under a powerful ruling class.

Image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6
a/She-wolf_suckles_Romulus_and_Remus.jpg

In the 7th Century B.C., Etruscan traders from the Eastern Mediterranean established a mercantile empire in Italy. Renowned seafarers, the Etruscans came into conflict with other seafaring powers, such as the Phoenicians operating from Carthage and various Greek colonies in southern Italy and Sicily. In midst of these conflicts over trade, the Etruscans made an offensive into Latium, the region in central Italy surrounding Rome and the Tiber, at the end of the 7th Century. While the Etruscans fought the Greeks in the south over the course of the next hundred years, Rome was ruled by a Etruscan military overlord, and under Etruscan dominion became the chief city in Latium. Meanwhile, the Etruscans forced their way southward and captured a few Greek colonies and established a few of their own, surrounding the Greek city of Cumae, which was located near modern-day Naples.

The Etruscans were at their peak of their power throughout the 6th Century B.C., even forming an alliance with the Carthaginians to fight the Greeks at Alalia (on modern-day corsica) in 535 B.C., gaining control of the island. It was during this time period that the first sewers and walls were built in Rome. However, the Etruscan dominance over Rome was somewhat short-lived. To the south, the Etruscans continued to have  difficulty subduing the city of Cumae. Eventually, the Latin cities revolted near the end of the 6th Century B.C., quite possibly at the request of the Cumaeans. In the decades to come, Rome and the surrounding towns of Latium were at odds with their Etruscan overlords and their Italian neighbors, leading to a long path of war for Rome to gain and sustain her sovereignty.

Works Cited:

Connolly, Peter. "Italy and The Western Mediterranean: The Rise of Rome 800-275 B.C., Part 1: The Struggle for Italy." Greece and Rome at War. 4th ed. Chicago: Frontline, 2012. 86-95. Print.

Grafton, A.T. and Swerdlow, N.M. Classical Philology. Vol. 81, No. 2 (Apr., 1986), pp. 148-153. Published by The University of Chicago Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/269789

Edlund, Ingrid E.M. Vergilius (1959-). No. 27 (1981), pp 1-7. Published by The Vergilian Society. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41591853

Drews, Robert. Historia: Zeitschrift fur Alte Geschichte. Bd. 41, H. 1 (1992), pp. 14-39. Published by Franz Steiner Verlag. http://www.jstory.org/stable/4436222