ROME (HISTORY OF). 



war broke out with the Cisalpine Gauls, which 

 continued for six .years, and resulted in the foun- 

 dation of the Roman dominion in the north of 

 Italy (about 222 B. C.) Then began the second 

 Punic war. Hannibal commenced the attack, and 

 made Italy the theatre of the war. It continued 

 from 536 to 553. After many bloody battles, 

 Carthage was subdued; but Rome, notwithstand- 

 ing her great loss of men and the devastation of 

 Italy, came out of the war more powerful than she 

 had entered it, with an acquisition of foreign ter- 

 ritory and the dominion of the sea. Without any 

 change of the form of the constitution, the senate 

 had now acquired an almost absolute power. The 

 ambition of universal dominion already inspired the 

 nation. At the end of the second Punic war, 

 Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and a part of Spain and 

 Cisalpine Gaul, were Roman provinces; Carthage 

 was entirely dependent upon Rome. On the other 

 hand, the kingdom of Macedonia in the East, with 

 the Grecian republics, composed a political system, 

 very complicated in itself, but first brought into 

 connexion with Rome, after the Illyrian war, and 

 the connexion of Phillip II. with Hannibal. Of 

 the three powers of the first rank, Syria, Mace- 

 donia, and Egypt, the two first were allied against 

 the latter, which was on friendly terms with Rome. 

 The powers of the second rank the JEtolian 

 league, the kings of Pergamus, the republic of 

 Rhodes, and other smaller states, such as Athens 

 were already allies of Rome, and had been 

 leagued with her against Philip (543) ; the Achaean 

 confederacy, on the contrary, was attached to the 

 Macedonian interest. Hardly was the peace made 

 with Carthage when the war broke out with Phi- 

 lip of Macedonia. In the beginning of this war, 

 the Romans were unfortunate, till Titus Quinc- 

 tius Flaminius, by his policy and military talents, 

 laid the foundation for the power of Rome in the 

 East. By the decisive battle of Cynocephale, 

 (557,) Philip lost his naval superiority, and his 

 influence over Greece, whose dependence upon 

 Rome was secured by Quinctius granting her free- 

 dom. Roman deputies, such as retained Carthage 

 and Numidia in subjection, exercised a supervision 

 in Greece and Macedonia, and interfered in the 

 domestic policy of these states. To the Greeks, 

 particularly to the proud ^Etolians, this was the 

 more intolerable, as the Roman army remained in 

 their country three years. The peace with Philip 

 contained the seeds of a greater war with Antio- 

 chus, from whom Rome demanded the Grecian 

 cities which Philip had possessed in Asia, and which 

 Antiochus had now occupied. The difficulties 

 began in 558, when Antiochus took possession of 

 the Chersonese ; they were increased by Hanni- 

 bal's flight to the court of that prince (559), and 

 soon broke out into a formal war, in the conduct 

 of which, Antiochus and Hannibal did not agree, 

 the former being unwilling to adopt decisive mea- 

 sures. Antiochus, defeated by sea and land, found 

 himself, after the battle of Magnesia (564) forced 

 to conclude a peace, which obliged him to retire 

 behind the Taurus, and made him altogether de- 

 pendent upon Rome. At the same time, bloody 

 wars were carried on in Spain and Upper Italy. 

 In 569 the troubles with Philip broke out anew, 

 because he had made some small conquests; but 

 the negociations which were entered into with his 

 son Demetrius, and the death of Philip, (which 

 took place in 575,) delayed the war till 582. The 

 war with Perseus of Macedon, the son of Philip, 



terminated in the total subjection of the kingdom 

 by the victory of Paulus JEmilius, at Pydna. The 

 conquest of Egypt, by Antiochus Epiphanes, was 

 prevented by the decision of Popilius, the Roman 

 ambassador. After the conquest of Macedonia, 

 Rome openly pursued her plan of universal domi- 

 nion, and spared no means for attaining it. The 

 division of Egypt was accomplished, and the pro- 

 tection of Syria assumed, which country was 

 thenceforth rendered defenceless. After unparal- 

 leled oppressiens, Carthage was now to be des- 

 troyed. This was accomplished in the third Punic 

 war, which lasted from 604 to 608, when the 

 proud Carthage was destroyed (146 B. C.). At 

 the same time, a new war was carried on in Mace- 

 donia, against Andriscus, who had placed himself 

 at the head of the disaffected, but who, in 606, 

 submitted to Metelles. Then commenced the 

 Achaean war, the object of which was the dissolu- 

 tion of the Achaean league. Mummius terminated 

 this war in 608 (146 B. C.), by the destruction of 

 Corinth ; Greece and Macedonia were reduced to 

 Roman provinces. Thus had Rome, within the space 

 of 1 18 years, made herself mistress of the world. 

 The Roman tactics had now become so perfect, 

 that no phalanx could withstand the legions. But 

 the Romans were, as yet, unskilled in naval war- 

 fare, and the younger Africanus was the first who 

 carried the arts of conducting a siege to some per- 

 fection. Out of Italy, Rome occupied, under the 

 name of provinces, Hither and Thither Spain, 

 (neither of which was entirely reduced,) Africa, 

 (the territory of Carthage,) Sicily, Sardinia, Cor- 

 sica, Liguria, Cisalpine Gaul, Macedonia, and 

 Achaia. Not only individual opulence, but the 

 public revenue, was greatly increased. The finan- 

 ces of Rome were conducted with the strictest 

 regularity. With the wealth, the cultivation and 

 refinement of the Romans also increased. Their 

 first poets appeared, and the first regular dramas 

 were now exhibited in Rome. Learning flourished 

 after the wars in Greece and Asia. Lucilius wrote 

 satires, and Fabius Pictor and Cato composed the 

 annals of Roman history. The language was de- 

 veloped. The calculation of solar and lunar 

 eclipses, and the construction of water-clocks, and 

 of more accurate sun-dials, became known to the 

 Romans. In the fine arts, the Romans were, as 

 yet, barbarians. After the second Punic war, the 

 ancient purity and simplicity of manrters gradually 

 declined. At funerals the cruel combats of gla- 

 diators were exhibited ; immense sums were spent 

 in public shows; and licentiousness began to pre- 

 vail. Even in this period laws were enacted 

 against luxury, and the shameless bacchannalia were 

 prohibited in 568. 



Fourth Period. The wars in Spain, particu- 

 larly against the Celtiberians and Lusitanians, 

 were prosecuted with vigour. In the peasant Viria- 

 thus, the Romans found a formidable enemy. The 

 rapacity of the proconsul Licinius Lucullus (603), 

 and of the pretor Sulpicius Galba (604), caused 

 the war to break out with renewed fury, under 

 the conduct of Viriathus. After his assassination 

 (614), Lusitania was reduced ; but, on the other 

 hand, the Numantines compelled the consul Man- 

 cinus to a disadvantageous treaty. (See Numan- 

 tia.) Scipio terminated this war in 621; but 

 Northern Spain still remained unsubdued. In 

 the same year, the Romans received from At- 

 tains the kingdom of Pergamus, in Asia, by be- 

 quest, and maintained their claims to it against 



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