ANCIENT ROME-I

THE civilization of Rome succeeded that of Greece as the major ancient European civilization. The nucleus of the Roman social formation was Italy, and later, the entire Mediterranean. By c. 1000 BC there were several Villanovan bronze age settlements in northern Italy. Around 800 BC there were some new trends. The area inhabited by the Etruscans was rapidly undergoing a transition which led to urbanization and the growth of an agricultural economy based on the exploitation of the fertile plains of north-western and central Italy. From the eighth century BC the use of iron became widespread. The Etruscans, who may be regarded as the most advanced people of pre-Roman Italy, produced a rich civilization between 800 and 700 BC. Some of the Etruscan cities (city-states) were ruled by kings. The Etruscan towns were well-planned and fortified.

The foundation of the city of Rome was traditionally supposed to have taken place in 753 bc. According to the traditional history of the city, settlements on seven hills along the river Tiber (these seven hills are: Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal) were enclosed by a wall in 753 BC. This marked the beginning of the city and Roman dates were often reckoned from this event. the historicity of this date has not been established. The archaeological evidence suggests that the city was first fortified c. 550 bc. The early history of Rome is somewhat obscure. It seems that the city borrowed several elements of Etruscan social and political organization. The etruscanization of Rome was speeded up by the fact that some Etruscan families became politically dominant in the city. Rome acquired a monarchical form of government and for some time it was ruled by kings who were of Etruscan origin. In 510 bc monarchy came to an abrupt end in Rome. Two events occurred simultaneously. Firstly, the Etruscan king Tarquin the Proud (Tarquinius Superbus) was overthrown. This marked the end of Etruscan rule over Rome. Secondly, monarchy was abolished. Rome ceased to have a monarchical form of government and became a republic. 510 bc is the traditional date for the beginning of the Roman republic. The government was headed by two consuls who were elected annually. The main instrument of aristocratic power was the oligarchical council or senate. The senate emerged as the supreme body of the Roman state with extensive political, legal and military authority. There were also assemblies of citizens, though at the beginning of the republic they had virtually no share in governance. The Roman republic lasted from 510 to 27 bc.

For over two centuries, from c. 500 to 280 bc, Rome was engaged in bringing the entire Italian peninsula under its control. The first phase of Roman expansion was in central Italy, primarily in Latium. Rome forged an alliance with the Latin speaking people whereby the Romans were able to extend their influence to the Latin communities. This alliance provided the Romans with the resources to resist invasions by the Etruscans, the Sabines, the Volsci and the Aequi. The turning point in the struggle against the non-Latin states came in 396 bc when Rome managed to occupy the Etruscan city of Veii. Veii, situated close to Rome, At this point Roman expansion was briefly halted due to a major setback caused by the invasion of Italy by Celtic tribes from the north. . Over a period of time Celtic speaking Indo-European tribes, especially the Gauls, had penetrated. northern Italy. Between c. 450 and 350 BC they occupied the area between the Alps and the river Po. In 390 bc the Celts (Gauls) entered and plundered Rome. After this invasion the city had to be rebuilt. A new defensive wall was constructed. By the middle of the fourth century bc the Romans had recovered and they launched a vigorous expansionist programme. These campaigns lasted till 338 bc by which date Rome succeeded in subduing the Latin states. Rome now attempted to bring other parts of Italy under its rule. Rome was continuously at war with the Samnites till 295 bc before it could consolidate its position in central Italy. By 295 BC the Romans had also brought most of the Etruscan territories under their control. After this they focused their attention on southern Italy.

The Greek states of southern Italy strongly opposed Roman expansion into the area. . In 282 bc hostilities broke out between Rome and Tarentum. Tarentum appealed to other Greek states for assistance. Pyrrhus, the ruler of Epirus state in the northwest part of mainland Greece), responded to this request. Initially he was successful, but the early victories of Pyrrhus were at a very great cost in terms of men and resources (hence the term ‘pyrrhic victory’, i.e. a victory won at such a great cost that it cannot really be regarded as a victory). Eventually the Romans defeated Pyrrhus in 275 bc and southern Italy came under their control. This completed the first major phase of Roman expansion. At the end of this phase the entire Italian peninsula had accepted Roman supremacy.

The western Mediterranean had been dominated by the state of Carthage for several centuries. This settlement had grown into a vast Carthaginian empire. Sicily was a Carthaginian territory. The economic prosperity of Carthage was not merely based on trade, but also on the exploitation of the resources of the Tunisian hinterland. Carthage maintained an efficient army which was recruited from all over the Mediterranean. Carthage, like most Phoenician states, was ruled by an oligarchy which was dominated by rich merchants. When Rome attempted to gain control over Sicily, it naturally came into conflict with Carthage. Roman expansion into the Mediterranean could only have taken place at the expense of Carthage. For over a century Rome fought a series of wars against the Carthaginians. These wars are known as the Punic Wars (the word Punic is etymologically linked to Phoenician). There were three Punic wars: the First Punic War (264-241 BC); the Second Punic War (218-201 bc); and the Third Punic War (149-146 BC). Of these three wars, the Second Punic War was the most fierce contest between Rome and Carthage. The prolonged wars against Carthage were a huge drain on the financial and human resources of Rome. Nevertheless, the Punic Wars resulted in the total annihilation of Carthage and the acquisition of overseas territories by the Romans.

The First Punic War, which started soon after the Roman victory over Pyrrhus and the Western Greeks, lasted264 to 241 BC. At the end of this war Carthage was forced to surrender Sicily to the Romans. Sicily became the first ‘province’ of Rome. Roman provinces were specific administrative units of the Roman empire After the First Punic War the Phoenicians took steps to strengthen themselves militarily so as to check Roman expansionism. The main architect of Carthaginian military reorganization was a brilliant general named Hannibal. Hannibal mobilized a large and well-trained army for waging a war against Rome. In 218 bc {which marks the beginning of the Second Punic War) Hannibal reached the Alps with an army of about 40,000 troops with the objective of launching an offensive against the Romans from the north. This was something that the Romans were totally unprepared for. Hannibal successfully crossed the high altitude Alpine mountains with his large army and entered northern Italy. Here he made an alliance with several communities which had been subjugated by the Romans. Hannibal marched southwards in the direction of Rome and in 216 BC he completely routed the Roman army at Cannae in south Italy. However he was not successful in capturing the city of Rome. When they had regrouped their army the Romans launched a campaign against Hannibal. The leader of this campaign was Scipio Africanus. Hannibal was compelled to retreat from Italy.

Hannibal had to rush to north Africa to defend Carthaginian possessions there. Hannibal’s army was finally defeated at the battle of Zama, near Carthage, in 202 BC, The Second Punic War ended in 201 bc with Carthage accepting Roman peace terms. Carthage had to surrender its territories in Spain. Carthage had to destroy its naval fleet and was made to give a large sum to Rome as compensation for the war. Carthage ceased to be a major power after this, while Rome now dominated the western Mediterranean. Rome sought to take advantage of the weakening of Hellenistic states in the last quarter of the third century bc (see chapter seven). The Hellenistic kingdoms of Macedonia, Egypt and West Asia, ruled by the Antigonids, Ptolemids and Seleucids respectively, ar. Hannibal had come to an understanding with Philip V of Macedonia who was hostile to Rome. Macedonia was resentful of growing Roman interference in its internal affairs. . Coinciding with the Second Punic War, the Romans also fought a war against Macedonia. The war with Macedonia continued after the Punic war and in 196 BC Philip V was defeated. After 196 BC Rome tightened its grip over the Greek states. Even after their defeat in the Second Punic War the Carthaginians had not given up their opposition to Rome. Hannibal (who was alive till 182 BC) carried out a series of reforms aimed at improving the condition of the state. . He strengthened his alliance with Philip V by forging ties with Antiochus III of Syria. Rome looked upon Hannibal’s actions with growing suspicion and began to exert pressure against him. Hannibal was forced to leave Carthage and seek shelter with Antiochus III. The defeat of Antiochus III in 189 BC enabled Rome to consolidate its hold over Greece. Having dealt with Antiochus III the Romans once again shifted their attention to Macedonia. Yet another war was waged against the Macedonian kingdom, which was now ruled by the successor of Philip V. At the conclusion of this war (referred to as the Third Macedonian War, 172-167 bc) the king was removed and Macedonia was split into four republics which had to pay tribute to Rome. The final phase of the Roman subjugation of Macedonia took place simultaneously with the Third Punic War of 149-146 bc.

While Rome had been busy with eastern Mediterranean affairs the Carthaginians had been successful in reviving their trade. On the other hand there was a very powerful lobby at Rome which had been demanding that the state of Carthage should be completely destroyed. It was in this situation that the Third Punic War broke out in 149 bc. By 146 bc Carthage had been defeated and it ceased to exist. there were anti- Roman upheavals in the newly formed republics, as well as in Greece, while the Third Punic War was going on. The Romans crushed these upheavals and annexed the whole of Macedonia in 147 bc. The Greek rebellion was also suppressed and Corinth was destroyed in 146 BC. By this time Egypt had also been made a Roman protectorate, i. e. its foreign policy was guided by the Romans. Western Anatolia had come under Roman rule. Thus, by the middle of the second century bc Roman influence was predominant in the entire Mediterranean.

II

When the Etruscan monarchy was ousted from Rome in 510 bc political power passed into the hands of the aristocracy. The aristocracy initially set up an oligarchical government. The oligarchy exercised its power through an oligarchical council, called the senate. Throughout the Roman republic the senate was the single most important centre of authority. However, as we shall see, the senate was gradually forced to share some of its authority with other institutions.

Much of our information is based on the work of Fabius Pictor. Pictor was a Roman historian who participated in the Second Punic War. He produced a history of Rome written in the Greek language and intended primarily for a Greek audience.

that right from the beginning of the republic, there was an intense struggle between the landed aristocracy and the common people of Rome. Roman society was clearly divided along class lines and the less privileged sections, particularly the ordinary peasants, resented the monopoly of political power which the aristocracy enjoyed. This resulted in a prolonged conflict. As in the case of the Greek states, the Roman aristocracy was not in a position to completely suppress the struggle of the peasantry and this struggle became a recurring feature of the republic throughout its history.

To begin with, the aristocracy lacked the resources to mobilize a large standing army consisting of professional warrior Moreover, Roman military organization was heavily dependent on the peasants who constituted the main fighting force. The Roman army comprised unpaid soldiers who were primarily recruited from the peasantry. These soldiers, like the Greek hoplites, had to supply their own fighting equipment and had to utilize their own means to sustain themselves for the duration of a campaign. Rome required a huge army not only to create its empire but also to maintain and defend it. It is not difficult to see why the peasantry could not be igno seek the support of the peasantry As Rome began to expand, the need to have the support of the peasant soldiers increased. Initially the peasantry also derived some small benefits from this expansion. For instance when the Etruscan city of Veii was conquered in 396 BC, a lot of land in and around Veii was distributed among the poorer Roman peasants. The growth of the empire made the aristocracy fabulously wealthy and widened the gap between rich and poor.

when Rome was engaged in conquering the Italian peninsula, that the peasantry extracted major political concessions. Through these concessions a small section of the peasantry got some share in political power. After 510 bc the aristocracy ruled over Rome through the senate. At the beginning of the republic the senate was an oligarchical body from which the common people were completely excluded. Here we must make a reference to a peculiar feature of Roman society. Roman society was divided into two groups or ‘orders’: the patrician order and the plebeian order. The patricians constituted a small close-knit elite while the plebeians were the common people. To a large extent the struggle between the aristocracy and the peasantry was a struggle between the patricians and the plebeians and is often referred to as ‘the conflict of the orders’. Patrician social organization was based on kinship groups called gentes (singular, gens), which may be regarded as the Roman equivalent of clans.

A citizen was born a patrician or a plebeian. One could not become a patrician merely by acquiring wealth or political power. Till 445 BC marriages between patricians and plebeians were prohibited by law . Their closed kinship structure was so strictly regulated that during the course of the republic the number of gentes was steadily decreasing. The evidence indicates that in the fifth century bc there had been 50 gentes in all. By c. 367 bc the number of gentes had diminished to 22 gentes, divided into 81 families. At the end of the republic the number had fallen to 14 gentes with 30 families. children of a patrician father and plebeian mother would be patricians even after the restriction on marriage was removed. During the last phase of the republic a small section of the plebeians was given a share in political power, Patricians were able to exercise a high degree of control over Roman religion. When the republic came into existence the patricians converted the senate into an exclusive oligarchical institution for governing Rome. Membership of the senate was by cooption, i.e. the original members themselves chose additional or new members of the senate. . In the early republic the senate had 300 members. In the later republic the number went up to 600 and then to 900 and was eventually stabilized at 600 after the republic came to an end. A person who had been made a member of the senate remained senator for the rest of his life. The senate had wide-ranging powers, most of which were not formally defined. It gave duties to the magistrates (but did not elect them), advised them on legislation, financial and military matters, and generally supervised the functioning of the state. Juries for major trials, especially criminal trials, were composed of senators. The overwhelming majority of the senators were big landowners.

The highest officials of the Roman republic were called consuls. There were two consuls and they held office simultaneously. The consulship was an elective post and elections took place on an annual basis. The authority of the Roman state was vested in the consuls. They presided over the senate and performed executive, judicial and military functions. Till 367 BC only patricians could be consuls. In 367 bc one of the consulships was opened to the plebeians. For a long time this provision remained a mere formality because the patricians controlled the electoral process and could manipulate the choice of candidates.

Besides the consuls there were several other magistrates who looked after various aspects of administration. Mention may be made of two very powerful magistrates who were called censors. Two censors were elected once in every five years. They held office for eighteen months. During the eighteen months that they held office the two censors were required to conduct a census of Roman citizens. The censors recorded the names of citizens and the amount of property possessed by each citizen (only the names of males were registered). This census determined the eligibility of a citizen, depending upon the value of his property, to hold various elective offices of the Roman state. Later, just as in the case of the consulship, plebeians also became eligible for this magistracy. In addition to the consuls and censors there were junior magistrates, as for instance aediles and quaestors. Four aediles were elected annually. They were in charge of public works and had to maintain roads, drains, and market places. The aediles had to make arrangements for public festivals as well. Quaestors assisted the higher magistrates in the discharge of their duties. One of their main responsibilities was to look after the state treasury and maintain public accounts.

the government had a host of salaried minor officials for routine day-to-day tasks. These officials were collectively called apparitores. They were paid their salaries by the state. These public servants were recruited from among the relatively poorer sections of the population. The apparitores included scribes and lictors. Lictors were officials who escorted consuls (or the even more superior magistrates called dictators

The patricians had worked out a system which totally excluded the plebeians from governance. But, given the role which the plebeians played in Roman military organization, they were able to successfully organize themselves to press for their demands.

The Roman assembly, i. e. the assembly of citizens, was called comitia curiata. When the patricians assumed power and set up an oligarchical state the comitia curiata became defunct. It continued to exist formally but it had no real power. The power enjoyed by the kings had been transferred to the senate and the magistrates and not to the assembly.

The comitia curiata got its name from a kinship based social unit called curia into which the primitive inhabitants of Rome were divided. The curiae were extended clans which included plebeians and should not be confused with the patrician gentes. At the beginning of the republic there were thirty curiae which were grouped into three tribes. The chief curio was the curio maximus, who was always a patrician till 210 BC.

Each curia voted collectively so that only the opinion of the curiae (and not of individual members) was sought. Using their kinship ties patricians dominated the respective curiae. They would speak on behalf of the entire curia. citizens were regrouped to form a new assembly. This assembly was called comitia centuriata. The comitia curiata was not abolished but the new assembly was created in addition to it. The comitia centuriata, like the comitia curiata, was an assembly of all Roman citizens. The difference between the two lay in the manner in which the citizens were grouped. For the purpose of the comitia centuriata the citizens were grouped into ‘centuries’. For most of the republican period the comitia centuriata was the main assembly of citizens. This was the assembly which elected the consuls and censors. Legislation had to be passed by the comitia centuriata. War and peace were the prerogative of this assembly. All major decisions of the state had to have the approval of the comitia centuriata. The comitia curiata now only looked after a few matters of a social and religious nature. It is believed that the comitia centuriata was formed c. 450 bc. The working of the new assembly was such that ultimately it did not solve the problem of giving a share of political power to the plebeians. The comitia centuriata contained 193 centuries. Each century had one vote. The centuries were grouped into five classes. The largest number of centuries were placed in the first three classes, which were classes of the aristocracy and the wealthy. In other words the first three classes possessed the majority of votes.