Section 2: Rome Expands Its Borders

·        Rome Expands its Borders

o       By 200 B.C. Rome controlled the Italian Peninsula south of the Rubicon

o       Carthage was a city in North Africa founded by the Phoenicians.

·        The First Punic War

o       Began in 264 B.C. and lasted for 23 years

o       Rome had to build up its own navy to fight.

o       Romans used “boarding bridges” to cross from ship to ship. It gave them the advantage. 

·        The Second Punic War

o       Began in 218 B.C.

o       Hannibal raised a large army and then marched to Rome.

o       Hannibal was a brilliant general but didn’t have the equipment to attack the cities.

o       Forced to raid the country side for supplies

o       The Romans decided to counterattack and sent forces to Africa.

o       Hannibal was forced to return and face Roman general Scipio.

o       In 202 B.C., Scipio defeats Hannibal at the Battle of Zama.

o       Carthage forced to pay large sums of money, and give up its colonies and navy.

·        The Third Punic War

o       Romans hated the city of Carthage and wanted to see it destroyed.

o       In 149 B.C., the Roman Senate declared war

o       3 years later, the city was destroyed and ruined.

o       Macedonia had allied with Carthage during the war, so Rome took revenge and conquered them.

·        Problems of Expansion

o       As Rome’s territory grew, so too did the senate’s power.

o       People in new provinces were under the protection of Rome and ruled by a governor but weren’t allowed to become citizens.

o       Returning soldiers came back to find homes and farms destroyed, so they moved to the city.

o       In the cities, they were forced to live off government handouts.

o       Gap between rich and poor grew

·        Equites- The class of business people that traded and became rich.

·        Spartacus- raised an army of 70,000 slaves in 73 B.C.

§         By 71 B.C., the Roman army won and crucified 6,000 rebels