Ancient Rome

==Republic==
{{Main|Roman Republic}}
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 | image1 = Capitoline Brutus Musei Capitolini MC1183 02.jpg
 | alt1 = Capitoline Brutus
 | caption1 = The [[Capitoline Brutus]], a bust traditionally identified as [[Lucius Junius Brutus|L. Junius Brutus]], one of the founders of the Republic

 | image2 = Italy 400bC en.svg
 | alt2 = Italy in 400 BC
 | caption2 = Italy in 400 BC, just prior to the [[Celts|Celtic]] [[Roman–Gallic wars|invasion]] under [[Brennus (leader of the Senones)|Brennus]]

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By the end of the sixth century, Rome and many of its Italian neighbours entered a period of turbulence. Archaeological evidence implies some degree of large-scale warfare.{{Sfn|Boatwright|2012|p=43}} According to tradition and later writers such as [[Livy]], the [[Roman Republic]] was established {{Circa|509&nbsp;BC}}, {{Sfn|Cornell|1995|pages=215 et seq}} when the last of the seven kings of Rome, [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus|Tarquin the Proud]], was [[Overthrow of the Roman monarchy|deposed]] and a system based on annually elected [[Roman Magistrate|magistrates]] and various representative assemblies was established.{{Sfn|Matyszak|2003|pages=43–44}} A [[constitution of the Roman Republic|constitution]] set a series of [[separation of powers|checks and balances]], and a [[separation of powers]]. The most important magistrates were the two [[Roman consul|consuls]], who together exercised executive authority such as ''[[imperium]]'', or military command.{{Sfn|Adkins|Adkins|1998|pp=41–42}} The consuls had to work with the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], which was initially an advisory council of the ranking nobility, or [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patricians]], but grew in size and power.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hooker |first=Richard |date=6 June 1999 |title=Rome: The Roman Republic |url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ROME/REPUBLIC.HTM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514025151/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ROME/REPUBLIC.HTM |archive-date=14 May 2011 |publisher=Washington State University}}</ref>

Other magistrates of the Republic include [[tribune]]s, [[quaestor]]s, [[aedile]]s, [[praetor]]s and [[Roman censor|censors]].<ref name="Lacus">[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Magistratus.html Magistratus] by George Long, M.A. Appearing on pp. 723–724 of ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' by William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D. Published by John Murray, London, 1875. Website, 8 December 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2007.</ref> The magistracies were originally restricted to [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patricians]], but were later opened to common people, or [[Plebs|plebeians]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Livius |first=Titus (Livy) |url=https://archive.org/details/riseofromebookso00livy |title=The Rise of Rome, Books 1–5 |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford World's Classics |isbn=978-0192822963 |translator-last=Luce |translator-first=T.J. |chapter=Book II |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/riseofromebookso00livy |url-access=registration}}</ref> Republican voting assemblies included the ''[[comitia centuriata]]'' (centuriate assembly), which voted on matters of war and peace and elected men to the most important offices, and the ''[[comitia tributa]]'' (tribal assembly), which elected less important offices.{{Sfn|Adkins|Adkins|1998|p=39}}

In the 4th century BC, Rome had come under attack by the [[Gauls]], who now extended their power in the Italian peninsula beyond the [[Po Valley]] and through Etruria. On 16 July 390&nbsp;BC, a Gallic army under the leadership of tribal chieftain [[Brennus (4th century BC)|Brennus]], defeated the Romans at the [[Battle of the Allia]] and marched to Rome. The Gauls looted and burned the city, then laid siege to the Capitoline Hill, where some Romans had barricaded themselves, for seven months. The Gauls then agreed to give the Romans peace in exchange for 1000 pounds of gold.<ref>These are literally Roman ''librae'', from which the pound is derived.</ref> According to later legend, the Roman supervising the weighing noticed that the Gauls were using false scales. The Romans then took up arms and defeated the Gauls. Their victorious general [[Marcus Furius Camillus|Camillus]] remarked "With iron, not with gold, Rome buys her freedom."<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Camillus*.html] Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'', ''Life of Camillus'', XXIX, 2.</ref>

The Romans [[Roman conquest of Italy|gradually subdued]] the other peoples on the Italian peninsula, including the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]].{{Sfn|Haywood|1971|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientworld0000unse/page/350 350]–358}} The last threat to Roman [[hegemony]] in Italy came when [[Taranto|Tarentum]], a major [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] colony, enlisted the aid of [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] in 281&nbsp;BC, but this effort failed as well.<ref>[https://www.livius.org/ps-pz/pyrrhus/pyrrhus02.html Pyrrhus of Epirus (2)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414161122/http://www.livius.org/ps-pz/pyrrhus/pyrrhus02.html |date=14 April 2016 }} and [https://www.livius.org/ps-pz/pyrrhus/pyrrhus03.html Pyrrhus of Epirus (3)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193524/http://www.livius.org/ps-pz/pyrrhus/pyrrhus03.html |date=3 March 2016 }} by Jona Lendering. Livius.org. Retrieved 21 March 2007.</ref>{{Sfn|Haywood|1971|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientworld0000unse/page/350 350]–358}} The Romans secured their conquests by founding [[Colonies in antiquity|Roman colonies]] in strategic areas, thereby establishing stable control over the region.{{Sfn|Haywood|1971|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientworld0000unse/page/350 350]–358}}

===Punic Wars===
{{Main|Punic Wars}}
{{See also|Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula}}
[[File:Domain changes during the Punic Wars.gif|thumb|right|420px|Territorial changes over the course of the [[Punic Wars]]:
{{Legend|#b4d5b1|Roman possessions and close allies}} 
{{Legend|#ffcb90|[[Carthaginian Empire]] and close allies }}]]
[[File:RUSSELL(1854) p182 Siege of Numantia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The Roman siege of the [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]] stronghold of [[Numantia]] in Spain in 133 BC<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Matthew |title=The History of Warfare: The Ultimate Visual Guide to the History of Warfare from the Ancient World to the American Civil War |last2=Dawson |first2=Doyne |last3=Field |first3=Ron |last4=Hawthornwaite |first4=Philip |last5=Loades |first5=Mike |date=2016 |page=61}}</ref>]]

In the 3rd century BC Rome faced a new and formidable opponent: [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]], the other major power in the Western Mediterranean.{{Sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=25–26}}{{Sfn|Miles|2011|pp=175–176}} The [[First Punic War]] began in 264&nbsp;BC, when the city of [[Messina|Messana]] asked for Carthage's help in their conflicts with [[Hiero II of Syracuse]]. After the Carthaginian intercession, Messana asked Rome to expel the Carthaginians. Rome entered this war because [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] and Messana were too close to the newly conquered Greek cities of Southern Italy and Carthage was now able to make an offensive through Roman territory; along with this, Rome could extend its domain over [[Sicily]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cassius Dio – Fragments of Book 11 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/11*.html |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

Carthage was a maritime power, and the Roman lack of ships and naval experience made the path to the victory a long and difficult one for the [[Roman Republic]]. Despite this, after more than 20 years of war, Rome defeated Carthage and a peace treaty was signed. Among the reasons for the [[Second Punic War]]<ref>New historical atlas and general history By Robert Henlopen Labberton. p. 35.</ref> was the subsequent war reparations Carthage acquiesced to at the end of the First Punic War.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Punic Wars|display=Punic Wars § The Interval between the First and Second Wars|volume=22|page=850|first=Maximilian Otto Bismarck|last=Caspari}}</ref> The war began with the audacious invasion of Hispania by [[Hannibal]], who marched through [[Hispania]] to the Italian [[Alps]], causing panic among Rome's Italian allies. The best way found to defeat Hannibal's purpose of causing the Italians to abandon Rome was to delay the Carthaginians with a [[guerrilla]] war of attrition, a strategy propounded by [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus]]. Hannibal's invasion lasted over 16 years, ravaging Italy, but ultimately Carthage was defeated in the decisive [[Battle of Zama]] in October 202&nbsp;BC.

More than a half century after these events, Carthage was humiliated and the Republic's focus now was only to the [[Hellenistic]] kingdoms of Greece and [[Celtiberian Wars|revolts in Hispania]]. However, Carthage, having paid the war indemnity, felt that its commitments and submission to Rome had ceased, a vision not shared by the [[Roman Senate]]. The [[Third Punic War]] began when Rome declared war against Carthage in 149&nbsp;BC. Carthage resisted well at the first strike but could not withstand the attack of [[Scipio Aemilianus]], who entirely destroyed the city, enslaved all the citizens and gained control of that region, which became the province of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]]. All these wars resulted in Rome's first overseas conquests (Sicily, Hispania and Africa) and the rise of Rome as a significant imperial power.{{Sfn|Haywood|1971|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientworld0000unse/page/376 376]–393}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hooker |first=Richard |date=6 June 1999 |title=Rome: The Punic Wars |url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ROME/PUNICWAR.HTM |access-date=22 March 2007 |website=Washington State University}}</ref>