NationStates Jolt Archive

If possible, please tell me as much as you can about Rome, from the birth of the Roman Republic until just prior to Julius Caeser's assassination. It doesn't have to be super long, but I'd say a minimum of about 500 words. Thanks!

Why don't you go look up something on Google?

I have a book and enjoy ancient Rome, but I'm not typing something up for you :p


Here's 2 I got off Google.
http://www.exovedate.com/ancient_timeline_one.html

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ROME/CONTENTS.HTM

Thanks. :)

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud) a
descendant from an Etruscan family (he was the son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus) was the legendary seventh (and the last) king of ancient Rome. Tarquin was married to Tullia, the daughter of Servius Tullius. Tullia had encouraged her husband to murder her father, so that Tarquin ascended to the throne.

At the time his kingdom was one of the most powerful in Italy. Its capital had some 35,000 inhabitants, its territory was some 800 square kilometers, and its zone of influence stretched as far as Circeii and Terracina - 90 kilometers to the southeast. The Latin cities recognized Roman leadership, and Tarquin added several towns to his kingdom.
He continued with great vigor the work of extending the power of the city, and the founding of colonies by him was the beginning of Rome's path to supremacy of the world. Tarquin was responsible for the building of Capitoline Temple (Jupiter Capitolinus) and the Cloaca Maxima, the sewerage system that discharged into the Tiber. Tarquin concluded a treaty with Gabii, a town east of Rome. But on other matters Tarquinius was less politically astute. He irritated the people by the burdens he placed upon them. The heads of Rome's noble families had always been invited to give advise to the king. Those meetings were called the Senate. Tarquin behaved like an autocrat and was not interested in consulting the senators, those obviously felt ignored. Tarquinuius surname Superbus means something like 'the haughty one' or 'the Proud.
According to Livy, a reign of terror followed, and many senators were put to death. Eventually a group of senators led by Lucius Junius Brutus (another Etruscan nobleman) raised a revolt.The romantic reason traditionally given for the deposition of Tarquin was the rape of Lucretia by his son Sextus Tarquinius. After the subsequent suicide of Lucretia, her husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, and the Brutus family (to which Lucretia belonged) raised a rebellion. The actual reason for the fall of the Monarchy was probably a power struggle between the king and the leading aristocratic families. Tarquin attempted to curb the rising power of the aristocrats by packing the Senate with 200 of their supporters, increasing the total membership to 300 men. These were known as the conscripti or the enrolled ones and this word became part of the official title of the Senate, the Patres Conscripti or Conscript Fathers. The Tarquin family was expelled from Rome, the monarchy at Rome was abolished and the Aristocracy set up a republic in 509 BCE.
Although the names, dates, and events of the regal period are considered as belonging to the realm of fiction and myth rather than to that of factual history, certain facts seem well attested: the existence of an early rule by kings; the growth of the city and its struggles with neighboring peoples; the conquest of Rome by Etruria and the establishment of a dynasty of Etruscan princes, symbolized by the rule of the Tarquins; the overthrow of this alien control; and the abolition of the kingship.

Birth of the Roman Republic

The rape of Lucretia, according to Livy, was the fundamental “last straw” in the overthrow of the Etruscan King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. The transition from the Etruscan monarchy to republic (510-509 BC) was not, however, a simple institutional change. In place of the King, the newly founded Republic relied upon its Senate, or patrician class families, to oversee the government and the election of various officials, including 2 shared power Consuls. This transformation from monarchy to representative style government, headed by the elite social class, would prove to have troubles of its own.
After the overthrow of the Tarquin dynasty, led by Junius Brutus, the ancient Romans avoided a true monarchal government for the remainder of their storied history (Even the later imperial government maintained forms of the republican system. While in practice it could be a system of absolute power for the Emperor, it was theoretically still checked by the Senate and other representative ideals.) This same Junius Brutus was later claimed as an ancestor by the Republican loyalist Marcus Brutus who was among the conspirators in the assassination of Julius Caesar, and shows the deeply rooted Roman aversion to Kings. It was the era of the Republic in which the great expansion of Roman civilization, power and structure set the path for European dominance. In these formative and expansive years, Rome was ruled by its Senate and its people’s assemblies. The offices of power were divided among various elected officials to avoid the conglomeration of power and the re-institution of the monarchy.
These magistracies were in essence, a division of previous monarchal powers. The Romans instituted a constitution which would dictate the traditions and institutions of government for the Roman people. This constitution, however, was not a formal or even written document, but rather a series of unwritten traditions and laws. Deeply rooted in pre-Republican tradition, it essentially maintained all the same monarchal powers and divided them amongst a series of people, rather than in one supreme ruler.
Patricians and Plebeians
Discontent and political upheaval lay ahead for the fledgling Republic, since the new constitution was flawed and exclusive in nature for the general population (plebeians). Rome was surrounded by powerful external enemies, including its former Etruscan rulers, and Patrician (the hereditary aristocratic families) in-fighting with each other and the plebeian (common people) class was an immediate source of difficulty. The Romans developed a complex client system, where aristocratic families pledged allegiance and voting support to other powerful families. In exchange for political appointments and advocating of various agendas, some power groups were able to subvert the state and the will of the masses for personal gain.
The words Patrician and Plebeian have taken on different connotations of wealthy and poor in modern English, but no such distinction existed in Roman times. The two classes were simply ancestral or inherited. A citizen’s class was fixed by birth rather than by wealth. Patricians monopolized all of the political offices and probably most of the wealth in the early Republic, but there were many wealthy plebeians, and conversly many patrician families had little claim to wealth or prestige other than their family heritage. The relationship between the plebeians and the patricians sometimes came under intense strain, as a result of this exclusion from political influence. In repsonse, the plebeians on several occasions, abandoned the city leaving the patricians without a working class to support their political whims.


PS: got this from the net. http://www.unrv.com/empire/birth-of-the-roman-republic.php

Thanks, but I just need a 500-1,000 word summary of the era from the birth of the Republic to Caeser's assassination. I'll put in my own words, don't worry.

hmm....do you want culture, basic history, government what?

LOL, you know, there ARE homework help sites....

Anyone here know anything?

Not really.

I had to do a report last year on ancient Rome but a simplistic answer is that it was founded, expanded, spread itself out too much, divided itself and got it's ass kicked in the end. The specifics are interesting, like the war with General Hannibal and his elephants going through the Alps but I'm too lazy.

hmm....do you want culture, basic history, government what?

Any of them is fine, thanks.

Thanks, but I just need a 500-1,000 word summary of the era from the birth of the Republic to Caeser's assassination. I'll put in my own words, don't worry.

The whole point of the exercise, surely, is to learn research skills, no? Asking a random assortment of people on the internet hardly qualifies as such. Try a library or an encyclopaedia - even an online one.

Anyone here know anything about ancient Rome?
Second greatest Republic, ever!

Second greatest Republic, ever!

Hurrah for the first French Republic!

Hurrah for the first French Republic! :p YOU wish.

LOL. I'm getting into my book and having fun. So I'll write something. :D

Culture:
Romans started off heavily influenced by Etruscan culture, as they were ruled by Etruscan kings. After the Republic started, and they conquered farther south in Italy, reaching Greek colonies, Greek culture become more widespread. By about 200 BC, it had become "fashionable" to adopt Hellenistic customs, speak Greek and generally act Greek. However, then Cato the Censor came along and initiated a return to "traditional" austere ways. This was evidenced by the art, where Senators began to be displayed in very extreme ways (very old, grim looking). Cato wanted to borrow and adapt Greek ways to make them Roman, not have Rome become Greece. So Republican Rome became a mix of Etruscan and Greek culture, but with a sense of dignity, veritas, that the Greek culture lacked.

Basic History:

-Romans overthrow Etruscan kings (~500BC)
-Fight the Punic Wars against Carthage (260-241, 221-203)
-after Punic Wars, controlled Italy, part of Spain, and N. Africa coast
-after Punic Wars, attacked Macedonia, which had supported Hannibal. Conquered Macedonia by ~100BC
-Gracchi reforms in land distribution and general welfare led to a more "fair" Roman government of the people (~120s BC)
-Sulla assumed the role of dictator ~80 BC and assassinated the vast majority of his opponents. He tried to enact reforms on the government, but it mainly failed after he left office
-Pompey arose as a popular figure and good general. He controlled a large army and basically could control Rome when he was actually there.
-Pompey returned to Rome, disbanded his armies, and entered into the Triumvirate with Crassus and Caesar. (~60BC)
-Crassus was killed and tensions arose between Pompey and Caesar.
-Caesar had great victories in Gaul. When finished, he invaded Italy (49 BC) Pompey moved to Balkans and Caesar took Rome.
-Pompey was killed in Egypt, Caesar went there and installed Cleopatra and her brother on the throne of Egypt
-Caesar effectively dismissed the Republic and controlled Rome as a dictator.
-Caesar assassinated March 44 BC

Government wise:
Rome started off with consuls and such. But as military expansion and wars became more prominent, the power was increasingly given over to military commanders. They had the support of their soldiers, as without their commander, the soldiers would not necessarily get the land they wanted at the end of their service.

As generals became the power centers, the Senators resisted. So a struggle between the Senate and generals would often arise. Until Sulla effectively took control of Rome with his armies. Then Pompey, then Caesar. Paving the way for Octavian (my favorite) :D

hehe... And that's not even my favorite Rome time period. :rolleyes:

The whole point of the exercise, surely, is to learn research skills, no? Asking a random assortment of people on the internet hardly qualifies as such. Try a library or an encyclopaedia - even an online one.

Too lazy, sorry. I'm so lazy I can't even breathe- my lungs have to do it for me! :p

LOL. I'm getting into my book and having fun. So I'll write something. :D

Culture:
Romans started off heavily influenced by Etruscan culture, as they were ruled by Etruscan kings. After the Republic started, and they conquered farther south in Italy, reaching Greek colonies, Greek culture become more widespread. By about 200 BC, it had become "fashionable" to adopt Hellenistic customs, speak Greek and generally act Greek. However, then Cato the Censor came along and initiated a return to "traditional" austere ways. This was evidenced by the art, where Senators began to be displayed in very extreme ways (very old, grim looking). Cato wanted to borrow and adapt Greek ways to make them Roman, not have Rome become Greece. So Republican Rome became a mix of Etruscan and Greek culture, but with a sense of dignity, veritas, that the Greek culture lacked.

Basic History:

-Romans overthrow Etruscan kings (~500BC)
-Fight the Punic Wars against Carthage (260-241, 221-203)
-after Punic Wars, controlled Italy, part of Spain, and N. Africa coast
-after Punic Wars, attacked Macedonia, which had supported Hannibal. Conquered Macedonia by ~100BC
-Gracchi reforms in land distribution and general welfare led to a more "fair" Roman government of the people (~120s BC)
-Sulla assumed the role of dictator ~80 BC and assassinated the vast majority of his opponents. He tried to enact reforms on the government, but it mainly failed after he left office
-Pompey arose as a popular figure and good general. He controlled a large army and basically could control Rome when he was actually there.
-Pompey returned to Rome, disbanded his armies, and entered into the Triumvirate with Crassus and Caesar. (~60BC)
-Crassus was killed and tensions arose between Pompey and Caesar.
-Caesar had great victories in Gaul. When finished, he invaded Italy (49 BC) Pompey moved to Balkans and Caesar took Rome.
-Pompey was killed in Egypt, Caesar went there and installed Cleopatra and her brother on the throne of Egypt
-Caesar effectively dismissed the Republic and controlled Rome as a dictator.
-Caesar assassinated March 44 BC

Government wise:
Rome started off with consuls and such. But as military expansion and wars became more prominent, the power was increasingly given over to military commanders. They had the support of their soldiers, as without their commander, the soldiers would not necessarily get the land they wanted at the end of their service.

As generals became the power centers, the Senators resisted. So a struggle between the Senate and generals would often arise. Until Sulla effectively took control of Rome with his armies. Then Pompey, then Caesar. Paving the way for Octavian (my favorite) :D

hehe... And that's not even my favorite Rome time period. :rolleyes:

Very good...very good! Thank you very much! :D

Very good...very good! Thank you very much! :D

I don't suppose you'll be moving onto Octavian/Augustus anytime soon? I LOVE him! :p

And I'd have lots more fun writing about the ascension of the first Roman Emperor.

Gee, Roach-Busters, do you ever do your own homework? Last month it was the Greeks and Persians, now the early Roman Republic... Oh well. Here's a summary of the first and second Punic Wars, conveniently lifted from http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ROME/PUNICWAR.HTM

The greatest naval power of the Mediterranean in the third century BC was the North African city of Carthage near modern day Tunis. The Carthaginians were orginally Phoenicians and Carthage was a colony founded by the Phoenician capital city of Tyre in the ninth century BC. While the Romans were steadily increasing their control over the Italian peninsula, the Carthaginians were extending their empire over most of North Africa. By the time that Rome controlled all of the Italian peninsula, Carthage already controlled the North African coast from western Libya to the Strait of Gibraltar, and ruled over most of southern Spain—and the island of Corsica and Sardinia in Europe as well. Carthage was a formidable power; it controlled almost all the commercial trade in the Mediterranean, had subjected vast numbers of people all whom sent soldiers and supplies, and amassed tremendous wealth from gold and silver mines in Spain.

These two mighty empires came into contact in the middle of the third century BC when Rome's power had reached the southern tip of Italy. The two peoples had been in sporadic contact before, but neither side felt threatened by the other. The Romans were perfectly aware of the Carthaginian heritage: they called them by their old name, Phoenicians. In Latin, the word is Poeni, which gives us the name for the wars between the two states, the Punic Wars. These conflicts, so disastrous for Carthage, were inevitable. Between Carthage and Italy lay the huge island of Sicily; Carthage controlled the western half of Sicily, but the southern tip of the Italian peninsula put the Romans within throwing distance of the island. When the Sicilian city of Messana revolted against the Carthaginians, the Romans intervened, and the first Punic War erupted.

The First Punic War broke out in 264 BC; it was concentrated entirely on the island of Sicily. Rome beseiged many of the Carthaginian cities on Sicily, and when Carthage attempted to raise the seige with its navy, the Romans utterly destroyed that navy. For the first time since the rise of the Carthaginian empire, they had lost power over the sea-ways.

The war ended with no particular side winning over the other. In 241 BC, the Carthaginians and Romans signed a treaty in which Carthage had to give up Sicily, which it didn't miss, and to pay an indemnity to cover Roman costs for the war, which it could well afford. But Carthage soon faced rebellion among its mercenary troops and Rome, in 238 BC, took advantage of the confusion by seizing the island of Corsica. The Romans greatly feared the Carthaginians and wanted build as large a buffer zone as possible between them and the Carthaginians. By gaining Sicily, the Romans had expelled the Carthaginians from their back yard; they now wanted them out of their front yard, that is, the islands of Corsica and Sardinia west of the Italian peninsula.

The Carthaginians were furious at this action; even Roman historians believed it was a rash and unethical act. The Carthaginians began to shore up their presence in Europe. They sent first the general Hamilcar and then his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, to Spain to build colonies and an army. Both Hamilcar and Hasdrubal made allies among the native Iberians, and their armies, recruited from Iberians, grew ominous as Carthaginian power and influence crept up the Iberian peninsula.

Following its defeat in the First Punic War, Carthage rebuilt its strength by expanding its empire in Spain. Growing increasingly anxious, the Romans had imposed a treaty on Carthage not to expand their empire past the Ebro river in Spain. However, when a small city in Spain, Saguntum, approached Rome asking for Roman friendship and alliance, the Romans couldn't resist having a friendly ally right in the heart of the Carthaginian Iberian empire.

A few years later, however, in 221 BC, a young man, only twenty-five years old, assumed command over Carthaginian Spain: Hannibal. At first, Hannibal gave the Saguntines wide berth for he wished to avoid coming into conflict with Rome. But the Saguntines were flush with confidence in their new alliance and began playing politics with other Spanish cities. Hannibal, despite direct threats from Rome, attacked Saguntum and conquered it.

The Romans attempted to solve the problem with diplomacy and demand that Carthage dismiss Hannibal and send him to Rome. When Carthage refused, the second Punic War began in 218 BC. Rome, however, was facing a formidable opponent; in the years following the first Punic War, Carthage had created a powerful empire in Spain with a terrifyingly large army. Hannibal marched that terrible army out of Spain and across Europe and, in September of 218, he crossed the Alps with his army and entered Italy on a war of invasion. Although his army was tired from the journey, he literally smashed the Roman armies he encountered in northern Italy. Within two months, he had conquered the whole of northern Italy, with the exception of two cities. These spectacular victories brought a horde of Gauls from the north to help him, fifty thousand or more; his victory over Rome, as he saw it, would be guaranteed if he could convince Roman allies and subject cities to join Carthage.

Quintus Fabius Maximus was made dictator of Rome for a time, and was determined to avoid open warfare. He was disliked for this policy, replaced, and the Roman legions were soon thereafter slaughtered at Cannae.

The Romans, however, very shrewdly decided to fight the war through the back door. They knew that Hannibal was dependent on Spain for future supplies and men, so they appointed a young, strategically brilliant man as proconsul and handed him the imperium over Spain. This move was unconstituional, for this young man had never served as consul. His name: Publius Cornelius Scipio (237-183 BC). Scipio, who would later be called Scipio Africanus for his victory over Carthage (in Africa), by 206 had conquered all of Spain, which was converted into two Roman provinces. Hannibal was now left high and dry in Italy.

Scipio then crossed into Africa in 204 BC and took the war to the walls of Carthage itself. This forced the Carthaginians to sue for peace with Rome; part of the treaty demanded that Hannibal leave the Italian peninsula. Hannibal was one of the great strategic generals in history; all during his war with Rome he never once lost a major battle, although he had lost a couple small skirmishes. Now, however, he was forced to retreat; he had, despite winning every battle, lost the war. When he returned to Carthage, the Carthaginians took heart and rose up against Rome in one last gambit in 202 BC. At Zama in northern Africa, Hannibal, fighting against Scipio and his army, met his first defeat. Rome reduced Carthage to a dependent state; Rome now controlled the whole of the western Mediterranean including northern Africa.

This was the defining historical experience of the Romans. They had faced certain defeat with toughness and determination and had won against overwhelming odds. Their system of alliances had held firm; while Hannibal had depended on the allies running to his side, only the most remote Roman allies, those in the south and Siciliy, left the Roman alliance. For the rest of Roman history, the character of being Roman would be distilled in the histories of this seemingly desperate war against Carthage. The Second Punic War turned Rome from a regional power into an international empire: it had gained much of northern Africa, Spain, and the major islands in the western Mediterranean. Because Philip V of Macedon had allied himself with Hannibal and started his own war of conquest, the second Punic War forced Rome to turn east in wars of conquest against first Philip and then other Hellenistic kingdoms. The end result of the second Punic War, in the end, was the domination of the known world by Rome.
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I hope that's not too long but, like you, I can't be bothered to do the research and summarize. I DID summarize one paragraph for you, though. The one about Quintus Fabius Maximus. (In italics.) I thought it was needlessly long for my purposes.

Gee, Roach-Busters, do you ever do your own homework? Last month it was the Greeks and Persians, now the early Roman Republic... Oh well. Here's a summary of the first and second Punic Wars, conveniently lifted from http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ROME/PUNICWAR.HTM

The greatest naval power of the Mediterranean in the third century BC was the North African city of Carthage near modern day Tunis. The Carthaginians were orginally Phoenicians and Carthage was a colony founded by the Phoenician capital city of Tyre in the ninth century BC. While the Romans were steadily increasing their control over the Italian peninsula, the Carthaginians were extending their empire over most of North Africa. By the time that Rome controlled all of the Italian peninsula, Carthage already controlled the North African coast from western Libya to the Strait of Gibraltar, and ruled over most of southern Spain—and the island of Corsica and Sardinia in Europe as well. Carthage was a formidable power; it controlled almost all the commercial trade in the Mediterranean, had subjected vast numbers of people all whom sent soldiers and supplies, and amassed tremendous wealth from gold and silver mines in Spain.

These two mighty empires came into contact in the middle of the third century BC when Rome's power had reached the southern tip of Italy. The two peoples had been in sporadic contact before, but neither side felt threatened by the other. The Romans were perfectly aware of the Carthaginian heritage: they called them by their old name, Phoenicians. In Latin, the word is Poeni, which gives us the name for the wars between the two states, the Punic Wars. These conflicts, so disastrous for Carthage, were inevitable. Between Carthage and Italy lay the huge island of Sicily; Carthage controlled the western half of Sicily, but the southern tip of the Italian peninsula put the Romans within throwing distance of the island. When the Sicilian city of Messana revolted against the Carthaginians, the Romans intervened, and the first Punic War erupted.

The First Punic War broke out in 264 BC; it was concentrated entirely on the island of Sicily. Rome beseiged many of the Carthaginian cities on Sicily, and when Carthage attempted to raise the seige with its navy, the Romans utterly destroyed that navy. For the first time since the rise of the Carthaginian empire, they had lost power over the sea-ways.

The war ended with no particular side winning over the other. In 241 BC, the Carthaginians and Romans signed a treaty in which Carthage had to give up Sicily, which it didn't miss, and to pay an indemnity to cover Roman costs for the war, which it could well afford. But Carthage soon faced rebellion among its mercenary troops and Rome, in 238 BC, took advantage of the confusion by seizing the island of Corsica. The Romans greatly feared the Carthaginians and wanted build as large a buffer zone as possible between them and the Carthaginians. By gaining Sicily, the Romans had expelled the Carthaginians from their back yard; they now wanted them out of their front yard, that is, the islands of Corsica and Sardinia west of the Italian peninsula.

The Carthaginians were furious at this action; even Roman historians believed it was a rash and unethical act. The Carthaginians began to shore up their presence in Europe. They sent first the general Hamilcar and then his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, to Spain to build colonies and an army. Both Hamilcar and Hasdrubal made allies among the native Iberians, and their armies, recruited from Iberians, grew ominous as Carthaginian power and influence crept up the Iberian peninsula.

Following its defeat in the First Punic War, Carthage rebuilt its strength by expanding its empire in Spain. Growing increasingly anxious, the Romans had imposed a treaty on Carthage not to expand their empire past the Ebro river in Spain. However, when a small city in Spain, Saguntum, approached Rome asking for Roman friendship and alliance, the Romans couldn't resist having a friendly ally right in the heart of the Carthaginian Iberian empire.

A few years later, however, in 221 BC, a young man, only twenty-five years old, assumed command over Carthaginian Spain: Hannibal. At first, Hannibal gave the Saguntines wide berth for he wished to avoid coming into conflict with Rome. But the Saguntines were flush with confidence in their new alliance and began playing politics with other Spanish cities. Hannibal, despite direct threats from Rome, attacked Saguntum and conquered it.

The Romans attempted to solve the problem with diplomacy and demand that Carthage dismiss Hannibal and send him to Rome. When Carthage refused, the second Punic War began in 218 BC. Rome, however, was facing a formidable opponent; in the years following the first Punic War, Carthage had created a powerful empire in Spain with a terrifyingly large army. Hannibal marched that terrible army out of Spain and across Europe and, in September of 218, he crossed the Alps with his army and entered Italy on a war of invasion. Although his army was tired from the journey, he literally smashed the Roman armies he encountered in northern Italy. Within two months, he had conquered the whole of northern Italy, with the exception of two cities. These spectacular victories brought a horde of Gauls from the north to help him, fifty thousand or more; his victory over Rome, as he saw it, would be guaranteed if he could convince Roman allies and subject cities to join Carthage.

Quintus Fabius Maximus was made dictator of Rome for a time, and was determined to avoid open warfare. He was disliked for this policy, replaced, and the Roman legions were soon thereafter slaughtered at Cannae.

The Romans, however, very shrewdly decided to fight the war through the back door. They knew that Hannibal was dependent on Spain for future supplies and men, so they appointed a young, strategically brilliant man as proconsul and handed him the imperium over Spain. This move was unconstituional, for this young man had never served as consul. His name: Publius Cornelius Scipio (237-183 BC). Scipio, who would later be called Scipio Africanus for his victory over Carthage (in Africa), by 206 had conquered all of Spain, which was converted into two Roman provinces. Hannibal was now left high and dry in Italy.

Scipio then crossed into Africa in 204 BC and took the war to the walls of Carthage itself. This forced the Carthaginians to sue for peace with Rome; part of the treaty demanded that Hannibal leave the Italian peninsula. Hannibal was one of the great strategic generals in history; all during his war with Rome he never once lost a major battle, although he had lost a couple small skirmishes. Now, however, he was forced to retreat; he had, despite winning every battle, lost the war. When he returned to Carthage, the Carthaginians took heart and rose up against Rome in one last gambit in 202 BC. At Zama in northern Africa, Hannibal, fighting against Scipio and his army, met his first defeat. Rome reduced Carthage to a dependent state; Rome now controlled the whole of the western Mediterranean including northern Africa.

This was the defining historical experience of the Romans. They had faced certain defeat with toughness and determination and had won against overwhelming odds. Their system of alliances had held firm; while Hannibal had depended on the allies running to his side, only the most remote Roman allies, those in the south and Siciliy, left the Roman alliance. For the rest of Roman history, the character of being Roman would be distilled in the histories of this seemingly desperate war against Carthage. The Second Punic War turned Rome from a regional power into an international empire: it had gained much of northern Africa, Spain, and the major islands in the western Mediterranean. Because Philip V of Macedon had allied himself with Hannibal and started his own war of conquest, the second Punic War forced Rome to turn east in wars of conquest against first Philip and then other Hellenistic kingdoms. The end result of the second Punic War, in the end, was the domination of the known world by Rome.
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I hope that's not too long but, like you, I can't be bothered to do the research and summarize. I DID summarize one paragraph for you, though. The one about Quintus Fabius Maximus. (In italics.) I thought it was needlessly long for my purposes.

Thanks a bunch! :D

:p YOU wish.

Alright, then, you win - Hurrah for the Irish Republic!

Alright, then, you win - Hurrah for the Irish Republic!

Hurrah for Eire?

Natural Choice:

Second greatest Republic, ever!

he don't forget the Dutch Republic! :D (a.k.a. 'The Republic', coz it was the only one in Europe).

This is a little of topic, but has anyone here had a chance to play Rome: Total War yet? The graphics and strategy invloved look really awesome and from what I can tell it's pretty historically accurate.

This is a little of topic, but has anyone here had a chance to play Rome: Total War yet? The graphics and strategy invloved look really awesome and from what I can tell it's pretty historically accurate.

It's outstandingly brilliant.

Alright, then, you win - Hurrah for the Irish Republic!
agreed

Rome Total War is very good, i miss the massive tech trees of medieval but it is much better overall. Also the armies move around within the provinces so its more realistic in terms of suprise attcks.

If possible, please tell me as much as you can about Rome, from the birth of the Roman Republic until just prior to Julius Caeser's assassination. It doesn't have to be super long, but I'd say a minimum of about 500 words. Thanks!


After tiring of suckling at their Wolf bitch mama's teats, Romulus and Remus climbed up on some hills and stared at each other for a while. They decided to build up a city, but kept arguing over the name. They fought and Romulus killed Remus - which is why it's called Rome and not Reme. Then some people went up to the Etruscans and said, "U R TEH SUCK!!11!!1!!!" and took over. Some roads got built and when the Macedonians came aknockin', Rome said, "ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!!" and bitch slapped them back to Greece. The Egyptians didn't like so many White people with British accents living so close, so they declared war and sent Moses to smite the Romans with frogs. The Romans decided they liked to eat frogs and Italian cuisine was born. Julius Caesar was born by Caeserean section to his mother, Incontinentia Buttocks, who was torn from the thigh of Zeus. Julius knew some day that he would be attacked by elephants, so he sent his cousin, Hannibal the Cannibal, to Carthage so he could bring all the elephants back to Rome, but Scipio didn't want elephants in Rome because of the giant poops that elephants make and he told Brutus to kill Caesar.

Fini.

Rome to AD 14, in a nutshell.

Seven villages on seven hills around the Tiber. "Hey, let's all be one city."

Etruscans come. "We own you now."

200 or so years of Etruscans, then....

"Hey, we don't like you." Etruscans kings overthrown.

"Well, we hate kings because of the Etruscans. Let's be a republic."

Roman Republic founded.

"We need more land." Latin wars.

"We need more land." War with the Aequi and the Volsci.

"We need more land." Conquering of Veii.

Spurius Maelius: "I am King of Rome!" Roman people: "No, you're not."

More war, more war, then....

"We are the Gauls. Resistance is futile." Gallic sack of Rome.

More war. First Samnite War and Great Latin War. Rome kick ass.

More war. Fall of Etruria. "Haha Etruscans, now we own you."

More war. Second Samnite War, Third Samnite War. Damn Samnites.

AHH!! MORE GAULS!!!

Then....

"Hey, look, there are Greek cities to the South. We must have them!" War against King Pyhrrus of Epirus.

Treaty with Carthage. "Screw peace." War with Carthage. First Punic War.

Lots of war with Carthage. "Those are some big islands. Those are now some big Roman islands." Annexation of Corsica and Sardinia, occupation of Sicily.

More war? Yes. First Illyrian war.

"We are the Gauls. Resis...." "Not this time!!!" Repulsion of Gallic invaders in northern Italy.

Something about elephants. Oh yeah, Hannibal captures Saguntum.

Second, and last, Illlyrian war, ending in total conquest of Illyria (Croatia-Bosnia-Serbia area)

More Carthage. Second Punic War. Hannibal goes berserk in Italy. Cannae and such.

"We need more land." First Macedonian War. Hannibal continues berserker rage.

Scipio AFRICANUS!!!!!!!111!!!one! Captures Carthago Nova in Spain.

Scipio > Hannibal. Battle of Zama, Rome wins Second Punic War. Oh yeah.... "Stupid Macedonians being on Roman land." Second Macedonian War.

Syrian War. I guess Macedon wasn't good enough. Third Macedonian War. "ROME IS VICTORIOUS!"

Some brothers named Gracchus and some dude named Marius. Probably not important....

Fourth Macedonian War, Lusitanian War, Third Punic War. Noticing a trend?

Sack of Carthage. No more Punic Wars, sorry.

Achaen War. They're the Greeks. Numantine War. Some guy named Sulla. Again, probably not important....

King of Pergamum, upon his deathbed: "I give my kingdom to Rome." Romans: "Sweetass!"

War against Gauls, Cimbri, Teutones, and Jugurtha. War, war, war.

Some guy named Pompey the Great. Probably insignificant. Another guy named Cicero. Best friends with Pompey.

Some guy named Julius Caesar. I KNOW he's not important.

That guy Sulla? Yeah, I was wrong. He marches on Rome. First Roman ever. Marius comes chasing after. Lots of bickering.

Sulla vs. Marius, the Thrilla in some town that rhymes with Thrilla.

Sulla > Marius. Dictator of Rome.

That Caesar guy does something. Sulla bites the dust.

More war. Charlton Heston leads a slave revolt against Rome.

War, war, war. Caesar, Pompey, Crassus, etc. etc. etc.

Triumsomething or another. Probably insignificant.

Caesar goes after Germania and Brittania.

War against Parthia. War against Gallic rebels. Parthia wins, invades Syria. Pompey and Caesar have a tiff, and before you know it, Civil War!!!

Blah blah blah, Caesar wins, "Et tu, Brutus?", Augustus and Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare, blah, blah, blah.