A Social and Cultural History of Republican Rome. Группа авторов. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Группа авторов
Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited
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Жанр произведения: История
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isbn: 9781118359501
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       The Growth of Rome

      Following the Gallic sack, the Romans picked up right where they left off, bringing Italy south of the Po River under their control by the early third century BCE. Two key milestones in the conquest of Italy are worth noting.

      In 338 BCE, Rome imposed a settlement on a group of former allies in central Italy who had broken treaty obligations with Rome and banded together to fight the growing power in their midst. In the aftermath of the Latin Revolt, as it is known, different cities received different treatments: some were destroyed or depopulated, some were given Roman citizenship, and some were given civitas sine suffragio, “citizenship without the right to vote.” As citizens, these people had access to the Roman legal system, which enabled them to marry and trade with Roman citizens, but they were not allowed to vote in Rome. This structure became the blueprint for future conquests, with two important consequences: (1) each community, and especially the elites within them, was given incentives for cooperating with Rome, in the hopes that they might earn better privileges in the future and therefore (2) Rome thus did not have to garrison or provide bureaucratic oversight, but left the control of the local population to local elites. These communities were tied directly to Rome with obligations to provide manpower in times of war, and this continual supply of manpower served as one of the strengths of the Roman army through the subsequent years of expansion.

      Key Debates: How Did the Romans Come to Rule the Mediterranean?

      In 390 BCE, the Roman state suffered a massive defeat to a marauding band of Gauls, leaving the city in a shambles and perhaps at its lowest point in terms of power. The Romans destroyed the cities of Carthage and Corinth 250 years later, wiping out the only challenge to her power in the western Mediterranean, and cementing her control of the eastern Mediterranean. The rise from nowhere to the sole superpower of the ancient Mediterranean is as remarkable as it was surprising. How did it happen?

      One theory has become known to modern historians as “defensive imperialism.” In an effort to avoid a repeat of the Gallic sack, the Romans went to great lengths to protect themselves. As a result, they pushed back on any bordering state that they felt presented a possible threat. By claiming a defensive posture, they could also assure themselves that each war was a just war fought against an aggressor, and therefore they might earn the sanction of the gods for their war effort.

      In the 1970s, William Harris began to push back against the theory of defensive imperialism promoted by the Romans and accepted by many modern historians. He argued that the military ethos that ran through Roman society continually led the Romans into new wars. Valor in war was a key sign of being a true Roman man, and military success was seen as the be-all and end-all of a successful politician. The way to electoral success was through success in war, not social programs or just application of the law. Thus almost every member of the elite wanted to see Rome in a state of war that would give them a chance of political advancement.

      A third theory, perhaps driven by thinking about modern wars, suggests that Rome’s conquests were driven by economic concerns. There is limited evidence that the Romans fought in order to acquire trade routes and natural resources to exploit. Rather, the Romans may have been driven by individual