Repetitive-generalizing lesson on the topic

Rome is the conqueror of the Mediterranean.

Lesson Form : a generalization lesson on the topic "Rome the conqueror of the Mediterranean"

Subject : story

Methodological goals lesson:

consolidate and systematize students' knowledge of history ancient rome;

Activate cognitive activity students in the study of history;

To consolidate concepts, definitions, terms, events, phenomena, facts, chronology;

To promote the development of skills in working with a map, documents;

contribute to the development of attention, reaction to situationality, - ----- development ability to formulate and concretize answers to questions;

During the classes.

Plan:

Motivation.

Main part.

Reflection.

MOTIVATION: Teacher's word: guys, for several lessons we have been studying the topic "ROME THE CONQUEROR OF THE MEDITERRANEAN". And today we will repeat and summarize the material on this topic and do it with the help of a quiz. But first I would like to tell you a little parable.

They say that on the day when Alexander the Great became the ruler of the world, he closed himself in a room and cried.

His military leaders were worried. What happened? They never saw him cry. He wasn't that kind of person. They were with him different situations: when life was in great danger, when death was very close, but no one noticed traces of despair and hopelessness on his face. He was an example of courage. What happened to him now, now that he has won, when the world has been conquered?

They knocked, entered and asked:

- What happened, why are you crying?

He replied:

- Now that I won, I realized that I had lost. Now I am in the same place where I was when I started this senseless conquest of the world. It became clear to me only now, because before I was on the road, I had a goal. Now I have nowhere to move, no one to conquer. I feel a terrible emptiness inside me. I lost.

Rome also had a goal - to gain power and might in the Mediterranean. Submitting to this goal, he collided with the interests of Carthage, which for many years became the main enemy of Rome. Carthage was called a thorn in the body of Ancient Rome. When Rome finally managed to raze the fortress to the ground, he found peace, but became lifeless and fell into decay.

But this is a completely different story, but for now Rome is strong and seeks to demonstrate its strength to the whole world. How he did it today we must remember with you.

MAIN PART OF THE LESSON. Conducting a quiz.

DIE IS CAST

So. There is a handout on your desk. Words are printed on sheet No. 1. (SLIDE 2) Your task now is to group these words according to their meaning and highlight among them keyword to each group.

First, we check the keywords that we have highlighted (Carthage, Legion, Province). Then the one who named the correct keyword names the words included in this group. (SLIDES 4,5,6)

Conclusion: please tell me how all these words are related to our topic today?

The word of the teacher: as you understand, the development of any state, its policy, both internal and external, is always determined by those people who are in power. It is in their hands that the fullness of power, which determines the fate of states, is located. Of course, such individuals were in the period we are considering. Now I suggest that you, using an excerpt from the document, determine who we are talking about and what made him famous in this era of conquest? Take handout #2

3. HISTORY IN PERSONS.

While this man was alive, the Romans did not know peace. They considered it a fire that can always be fanned. This great commander suffered only one defeat, after which he had to leave his homeland. After many years of wandering, he became an adviser to the king of a small state. The Romans demanded that this king hand over the commander. Fearing the Romans, the king agreed. Not wanting to become a prisoner, this courageous man took poison, saying at the same time: "Let's remove the heavy care from the shoulders of the Romans, who cannot wait for the death of the old man they hate." Who is this man and why were the Romans so afraid of him? (Hannibal)

– It was at the call of this Roman senator that Carthage was destroyed. He ended each speech in the Senate with the words: "Nevertheless, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed." (Cato).

He made vows to the gods, because, in his opinion, the reason for the previous defeat was, first of all, the commander's disrespect for religion. He did not enter into battle with Hannibal, but, occupying the heights, followed him at such a distance so as not to be drawn into the battle against his will and at the same time not lose sight of the enemy, keep him in alarm and prevent him from obtaining provisions. ( Fabius Maxim)

In the spring of 204, this commander departed for the shores(now Sug-al-Khamis in. For this, he received the honorary name "African". (SCIPION).

The word of the teacher: we have decided on personalities, now our task is to restore historical justice. On the handouts under number 3 there is a text containing historical errors. Your task is to find them and give the correct answer.

4. WE ARE NOT FRIENDS WITH BUGS

(the Romans enslaved the inhabitants of the provinces; the governors plundered the provinces, raised taxes and took away the best lands)

(Rome's attempts to conquer the Mediterranean were opposed by Carthage; the Macedonian kingdom by that time no longer owned the Eastern Mediterranean; the Macedonian kingdom never owned part of Spain and the islands in the Western Mediterranean)

(Hannibal is a Carthaginian commander who, as a nine-year-old boy, swore an oath that he would always be an enemy of the Romans. Hannibal decided to attack first, without waiting for the Romans to strike. Leaving Spain, five months later he approached the Alps. Having crossed the Alps, he ended up in the valley of the Po River Hannibal has never been to Sicily or Rome.)

REFLECTION.

So, what conclusion can be drawn about the outcome of the Punic Wars for Rome and her rivals?

Now I invite each of you to express your attitude to the events that we talked about today in the form of a syncwine.

HANDOUT #2

READ THE EXTRACT AND NAME THE PERSON IN SPEECH

1. While this man was alive, the Romans did not know peace. They considered it a fire that can always be fanned. This great commander suffered only one defeat, after which he had to leave his homeland. After many years of wandering, he became an adviser to the king of a small state. The Romans demanded that this king hand over the commander. Fearing the Romans, the king agreed. Not wanting to become a prisoner, this courageous man took poison, saying at the same time: "Let's remove the heavy care from the shoulders of the Romans, who cannot wait for the death of the old man they hate." Who is this man and why were the Romans so afraid of him?

2. It was at the call of this Roman senator that Carthage was destroyed. He ended each speech in the Senate with the words: "Nevertheless, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed."

3. Sluggishness and slowness affected him already in childhood; teaching was difficult for him. His first major military success was a victory over the Ligurians, for which he received a triumph. When a few years later began, after the first defeats of the Romans, even before the Battle of Trasimene, he advised to avoid battles with, guard cities and wait for Hannibal's army to melt away by itself. After the Battle of Trasimene, he received a dictatorship. He began with religious ceremonies, turned to, made vows to the gods, since, in his opinion, the reason for the previous defeat was, first of all, the commander’s disrespect for religion. He did not enter into battle with Hannibal, but, occupying the heights, followed him at such a distance that he would not be drawn into the battle against his will and at the same time not lose sight of the enemy, keep him in alarm and prevent him from obtaining provisions.

4. In the spring of 204, this commander departed for the shoreswith two legions of veterans (about 30 thousand people), with 40 military and 400 transport ships, and, without meeting the slightest resistance, landed safely on Beautiful Cape near.. In 203, the battle was given at(now Sug-al-Khamis in), where the army of this talented Roman commander crushed the Carthaginians with double coverage from the flanks. In response to the cessation of hostilities, he demanded the Spanish possessions and the Mediterranean islands, the extradition of the entire navy except for 20 ships and the payment of a military indemnity of 4 thousand talents. The Carthaginians accepted the terms. In 202, a turning point came in the war - Hannibal was defeated at, a year later, 7 ultimatum demands were presented to Carthage. Upon his return to Rome, this commander celebrated a grandiose triumph, which marked the actual completion of. For this, he received the honorary name "African".

Handout #3

WE DO NOT FRIEND WITH ERRORS

Every assignment contains errors. You need to find them and give the correct answer.

conquering this or that country, the Romans declared it a province, and its inhabitants were endowed with the rights of Roman citizens. The governors who ruled the provinces did everything to make life easier for the local population: they reduced taxes, distributed land. Slavery was abolished in the territory conquered by Rome.

Having subjugated Italy, the Romans began to seek to conquer the entire Mediterranean. Their attempts were opposed by the Macedonian kingdom, which by that time owned the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as part of Spain and the islands in the Western Mediterranean. The Roman Senate worked out such a plan: one consular army is sent to Spain, and the other to Africa.

in 218 BC The Carthaginian commander Hannibal decided to pay a friendly visit to Rome at the invitation of the then reigning king. Crossing the Mediterranean, he visited Sicily, and then arrived in Rome.

Handout #1

Viceroy of Carthage

Province cavalry

Hannibal the dictator

africa trade center

Proconsul military camp

pune legion

Infantry dependency

Slavery

Handout #1

Viceroy of Carthage

Province cavalry

Hannibal the dictator

africa trade center

Proconsul military camp

pune legion

Infantry dependency

Slavery

____________________________________________________

Handout #1

Viceroy of Carthage

Province cavalry

Hannibal the dictator

africa trade center

Proconsul military camp

pune legion

Infantry dependency

The victory over Carthage in the Second Punic War made Rome the most powerful power in the Mediterranean and untied his hands for a further offensive in the East. Rome spent 250 years on the conquest of Italy, and in less than 53 years. which passed from the Second Punic to the Third Macedonian War, according to Polybius, almost the entire known world fell under the rule of the Romans. The prosperity of the Roman economy to a large extent relied on the massive use of slave power, which provokes the growth of Rome's aggression throughout the Mediterranean. In the Eastern Mediterranean, the main opponents of Rome were the Hellenistic powers - the Seleucid kingdom, led by an able ruler Antiochus III, and Macedonia. In the fight against these powers, Rome skillfully used their complex relations with the Greek policies and played a subtle diplomatic game. The Hellenic policies, even after the subjugation of Macedonia, continued to fight for their independence and, more formally than in fact, submitted to the authority of the Macedonian kings. Hellas was in deep decline, brewing general crisis. Political fragmentation, social struggle, interpolis wars hampered the development of the economy and trade. In order to survive, separate isolated communities are united in unions of policies, and the unions of policies and tribes of the formerly backward regions of the country - the Achaean and Italian unions - have come to the fore. But to subdue Greece. Rome needed to win a dispute with the Hellenistic monarchies - the heirs of ancient civilizations. In the Macedonian wars, the Roman state was strengthened, diplomacy and military art were honed, and the apparatus of provincial government was created and tested. determined the entire subsequent direction of the Roman "messianic" policy.

The first test of strength on the Balkan Peninsula was Illyria. There was an association of Illyrian tribes who made raids across the Adriatic on the coast of Italy and Greece. Illyrian queen Teuta resolutely refused the demands of the Romans to put an end to the robberies. Then in 229 BC. the Romans sent a fleet to the shores of Illyria, defeated the Illyrian fleet and landed an army of 20,000 on the coast. As a result, control was established over many tribes of Illyria. The Romans reported their successes to the Aetolians and Achaeans, sending embassies to them, which were warmly received. By solving their own problems, the Romans did a service to the Greeks, thereby raising their authority in their eyes. The Romans captured Kerkyra in this war and made part of the Illyrian territory dependent. In 219, Lucius Aemilius Paul conducted military operations in Illyria against his recent ally in the First Illyrian War, Demetrius of Pharos, who eventually had to flee to the Macedonian king Philip V. Aemilius Paul finally subordinated Illyria to the power of Rome.

In the future, the wars between Rome and Macedonia begin. During the Second Punic War, Philip V made an alliance with Hannibal, wanting to expand his possessions in Hellas and Illyria. The Romans responded. engaged primarily in the fight against Carthage, entered into an alliance with the Aetolian Union and Rhodes, who actually fought against Philip in the First Macedonian War (215-205 BC). The war ended with the preservation of the status quo, but for the first time Rome was involved in Greek-Macedonian affairs, acquired loyal allies in the person of Aetolia, Rhodes and the Kingdom of Pergamon, and even sent an embassy to the Syrian king Antiochus III with a cheeky ban on encroaching on Egypt, declaring itself in full voice as a full participant in all Mediterranean affairs.

Macedonia under Philip is on the rise. extends its power to most of Greece, setting its sights on the division of the overseas possessions of Egypt. But such a policy met with opposition from Rhodes and Pergamon. Greek policies. The Romans develop a frenzied diplomatic activity. Philip did not accept the ultimatum of the Roman Senate to return the seized possessions to the Egyptian king, stop the war with the Greeks and submit all disputes with Pergamum and Rhodes for resolution to the arbitrator - the Roman Senate.

In 200 a Roman army landed at Apollonia. on the coast of Greece, and began to move deeper into the peninsula. The fleet of Rome and Rhodes blocked the Macedonian coast. Thus began the Second Macedonian War (200-197 BC). The Romans attracted the Aetolian and Achaean alliances to their side. applying the principle of "divide and rule", kept his ally Antiochus III from helping Philip. In 198 BC Titus Quinctius Flamininus arrived in Greece with fresh forces, an Hellenophile, a fine connoisseur of Greek art and Greek, which managed to enchant the Greeks in particular with themes. how he enthusiastically talked about the great Hellas, and to appear in the eyes of the Hellenes as their savior. The decisive battle of the war took place in 197 BC. in Thessaly at the Cynoscephalian hills. Here for the first time the Macedonian phalanx and the Roman legions clashed. Here, the manipulative tactics of the Romans showed undeniable superiority over the cumbersome, inactive phalanx. Under the terms of the peace treaty, Philip renounced all possessions outside Macedonia, paid Rome 1,000 talents, issued all but six warships, and reduced the army to 5,000 men. Without the knowledge of Rome, he had no right to wage war. The main point of the peace treaty was his recognition of the freedom of the Greek cities. Thus, Macedonia was reduced to the position of an ordinary provincial state, closed in its narrow borders. But the independence of Macedonia was preserved, since Flamininus did not want to overly strengthen the Aetolians, and Macedonia could, and indeed did, help Rome in the event of a threat of invasion of Europe from Antiochus.

In 196 BC. at the Isthmian Games in Corinth, Flamininus proclaimed the "freedom of Greece" with great pomp, which caused delight among the Greeks. But in fact the Greek cities came under the more severe rule of Rome, whose claim to influence now began to spread to Asia and Egypt. Roman garrisons are introduced into several cities. The Romans redraw the map of Hellas in their own way, endowing those of their allies with lands. who distinguished themselves most in the war with Macedonia. but without making them too strong. The Achaean Union was most favored. The wealthy strata joined the Romans. Flaminin established the power of aristocrats and oligarchs. crushing democratic forces. If necessary, Flaminin moved from persuasion to application military force. In the future, Flaminin used his charm and talents more than once. to keep the Greek cities from an alliance with the Syrian king Antiochus III.

The next clash occurred with the state of the Seleucids, where Antiochus the Great managed to breathe new strength into this power, return the previously lost lands, make his power the strongest state of the Hellenistic world and claim dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean. Antiochus essentially betrayed Philip. without supporting him either in the First or in the Second Macedonian War. After the capture by Antiochus of Asia Minor regions and Thracian Chersonesus, Rhodes and the Kingdom of Pergamum turn to Rome with complaints. Rome demands from Antiochus to release the cities of Asia Minor and return them to the Egyptian king Ptolemy V. Antiochus rejected the claims of the Romans. At the instigation of Rome, Rhodes declared war on Antiochus. And two years later, Hannibal arrived at the court of Antiochus. ,. After the conclusion of peace, the enemies of Hannibal in the Carthaginian government tried to condemn him for allegedly not deliberately taking possession of Rome in his time and appropriated the booty captured in Italy. Hannibal, turning to the common people for support, removed his political opponents from power. He took the highest position in the state (the position of the Suffet) and began transformations aimed at replenishing the Carthaginian treasury. At the same time, he secretly conspired with the Macedonian king Philip and the Syrian Antiochus about a joint struggle against Rome. From the denunciations of political enemies of Hannibal, this became known in Rome. A Roman embassy arrived in Carthage to demand the extradition of Hannibal. But he managed to secretly escape and went to the king Antiochus, who, after the defeat of Philip of Macedon, remained the main opponent of Rome. Antiochus, who was preparing for war with the Romans, received the exile with open arms, knowing that his very name aroused alarm and fear in Rome. At this time, the situation in Greece changed, where the Aetolian League began military operations against the Romans, which called for Antiochus to help. Hannibal urged Antiochus to start a war with the Romans, strike at Italy and send a fleet to Carthage. But a proud king. petty jealous of the military genius of Hannibal, did not heed his advice and did not dare to appoint him commander. Perhaps the slander of the Romans on Hannibal during the Roman embassy in 193 BC influenced. In the autumn of 192 BC. The king landed with a 10,000-strong army on the coast of Thessaly and occupied the city of Demetrias. Soon a 25,000-strong Roman army arrived in Illyria. The lower classes were on the side of Antiochus, the aristocracy that played the greatest role in most areas of Greece. supported the Romans. Antiochus, having captured Chalcis, did nothing. Philip refused to ally with him and vice versa. began to help the Romans, thereby extending the peaceful situation for the Sami for Macedonia and having the opportunity to accumulate new forces to fight Rome. The Romans acted decisively and energetically.

In 191, Antiochus was defeated at Thermopylae, forced to leave Greece and flee to Ephesus in Asia Minor. In the summer of the same year, the fleet of Antiochus was defeated by the Pergamon-Rhodian fleet. The Aetolians were forced to surrender, the Aetolian Union was preserved, but reduced to the limits of Aetolia itself. He paid 500 talents of silver, handed over hostages, and recognized the power and supremacy of the Roman people. After that, Aetolia ceased to play any role in the affairs of Greece. In 190 BC A new consul, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, arrived in Greece, who, together with his brother Publius, the famous winner of Hannibal, sent an army to Asia Minor. In the general battle of Magnesia in 190 BC. e. the Syrian king was defeated. Under the Treaty of Apamea, Antiochus renounced his European and Asia Minor possessions and pledged to pay a huge indemnity of 12 thousand talents, reduced his mighty fleet to 10 ships and pledged to hand over Hannibal.

But Hannibal fled. There is evidence that he visited the court of the Armenian king Artashes I and founded the city of Artashat for him, but he did not stay there for long, and after the conclusion of the Treaty of Apamea, he appeared in Gortyn in Crete, but he did not stay there for long either.

The last refuge of Hannibal was Bithynia - a kingdom in the southwestern Black Sea region, in the northwest of Asia Minor. He ended up at the court of King Prusius. The aged commander helped Prussia in the war against neighboring Pergamum and its king Eumenes, the most active ally of Rome. In a naval battle, Hannibal ordered vessels with snakes to be thrown onto the decks of enemy ships, which confused the opponents and were defeated. It was last win Hannibal. But the king of Prusius was ungrateful.

When Flamininus subtly hinted to the Bithynian king Prusius, arriving to him in 183 BC, what the Romans would like from him - to get Hannibal. The house of Hannibal was surrounded on all sides by the Bithynian soldiers. Hannibal still hoped for secret exits, but there were soldiers near them too. Not wanting to fall into the hands of sworn enemies alive, the 67-year-old commander took his own life by taking poison.

Hannibal was buried on a hillside in Libiss, on the European coast of the Bosporus, in a stone sarcophagus, on which the inscription: “Hannibal is buried here”, was carved, in an ordinary grave, marked only by a grave mound. Four centuries later, Emperor Septimius Severus during the campaign to siege Byzantium in 193-195. AD during the war against his rival Pescennius Niger, stumbled upon the grave of the great Carthaginian commander. Septimius was born at Leptis Magna. former Phoenician colony 620 miles from Carthage, and Carthaginian blood may have flowed in his veins. Deciding that such a poor grave was not suitable for such a great man, he ordered that the hill be lined with white marble in honor of Hannibal.

Already in modern times Ataturk, who admired the life story of Hannibal, in the 30s decided to erect a monument to this valiant commander. But such a desire of Ataturk came true only by 1981: a memorial grave for Hannibal was established by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey.

Rome gave most of the conquered possessions to its allies, especially the king of Pergamon, Eumenes. The last dangerous rival of Rome in the Eastern Mediterranean was crushed, the influence of the Romans was strengthened in Greece and Asia Minor. By pitting the Greek cities against each other, Rome made itself the only judge in resolving the contradictions that it artificially inflated. Thanks to the implementation of the usual policy of "divide and rule", Rome established dominance over the whole of Hellas.

During the war between Rome and Antiochus, Philip Macedonia, thanks to Philip's help to the Romans, again expands its possessions and strengthens its position. Philip did not refuse revenge at all. but he masked his intentions. He created stocks of weapons and food, intensively developed the Pangean gold mines, and entered into alliances with the Thracian tribes. Philip found an original way out of the restrictions on the number of troops (5 thousand) under the peace treaty. Every year he called 4 thousand young men into his ranks and sent them home after a year of training. According to Polybius, he destroyed the internal opposition of the aristocrats, who were guided by Rome.

After the death of Philip, his son Perseus became king. In preparation for the war, Perseus focused on Hellas, making alliances with the Byzantines, Boeotians, etc. The gross interference of the Roman legates in the affairs of the Greek cities set even the faithful allies of the Achaean Greeks against Rome. Having experienced the freedom received from the Romans, democratically minded forces pinned their hopes on Perseus in the fight against the harsh tutelage of Rome. He declared himself the protector of all the oppressed and condemned for the debts of the Greeks, he promised the exiles shelter and safety.

The reason for the Romans to go to war with Perseus was the unsuccessful assassination attempt on the Pergamon king Eumenes II in Delphi, allegedly carried out on the orders of Perseus and the latter's invasion of Dolopia. In 171 BC The Third Macedonian War began. In the first battles, Perseus defeated the Roman troops. However, Perseus showed stinginess towards the Illyrians and Thracians, having lost their support. Perseus wasted his strength. trampling on the borders of Macedonia. In 169 BC the incompetent commander of the Roman army was replaced by the consul Lucius Aemilius Paul. He strengthened discipline in the army and increased its combat effectiveness. Perseus failed to find allies among the Hellenistic monarchs. The decisive battle took place on June 22, 168 BC. The onslaught of the Macedonian phalanx was terrible. But when descending from the hills and fording across the shallow river Leucus, the monolithic structure of the phalanx broke and movable maniples of principles wedged in between the phalanx and the peltasts, and the legionnaires of the II Legion courageously resisted the onslaught of the leucaspists. Perseus did not send his beautiful cavalry into battle, although this could have saved the matter. Perseus lost his presence of mind and shamefully fled from the battlefield along with a detachment of bodyguards and his horse guards. The cavalry, unscathed from the battle, followed him. Hoplites were subjected to merciless extermination. The reasons for the defeat of the Macedonians in the battle of Pydna are the superiority of the maneuverable manipulative system over the clumsy heavy Macedonian phalanx, which, when confronted with a more advanced legion, showed its shortcomings.

Perseus fled to Pella, the capital of Macedonia, and from there to the island of Samothrace under the protection of the sanctuary. Roman troops occupied Macedonia. Perseus was tricked out of the temple on Samothrace. The Romans divided Macedonia into four parts, the inhabitants of which were forbidden to trade and even marry the inhabitants of other areas. It was forbidden to develop gold mines, trade in timber and salt. This doomed the population to starvation and vegetation. Noble Macedonians, together with their children, went to Rome for exile. Further, the wrath of the Romans fell upon Greece. Aetolia was humiliated and territorially robbed. Epirus was subjected to a terrible defeat, after which more than 150 thousand Epirotes were sold into slavery. Terror reigned in Greece by ten commissioners sent by the Roman Senate to decide the affairs of the country. More than a thousand noble Achaeans were sent as hostages to Rome, where they were held in difficult conditions for more than 16 years. Rhodes was stripped of all privileges and possessions for merely urging Rome to end the war from which its trade was suffering. In retaliation, the Romans declared the island of Delos free of duties, through which all maritime trade in the Eastern Mediterranean soon went. Having received such a blow, Rhodes finally fell into decay. The triumphal entry into Rome of Lucius Aemilius Paulus was distinguished by great pomp. In total, 120 million sesterces of gold and silver captured in Greece and Macedonia were carried in front of his chariot. In front of the chariot of Paul wandered the king of Macedonia, Perseus, along with his wife and young children - two boys and a girl. Thrown into prison, Perseus was tortured to death by his jailers with insomnia. soon his children died, except for the youngest, who fell into slavery. Reasons for the defeat of Macedonia: was too weak to resist Rome almost alone. She could not oppose the power of Rome with a coalition of states. The contradictions between the Hellenistic powers turned out to be stronger than the instinct of self-preservation, and the Greek policies saw in Macedonia only an ancient oppressor and tyrant.

If in the V and even in the IV century. BC e. The Western Mediterranean knot of contradictions was determined, first of all, by the unceasing struggle between Carthage and the Western Hellenes, then in the III century. a new force appears on the Mediterranean arena - the growing Roman state. The course of events and the general trend of historical development led to the fact that in the III century. the basic prerequisites for the transformation of Rome into the largest Mediterranean power are already taking shape.

Great cities of Magna Graecia. Power of Agafolk

By the time Rome entered the international arena, the blooming time of the Italian cities of Magna Graecia had long been Italian cities. The state of Agathocles had passed. They were weakened by a long internecine struggle, as a result of which the growing pressure on these cities of the local South Italian tribes began. Back in 421 BC. e. The Kums fell under the onslaught of the Campanians, and at the beginning of the 4th century. Posidonia, Pina and Laus passed into the hands of the Lucans. By the 3rd century on the western coast, only Velia (Elea) and Rhegium retained their independence. On the east coast of Italy, the large trading city of Tarentum retained its independent position, but even since the collapse of the Syracuse state, it could hardly restrain the pressure of its neighbors - the Lucans and Messaps.

In Sicily at the end of the 4th century. Syracuse once again made an attempt to unite the cities of Magna Graecia under its rule and create a power capable of competing with Carthage in dominance over the Western Mediterranean. This happened during the tyranny of Agathocles.

The career of Agathocles, who from a simple potter became the "King of the Sicilians", indicates that he was far from an uncommon personality. Having established himself as a capable military leader, he later gained wide popularity among the poor citizens of Syracuse, promising to satisfy their long-standing demands for redistribution of land and the abolition of debt obligations. Obviously, the main support of Agathocles were mercenaries and the poorest, proletarianized sections of the population. His growing influence and extreme activity made him dangerous in the eyes of the oligarchic rule of Syracuse, as a result of which he was forced into exile.

However, Agathocles soon managed not only to recruit a mercenary detachment, but also to rely on a significant number of his adherents in Sicily itself. In 316, the detachment of Agathocles broke into Syracuse. With the support of the general population, the oligarchic government was overthrown, many representatives of the oligarchic circles paid with their lives and property. After that, a popular assembly was convened, at which Agathocles swore an oath to observe the existing state system and was elected autocrat strategist.

Agathocles managed not only to restore, but also to territorially expand the great power of Dionysius. Most of the cities of Hellenic Sicily recognized the supremacy of Syracuse, the rest of the Hellenic cities, such as Acragas, Gela, Messana, first fought against Agathocles in alliance with Syracusan emigrants, but by 313 they were forced to submit to his authority.

The struggle against Carthage, which had already become a traditional feature of the foreign policy of the Syracusan tyrants, at first unfolded unsuccessfully for Agathocles: in the battle of Ecnome, the Carthaginians won a decisive victory over the troops of Agathocles. Syracuse was under siege. But Agathocles, with a bold military maneuver, prevented the enemy from using the success achieved and paralyzed his forces in Sipilia: in 310 he landed on the coast of Africa with 14 thousand mercenaries, took Hadrumet, and in 307 - and one of the largest cities on the African coast - Utica . The capital of the Carthaginians, in turn, was under threat. However, these successful actions of Agathocles in Africa were interrupted by unexpected events.

In Sicily, an uprising broke out in a number of cities subject to Agathocles, led by Akragant. Agathocles was in a very difficult position, because he was not able to conduct military operations simultaneously in Africa and against the rebels in Sicily. Leaving the army in Africa to its fate (it soon surrendered to the Carthaginians), Agathocles returned to Sicily. Here, after a rather long struggle, which went on with varying success, he succeeded in suppressing the uprising, and under the peace treaty of 305, Syracuse became the hegemon of all that part of Sicily that did not belong to Carthage. Evidently at this time Agathocles assumed the title of "King of the Sicilians". This political gesture is undoubtedly associated with events in the Eastern Mediterranean, where around the same time the Diadochi, who divided the empire of Alexander among themselves, appropriated royal titles to themselves.

Having not brought the war against Carthage to a victorious end, Agathocles, around 300, under the pretext of helping Tarentum, begins a fight with the Italian tribes, conducting military operations in the southwest of the Apennine Peninsula against the Bruttians. After the death of Agathocles (289), his vast, but internally unstable state quickly disintegrated, and this time forever.

Another managed to create an empire of world significance western state, which had greater opportunities than the Sicilian state and than its rival Carthage, namely Rome.

Roman war with Pyrrhus

After the Samnite Wars and the conquest of Central Italy, the Romans came into direct contact with the Greek cities of Southern Italy. Weakened by the fierce struggle between various groups of citizens, the Greek cities were not able to overcome the sharp contradictions in their relations with each other.

In the 80s, the Lucans attacked the Greek city of Thurii. Not wanting to turn to their rival Tarentum for help, the Furies asked for support from the Romans.

In Rome, it was well understood that the support of the Furies would make it possible to extend Roman influence to other cities of southern Italy. Therefore, an army was sent to help the Furies, which defeated the Lucans and pushed them back from the city. After that, a Roman garrison was left in Thurii. However, this turn of affairs caused great anxiety and discontent in Tarentum. The Tarentines attacked the Roman warships that entered their harbor, and then moved to the Thurii and, relying on a group of citizens friendly to them, expelled the Roman garrison from there. As a result of these events, war broke out between Rome and Tarentum.

Although Tarentum had fairly large military forces and Lucans and Messaps joined him as allies, the first battles already showed the unconditional superiority of the Romans. The Tarentines appealed for help to the Epirus king Pyrrhus, who very willingly responded to their call.

In Pyrrhus, the Romans were to face one of the most brilliant generals of the Hellenistic era. Even in his youth, he showed such abilities for military affairs that when one of the associates of Alexander the Great was asked who is now the most prominent commander, he answered: "Pyrrhus, when his mature age comes." In the future, the great commander of antiquity, Hannibal assigned Pyrrhus the second place after Alexander the Great, and only the third for himself.

But if Pyrrhus was an outstanding commander, then how politician it shouldn't be set too high. His extensive plans bore the mark of insufficient thoughtfulness and adventurism, his military talents were not complemented by the foresight of a cautious and mature politician. That is what happened this time as well. Pyrrhus seized on the proposal of the Tarentigians, but his ambitious calculations extended further - he had the idea of ​​​​creating a great monarchy in the West, in return for the collapsed eastern power of Alexander.

In the spring of 280, Pyrrhus landed in Italy. His army consisted of 22,000 well-trained foot soldiers, 3,000 Thessalian horsemen, and 20 war elephants, the use of which was borrowed by the Greeks from the East. The first clash between Pyrrhus and the Romans took place near the city of Heraclea. The battle was extremely hard-fought. The outcome of the battle was decided by the elephants and the Thessalian cavalry of Pyrrhus; as a result of the defeat, the Romans lost Lucania, and the Bruttians, Lucans, Samnites and almost all the southern Greek cities (with the exception of Capua and Naples) went over to the side of their enemies.

In the spring of 279, Pyrrhus launched a new offensive against Apulia, where the Romans concentrated an army of up to 70,000 men. Near the city of Auskula, the second major battle of this war took place. The Romans were again defeated, but Pyrrhus won the victory at a high price ("Pyrrhic victory"). His losses were so great that, accepting congratulations, he, according to legend, replied: "Another such victory, and I will have no one to return to Epirus." Indeed, despite the victories won in two major battles, the position of Pyrrhus in Italy became extremely complicated. Roman manpower was far from exhausted. The Latin allies remained loyal to Rome. In Tarentum and other southern Italian cities, discontent grew against Pyrrhus. At this time, an embassy from Sicily arrived at Pyrrhus: Syracuse, oppressed by the Carthaginians, turned to him with a request for help. The war in Italy was clearly dragging on and required new efforts and means.

Under the influence of all these circumstances, Pyrrhus began peace negotiations with Rome. The peace terms were apparently quite favorable for the Romans, however, the Senate rejected them, since the Carthaginians, interested in keeping Pyrrhus in Italy and preventing him from moving to Sicily, offered Rome an alliance and military assistance. Based on this alliance, the Roman government could decide to continue the war.

However, Pyrrhus, who expected to achieve success in Sicily with less effort, left Italy in 278 and went with troops to help the Syracusans, leaving only garrisons in Tarentum and Locri. In Sicily, Pyrrhus made great strides at first. Everywhere crowding and defeating the Carthaginians, he advanced to the southwestern tip of Sicily; the Carthaginians held only Lilybaeum. Pyrrhus had already begun to prepare the fleet for the crossing of troops to Africa, but then serious complications began in his relations with the Greek cities. Disregarding local democratic traditions, Pyrrhus rudely interfered in the internal life of the Greek cities, arbitrarily appointed all kinds of requisitions, etc. As a result of this, some of the cities took up arms against him, others even went over to the side of the Carthaginians. Those did not fail to take advantage of these complications behind enemy lines; a large Carthaginian army reappeared in Sicily. The successes achieved by Pyrrhus were nullified: only Syracuse remained in his hands.

Thus, Pyrrhus faced the fact of the complete collapse of all his plans in Sicily. Meanwhile, alarming news came to him from Italy that the Romans, not meeting the previous resistance, went on the offensive. With the help of Romanophile-minded oligarchic groups in Croton and Locri, they managed to take possession of these two cities. At the same time, they began to act against the Samnites and Lucans, not without success. All this forced the Greeks and Italians, who were still on the side of Pyrrhus, to turn to him with an urgent appeal for help. Then Pyrrhus left Sicily, where everything had already been lost for him, and returned to Italy. On the way back in the strait, he was attacked by the Carthaginian fleet and destroyed more than half of the ships. Nevertheless, in the spring of 275, Pyrrhus landed in Italy and began to prepare for new offensive actions against the Romans.

The decisive battle took place in the same year near the city of Benevent, in the center of Samnium. Pyrrhus suffered a complete defeat, his camp was captured, he himself fled to Tarentum. Shortly after this battle, he left Italy, and three years later he died in Argos during a street fight.

The victory of Rome over Pyrrhus was the victory of a peasant country with its civilian militia over a mercenary army, well armed and led by a talented commander, but involved in a hopeless military adventure. This victory made it easier for Rome to conquer Southern Italy. In 272 the Romans besieged and took Tarentum. About five years later, Rome broke the resistance of other tribes that still retained their independence. Thus, all of Italy, from the Strait of Messana to the Rubicon River on the border with Cisalpine Gaul, was under the rule of the Romans. Rome has become one of the largest states in the Western Mediterranean.

Rome after the conquest of Italy. Economy

The available sources, unfortunately, do not make it possible to form a sufficiently clear picture of the development of the productive forces in Italy V-III centuries The evolution of agricultural machinery is also extremely difficult to establish, but it is unlikely that it was significant in the first centuries of the existence of the republic. From the Roman writer and agronomist Varro, we know that from about the middle of the 5th century. the Romans begin to cultivate new crops: wheat and spelt. Obviously, by this time they already had a composite plow. Cattle breeding (with the exception of Southern Italy) was developed insignificantly; cattle were mainly used as draft power. The fields of large landowners were cultivated using the labor of clients and slaves, although the number of the latter on individual farms was still very small.

There is also no doubt about the further growth of the craft. The restoration of Rome after the Gallic invasion in itself presupposed the development of building activity. The city is gradually losing its rustic appearance: streets are being paved, central squares are decorated with statues, the market area is surrounded by stone galleries. From the end of the 4th century there is an intensive construction of public buildings, mainly temples. Roman architecture brings to full development the arched ceiling system borrowed by the Romans from the Etruscans. In the buildings of the IV century. we are already meeting with a stone vault.

The coinage testifies to the growth of trade and commodity-money relations among the Romans. Initially, a Roman coin (as), which appeared in the middle of the 4th century BC. BC e., was copper, but then, after the victory over Pyrrhus, the coinage of silver (drachma, denarius) begins in Rome itself, and from the end of the 3rd century. and a gold coin. The penetration of the Romans into southern Italy led to an increase in exchange and the strengthening of Rome's trade ties with rich Greek cities. From the 3rd century in Rome, commercial and usurious capital begins to take shape.

However, the basis of the Roman economy continued to be agriculture. The subjugation of southern Italy by Rome led to the spread of Roman agrarian relations over most of the peninsula. This was facilitated by the intensive colonization policy of the Romans, through which they sought, on the one hand, to solve the agrarian problem, that is, to satisfy the need of the peasants for land, and on the other hand, to strengthen the rule of Rome in the most remote regions of the country. Therefore, some colonies were predominantly military in nature and were withdrawn to coastal or border regions (for example, Antius, Tarracina, Minturna, Sinuessa, etc.), and the colonists, as a rule, received relatively small plots of land here. Colonies of a slightly different type (Fregella, Luceria, Arimin, etc.) were brought out mainly in the interior regions of the peninsula. They were much more densely populated and had a more pronounced agricultural character. The colonists received relatively large plots of land here. Thanks to colonies of this type, steady medium and small peasant landownership is spreading in Italy.

In the sphere of the Roman economy, and above all land relations, new processes are developing. Their meaning lies in the fact that private ownership of land is increasingly crowding out communal (state) ownership. The seizure of the public field took place in earlier times, but then it still retained to some extent the nature of the lease of these lands from the state; in the 4th and especially in the 3rd century. Over time, most of these once “leased” lands from the state turned into the inalienable property of their owners, and both representatives of patrician and noble plebeian families now became hereditary owners of these lands. This practice not only favored the concentration of landed property, but also led to a sharp intensification of the struggle between large and small landowners.

The class structure of Roman society

Slavery in the IV-III centuries. is beginning to be increasingly introduced into the Roman economy. The number of slaves as a result of almost continuous warfare is growing rapidly. Even the capture and destruction of Wei gave the Romans a massive batch of slaves; especially rapidly begins to grow in Rome, the number of slaves since the Samnite wars. The tax on the release of slaves, established in 357, testifies to a rather high level development of slavery.

The class structure of Roman society IV-III centuries. drawn with sufficient clarity. The division of society into free and slaves becomes decisive. The position of the slaves was extremely difficult; from the point of view of Roman law, the slave was not a person, but a thing, and therefore the master was free over his life and death. All slaves were absolutely deprived of rights, they were all equally excluded from civil and political life.

The free were not united either in their composition or in their position. The class of large landowners and slave owners was represented in Rome in the 4th-3rd centuries. privileged group of the nobility - the new nobility, formed as a result of the merger of the patrician-plebeian elite. It was the upper class (ordo), replenishing with its representatives the highest magistracies and the ranks of the senate. Of course, it would be wrong to assume that the slave-owning class consisted only of large landowners. There was a significant layer of small and medium-sized slave owners - the prosperous peasantry, the owners of handicraft workshops, merchants. But they were not included in the privileged class.

The class of free producers in the IV-III centuries. mainly consisted of a mass of rural and urban plebs, i.e., Roman peasants and urban artisans. Formally in the III century. all the plebeians in their legal capacity were no different from the nobles, but in fact they did not have a real opportunity to participate in government and could not play a leading role in his life.

The structure of Roman society in the III century. It was also determined by the fact that among the free population there was a significant category of citizens without full rights. These should include libertines, that is, freedmen who could not be elected magistrates and had a limited right to vote (only in tributaries). Incomplete also belonged to the so-called Latin citizens, who had property legal capacity, but were deprived of political rights. This rather complex structure of the Roman slave-owning society is further complicated by the emergence of new estates and new full and non-full groups of the population.

State structure

The state structure of the Roman Republic by the III century. is also well defined. Officially, the Roman people (populus Romanus), that is, the totality of Roman citizens with full rights, was considered the bearer of religious power in the republic. The people exercised their rights in the assembly - comitia. In Rome, as already mentioned, there were three types of councils: a) curiat (meetings of patricians), which lost all political significance at the beginning of the republic (they were left with the formal attachment of the highest authority - the empire - to elected magistrates and the solution of certain issues family law); b) centuriates (meetings of patricians and pleberches on property categories and centuries), which, until the end of the republic, resolved issues of peace and war and in which elections were held for senior officials, and way of legislative activity. It was the most democratic kind of popular assembly in Rome.

However, the rank-and-file members of the comitia were actually deprived of almost any political initiative. Only magistrates had the right to convene comitia, preside over them and raise issues to be decided. As a rule, there was no discussion of these issues at the comitia, and the citizens began to vote by centuries or tribes immediately after the lists of candidates were announced or the bill was read out.

The stronghold of the ruling Roman aristocracy (nobility) - the Senate actually turned into the highest state lead. The number of its members ranged from 300 to 600 people, and at the end of the republic it reached 900 people. Senators were appointed by censors from among the former magistrates in the order of the official hierarchy: first of all, former consuls, then praetors, etc. The right to convene the Senate for meetings and chair them belonged to the highest magistrates: consuls, dictator, praetors, and later the people's tribunes. The competence of the Senate was very extensive: the approval of elected magistrates, the management of state property and finances, issues of peace and war, leadership foreign policy, supreme oversight of religious affairs, the announcement of emergency powers, etc. In the Senate, a thorough discussion of the issues under consideration and then the voting of proposals took place.

The magistrates were the bearers of executive power. The performance of the duties of a magistrate was considered the highest honor and was carried out not only free of charge, but in some cases was also associated with significant expenses from the personal funds of the chosen one. The magistrate is an inviolable person: while he is exercising his office, he can neither be removed nor held accountable. Roman magistrates received their powers by election and exercised them collectively. Election was also associated with very significant expenses for candidates, since long before the elections they, according to custom, were obliged to arrange feasts and treats for their fellow citizens, give them gifts, etc. Thus, although any Roman citizen could qualify for election , in fact, it was available only to the wealthiest, who belonged to the environment of the nobility. The magistracies were divided into higher (consul, dictator, praetor, censor, people's tribune) and lower (everyone else). In addition, the magistracy was divided into ordinary, so. ordinary or permanent (consuls, tribunes of the people, praetors, censors, aediles, quaestors), and extraordinary, that is, extraordinary (dictator, his assistant - the head of the cavalry, triumvirs, decemvirs). The only non-collegiate magistracy was the dictatorship, the only magistrates elected for more than a year were the censors. A certain influence in the political life of Rome was also enjoyed by the priestly colleges - pontiffs, flamens, salii, Arval brothers, etc. The high priests - pontiffs - were elected in comitia, the rest - according to their colleges or were appointed by pontiffs.

Such was the state structure of the Roman Republic in its main features. Later writers (Polybius, Cicero) believed that the ideal of mixed culture was embodied in the Roman Republic. state structure, i.e., such a device in which elements of the monarchy (the power of the consuls), the aristocracy (the Senate) and democracy (the comitia) are harmoniously combined. But they, of course, idealized this system: the Roman state was a typical aristocratic slave-owning republic, which is confirmed by the dominant role of the body of the nobility - the senate, the unpaid magistracies and the secondary importance of the comitia.

Administration of conquered Italy

The conquest of Italy by Rome is a long process of gradual growth of the Roman state territory, the subjugation of other Italian communities - was imprinted in peculiar forms. The most characteristic feature in the organization of the administration of conquered Italy was the historically established heterogeneity of relations between Rome and the population dependent on it.

First of all, the lands taken by the Romans from defeated opponents and provided for the use or ownership of their citizens did not form a continuous territory immediately adjacent to the original Roman possessions. On the contrary, as already mentioned above, the eviction of Roman citizens to foreign lands, in some cases remote at a considerable distance from Rome itself, was widely practiced. On these lands, the so-called "colonies of Roman citizens" were created. In legal terms, the inhabitants of such colonies were considered as part of the full civilian population of Rome itself. Therefore, these colonies did not have special self-government, but were governed by the all-Roman city authorities, in the election of which the citizens living in the colonies had to take part. Subsequently, the practical inconveniences of this order, especially felt in cases where the colonies were far from Rome, entailed the granting of internal self-government to some colonies of Roman citizens.

The so-called municipalities were in a slightly different position. These were communities that had long been accepted into the Roman state. Such communities retained the right of internal self-government (their own city magistrates, autonomous courts, etc.), but in the future, their citizens were fully equated in rights with Roman citizens, up to the right to hold a consular post for elections in Rome. On the rights of municipalities were most of the communities of Latium - the old Roman allies, who were also included in the Roman tribes.

A special category was "communities without the right to vote." The free population of these communities, along with Roman citizens, enjoyed full legal capacity in the field of property, marriage and other relations, but did not have political rights and could not participate in Roman popular assemblies. In the field of internal life, such communities had the right to self-government, but often it was placed under the control of commissioners specially sent from Rome.

The most numerous group was represented by the Roman "allies". This was the name of the communities that formally retained political independence, but were connected with Rome by special contractual relations, in each individual case determining their position. In some cases, in accordance with the content of the treaty, the allies were supposed to help the Romans only when attacked by enemies, in others they were obliged to participate in all the wars waged by Rome, and this second form of relations was, of course, predominant. The Allies were deprived of the right to conduct an independent foreign policy. Their military duties consisted in providing the number of foot and cavalry soldiers determined by the agreement or, if the allied city was a seaside city, in the supply of ships, which, like the ground forces, were maintained at the expense of the allies. This, in essence, was the main and only duty of the allied communities, which was regarded as a "blood tax". From the troops of each allied community, special allied detachments were made up, placed at the disposal of the Roman command and obliged to him with complete obedience.

In a position close to the Allies were the "Latin colonies", that is, the colonies founded by Rome together with the cities of the Latin Union in the territories conquered by Rome. Like the allies, they enjoyed complete internal autonomy. During the war, the inhabitants of these colonies also served not in the legions, but in special allied detachments, but in the case of resettlement in Rome - this was their difference from the allies - they received the full rights of Roman citizens.

Communities conquered by Rome, surrendering unconditionally to the mercy of the conqueror, lost all autonomy and were governed by commissioners sent from Rome. The population of these communities had a very limited range of rights. Finally, in more rare cases, when a community hostile to Rome was completely destroyed, the whole earth local residents passed into the Roman public field, and they themselves turned into slaves.

1. First Punic War
2. Second Punic War
3. Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean. Macedonian wars, war with Antiochus the Great (Syrian)

First Punic War

The wars that became for Rome the most difficult test of all that fell to its lot were called the Punic. These were wars with the powerful maritime power of the Western Mediterranean, Carthage. The name of the wars comes from the name of the Carthaginians - Puns - that was the name of the Phoenicians in Latin. After all, it was the Phoenicians from the city of Tyra who founded the city of Carthage in 814 BC. From the Phoenician Carthage is translated as " New town". From a small colony of Carthage by the 3rd c. BC. turned into a powerful state, covering, in addition to large territories in North Africa, lands in southern Spain, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Corsica, the western part of Sicily. The Carthaginians on a large scale conducted intermediary trade between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, often combined trading operations with sea robbery, made long voyages along the western coast of Africa and the northern coast of Europe, developed Agriculture. the estates of wealthy landowners were cultivated by slaves or dependent populations from among the Libyans. Carthage was an oligarchic republic, supreme power belonged to the council. which was replenished by wealthy landowners and merchants. Executive power in the city was exercised by two magistrates - Suffets. Special military commanders were appointed to conduct the war. Carthage itself was a huge city with high-rise buildings, palaces of the nobility, temples, and powerful fortifications. In the center of the city there was a hill with the main fortress - Birsa. There was also a treasury and a temple dedicated to the god Eshmun. The Carthaginians fought with the help of mercenary armies from the Greeks. Iberians, Libyans, inhabitants of the Balearic Islands. Enormous wealth and income made it possible to maintain such armies. The North African nomads Numidians provided Carthage with excellent cavalry. The Carthaginians themselves served only in the selective foot squad - the "sacred squad". The best in the Mediterranean was considered the Carthaginian navy with 50-oared ships.

Causes of the Punic Wars - the struggle between Rome and Carthage for dominance in the Western Mediterranean. The immediate cause for the First Punic War was the events in Messana, the closest city to Italy on the Sicilian coast. Campanian mercenaries, the so-called Mamertines, the people of Mars, who had previously served the Syracusan ruler, captured Messana, expelled the Greek inhabitants from it and began to raid the surrounding Greek cities. But they were besieged by the army of the king of Syracuse, who decided to put an end to this. The Mamertines appealed to Rome for help, promising in return to place Messana under Roman control. The popular assembly in Rome voted for the war. While the Romans were preparing the crossing of troops to Messana, the Carthaginians settled the conflict between the Mamertines and Hieron and brought their garrison into the city. But the Romans landed anyway in 268 and captured Messana. Then Carthage declared war on Rome.

The Romans successfully conducted land operations in Sicily, forced King Hieron to conclude an alliance, drove the Carthaginians into several fortresses. However, the Punic fleet dominated the sea and even threatened the coast of Italy.

The Romans realized that it was necessary to create their own combat-ready fleet. Modeled on a pentera - a five-deck warship. captured from the Carthaginians and then another 20 three-deck ships were built by Roman ships. as naval officers. sailors, rowers attracted the Greeks. But most rowers were recruited from Italian peasants and the urban poor. Warriors were trained on land: seated on benches, they were taught, on command, to raise and lower the oars in a coordinated manner. The Romans figured out how to use the qualities of their legionary infantry in naval combat. They invented the device. which in the soldier's language was called a raven - a swing bridge. Such bridges were found in front of the ships, when approaching an enemy ship, the bridge was thrown onto the deck of the enemy. tightly hooked on it with iron spikes. On it, the legionnaires rushed to the attack, into hand-to-hand combat. And in 260 BC. The Romans under the command of the consul Gaius Duilius, thanks to the use of ravens, won the battle at Cape Mila off the northern coast of Sicily. in honor of this victory, a marble column was erected in Rome, decorated with the prows of captured Carthaginian ships.

The Romans have a plan to attack the enemy in his territory in Africa. But on the path of the Roman landing army at Cape Ecnom, off the southwestern coast of Sicily, she was met by the Carthaginian fleet. The Romans had 330 ships, the Carthaginians - 350. In total, about 300 thousand people participated in the battle near Eknom, it was one of the most grandiose naval battles antiquities. The Roman fleet easily broke through the extended line of Carthaginian ships. On the flanks of the Romans were pressed by the Carthaginians. but the use of ravens again brought success to the Romans: 30 Carthaginian ships were sunk, and 64 were captured intact. The Romans lost 24 ships, the Carthaginian squadron retreated to the shores of Africa and could not prevent the landing of the Romans.

The Roman army devastated the country, captured the cities, moving towards Carthage, and the local tribes rebelled against the Carthaginians. Confident in the inevitability of an imminent victory, the Roman Senate orders the consuls to send back most of the fleet and half of the army. Consul Attilius Regulus remained in Africa with 15 thousand infantry, 500 horsemen and 40 ships. He defeated the Carthaginian army and set up a winter camp near Carthage. Rushing to end the war. in order not to leave the honor of the final victory to the new consul, Regulus invited the Carthaginian government to enter into negotiations. But the humiliating terms he proposed were categorically rejected. The Carthaginians decided to continue the fight, recruited mercenaries, recruited cavalry from the Numidians and put the talented Spartan commander Xanthippus at the head of the army. Xanthippus defeated the Roman army, the consul Regulus was taken prisoner. Roman tradition speaks of Regulus as a model of Roman inflexibility. When, some time later, the Punians sent an embassy to Rome, they released the captive consul with him, so that he could secure a truce for them or return back. However, having secretly met with the senators, Regulus convinced them to fight the war to the end. And then, faithful to his word, he returned to Carthage, despite the pleas of his loved ones. The Carthaginians executed Regulus with a painful death, putting him in a cage with nails sticking out from everywhere.

The struggle was again transferred to Sicily and went on here with varying success. Only the appointment of Hamilcar as commander-in-chief of the Carthaginian forces noticeably revived the actions of the Carthaginians. Hamilcar was nicknamed Barca - Lightning. He showed himself as an outstanding commander. He subjected the southern coast of Italy to devastating raids and occupied several important points in Sicily. However, the decisive battle never took place. The Romans understood. that the outcome of the war can only be decided by a decisive victory at sea. But back in 249 BC. 120 Roman ships were caught in a storm and nearly all were lost. It was necessary to build a new fleet, this required large funds, which were not in the Roman state treasury. Then some wealthy citizens of Rome came to the rescue. who, on their own initiative, contributed their funds to the construction of a new fleet. In 241 BC 200 warships with a crew of 60 thousand people went to sea under the command of the consul Lutacius Catullus. Hamilcar was cut off from Carthage. The Punic squadron sent to his aid was defeated near the Aegates Islands. This victory decided the outcome of the war.

The war taught the Romans to fight at sea, to besiege coastal fortresses, to plan and carry out military operations over long distances.

Under the terms of the peace, Carthage undertook to clear Sicily, which became a Roman province - the first conquered non-Italian country. The Punians paid a huge indemnity, but got the opportunity to take their army out of the island, ransoming each soldier. Nevertheless, Carthage retained its position as a great power and its former possessions, except for Sicily. True, soon the Romans, contrary to the terms of the treaty, occupied the islands of Corsica and Sardinia.

A new clash in the struggle for the Western Mediterranean was inevitable.

Second Punic War

The thought of revenge did not leave the Punians, especially Hamilcar Barca, who read that one must carefully prepare for deadly fight with Rome. And he began this preparation with the conquest of Spain, which was supposed to give wealth to Carthage and a springboard for an attack on Rome. At this time, only a few Phoenician cities were located on the southeastern shores of the Iberian Peninsula. They were surrounded by hostile Iberians. Within 9 years, after a stubborn struggle, Hamilcar conquered half of Spain to the Iber River. They fought with some tribes, others were attracted as mercenaries. The Iberians were excellent soldiers, brave and hardy. The campaign was prevented by the death of Hamilcar in 229 BC. in one of the battles with the Iberians. The case of Barca was continued by his son-in-law and assistant Hasdrubal, who increased the size of the army, founded the city of New Carthage on the eastern coast of Spain, which became the main stronghold of the Punians in Spain. The Romans demanded a promise from Hasdrubal not to cross the Iber River, and the parties entered into an appropriate agreement. Hasdrubal died a few years later.

The soldiers themselves chose him as successor, commander-in-chief of the 25-year-old Hannibal, one of the three sons of Hamilcar Barca. Of the three sons, Hamilcar stood out in all respects among the brothers and even outwardly resembled his father. All his life he remained faithful to the oath that he took as a 9-year-old boy. When Hamilcar, before sailing from Carthage to Spain, made sacrifices to the gods, Hannibal asked his father to take him with him. Hamilcar agreed, but first he brought his son to the altar and removed all the people. ordered him to touch the altar and swear that he would always be an implacable enemy of the Roman people. The childhood of Hannibal and his brothers passed away from their homeland, in a military camp, on campaigns. The Romans spoke of the cruelty of Hannibal, reaching inhumanity, of treachery. surpassing the famous Punic cunning, about his non-observance of oaths and disrespect for shrines. But both friends and enemies recognized his outstanding talent as a commander, his indomitable iron will and perseverance in achieving his goal.

Hannibal shared his father's plan that the war with the Romans should be moved to Italy. There the Gauls, Etruscans, Samnites would have helped the Carthaginians. But by sea a powerful Roman fleet prevented reaching Italy. The only way left was dry land. For such a trip there was already strong army, who went through an excellent school of war in Spain. In order to find a pretext for war and make it so that the Carthaginian government decided to declare it, Hannibal decided to attack the city of Sagunt. This city was located on the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, west of the mouth of the Iberus, and was an ally of Rome. The people of Saguntum guessed Hannibal's intentions and sent an embassy to Rome asking for help. Hannibal, meanwhile, laid siege to the city. In the Roman Senate, the opinion prevailed to send an embassy to Spain and demand that Hannibal withdraw his troops from the city, and if he refuses, turn to the Carthaginian authorities with a demand to extradite him as a violator of the treaty. But the Roman ambassadors were not received by Hannibal, and in Carthage they also achieved nothing. After stubborn resistance, Saguntum was taken and swept off the face of the earth, and its inhabitants were almost completely killed.

In Rome, the news of the death of Sagunt caused grief and shame for the sluggishness and anger shown against the treacherous Punians. The People's Assembly voted for the war. Another embassy was sent to Carthage. which was supposed to ask whether Hannibal besieged Saguntum by the decision of the Carthaginian authorities. The answers of the Punians were evasive. Then Quintus Fabius, the head of the embassy, ​​drew up the hem of his toga so that a deep fold formed in it, and said sharply: “Here I have brought you war and peace; choose what suits you best! - "Choose yourself!" - "I give you war!" - "We accept!" shouted the Punic elders with one voice.

So in 218 BC. The Second Punic War, also called the Hannibal War, began.

In preparation for the campaign, Hannibal sent 15,000 Spanish soldiers to Africa, and in Spain itself left a 12,000-strong army of Africans under the command of his brother Hasdrubal. In southern Gaul and Italy, Carthaginian agents and scouts were active, who learned about the mood of Rome's allies in the south, who were burdened by Roman domination. The Cisalpine Gauls directly promised Hannibal support. Hannibal intended to invade Italy from the north by crossing the Alps. In the spring of 218 BC. Hannibal set out from New Carthage and crossed the Iberus. He overcame the resistance of the local tribes and approached the Pyrenees. Having released those Spanish soldiers who refused to go further or were not reliable, he entered Gaul with 50 thousand troops and 9 thousand horsemen and moved to the river Rodan. The Romans tried to deliver preemptive strikes against the Carthaginian possessions. When the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio landed at Massalia, he was surprised to learn that Hannibal was preparing to cross the Rodan. Hannibal, with the help of military cunning, managed to prevent the resistance of the Gauls and transport his army, including elephants, on rafts. Scipio failed to catch up with the army of Hannibal, who had gone north along Rodan.

Before the battle with the Roman legions, Hannibal had to measure his strength with the Alpine mountains, snow and cold. Attacks and ambushes on the narrow paths of the mountaineers, then a snowfall. The army then found itself in front of a site where a landslide had demolished a section of the trail. I had to deal with the restoration of the road, which was cut through the rocks. Rocky blocks were heated with huge fires, vinegar was poured on them, and then the loosened mass was hollowed out with picks. This road existed 300 years later and was called the Hannibal Pass. Finally, the remnants of the army descended into the Pada valley. The 15-day crossing of the Alps cost Hannibal almost half of the army. Of the 50,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry, he had 20,000 infantry and no more than 6,000 cavalry left. On the banks of the Pada, Hannibal rested the army and replenished it with local Gauls.

The consul Scipio, who arrived by sea from Massilia, did not wait for the forces of the second consul Sempronius Longus to approach and decided to give battle. The battle took place near the Ticin River, a tributary of the Pada. The outcome of the battle was decided by the attack of the Numidian cavalry. Scipio was seriously wounded, almost captured, but was saved by his son, 17-year-old Publius Cornelius Scipio. Scipio and Sempronius managed to combine their forces. The main command of them was taken by Sempronius, who was eager to defeat Hannibal, to win a decisive victory over him before the election of new consuls. The battle took place at the Trebia, the right tributary of the Pad. An important role in Hannibal's victory here was played by a select detachment sent for ambush under the command of Mago, Hannibal's brother. Despite the strong resistance of the Romans, they were defeated, losing about 20 thousand people killed and captured. 10 thousand Roman infantrymen with difficulty escaped from the encirclement and retreated.

The victory attracted the entire Cisalpine Gaul to the side of the Punians. To prevent Hannibal from entering Central Italy, the Roman consuls Gnaeus Servilius and Gaius Flaminius stationed troops on two main roads - at Arretius in Etruria and at Arminius at the exit from the Pada valley. But Hannibal went to Etruria in a way that no one had thought of - along the western coast of Italy through the swampy valley of the Arno River. The transition was very difficult, the army got stuck in the swamp mud and breathed poisonous fumes. Hannibal during the transition lost one eye, which became inflamed from insomnia and swamp fumes. But Hannibal won by making this detour, bypassing Flaminius, reaching Lake Trasimene and being closer to Rome than the Roman troops. Flaminius, without waiting for the second consul, moved against Hannibal. Hannibal used the conditions of the terrain, a small part of the army, leaving a small part of the army in a narrow valley, and placing the rest of the troops on the hills. Fog and a narrow valley made it difficult for the Romans to act. Almost the entire army of Flaminius died in the battle, and 6 thousand Romans were captured. Hannibal lost approx. 1.5 thousand people.

The road to Rome was open. But the Romans were preparing for a siege, repairing city fortifications, destroying bridges across the Tiber. A dictator was elected - 60-year-old Quintus Fabius Maximus. He understood that the Romans still had little chance of defeating the main enemy forces in open battle. He chose a different tactic - to avoid a pitched battle, carefully following Hannibal's advance, trying to gradually wear down his army with small skirmishes and make it difficult to supply. Roman peasants had to destroy all food supplies on the way of the enemy army. For this tactic, Fabius was subsequently nicknamed the Cunctator, i.e. Slower.

Hannibal sought to win over the allies and subjects of Rome. He expected to find help from their side in the south. Once he almost ended up in a trap set by the Romans, and only his resourcefulness and ingenuity allowed him to get out of the encirclement. As long as Fabius stuck to his strategy, Hannibal's position worsened. The army was gradually losing people, the Italian cities remained faithful to Rome or waited. The Carthaginian government was in no hurry to send money and reinforcements.

But even in Rome, Fabius was dissatisfied with the actions. for example, peasants. Maxim was accused of indecisiveness, lack of courage, and even of some kind of agreement with Hannibal (Hannibal, robbing Italy, specifically instructed not to touch the Fabius estate). After the expiration of the dictatorship of Fabius, the consuls for 216 BC. Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paul were elected. The Roman army reached a strength of 80 thousand infantry and 6 thousand horsemen. Hannibal had half as many foot soldiers - 40 thousand, but more horsemen - 14 thousand. In the battle of Cannes, he contrasted his ingenious military art with the numerical superiority of the Romans. He positioned his troops in the form of a huge crescent, turned with its convex side to the enemy. In the center he placed the Gallic foot soldiers and the Spaniards. On both sides of the center, a little behind, are heavily armed infantry from African spearmen. On the left wing he placed the Spanish and Gallic horsemen, on the right - the Numidians. As Hannibal had hoped, the Roman legionaries advanced so far in the center that they found themselves in the gap between the Africans stationed on both flanks. The Roman infantry was pinned down. Closing the "pincers", selected Punic warriors hit her from the flanks. At the same time, the Carthaginian cavalry attacked her from the rear. The encirclement Hannibal had planned was completed. A merciless massacre began. Of the 80,000-strong Roman army, about 50,000 people were killed on the battlefield, 18,000 were taken prisoner. The rest managed to break free and flee. Among the survivors was Gaius Terentius Varro. Aemilius Paul, wounded in battle, refused to seek salvation in a shameful flight and perished. Among those killed were 80 Roman senators and 29 military tribunes. The losses of the Carthaginians amounted to only 6 thousand people. The victory became for all time a model of military leadership.

The Punic commanders advised Hannibal to give rest to himself and to the weary warriors. Only Magarbal, who commanded the Carthaginian cavalry, offered, without a moment's delay, to move on Rome. Here are his words: “In four days you will be a winner feasting on the Capitol, if we immediately set out on a campaign. I will ride with my riders ahead. let the Romans know. that you came before they heard. what are you going." Hannibal found the thought too tempting to make a decision right away. He said that it would take time to think about this advice. Then Magarbal exclaimed: “Truly, the gods do not give everything to one person at once! You know how to win, Hannibal, but you don’t know how to use victory!

This delay of Hannibal saved both Rome and the Roman state. But the Romans were still in a desperate situation. Almost all the cities of southern Italy went over to the side of Hannibal. In Campania, Capua went over to him, in Scilia of Syracuse. Union and military assistance to Hannibal was promised by the Macedonian king Philip V.

In Rome, Hannibal was expected to appear under the walls. Confusion, horror and bewilderment reigned in the first days. But then efforts were directed to the organization of a new combat-ready army. Of the surviving warriors, two new legions were formed, condemned to free service and later sent to Sicily. 16 and 17-year-old boys were called to arms. Two legions were formed from slaves. Another 6,000 are from the criminals and debtors released from prisons. The Romans rejected Hannibal's offer to ransom the captives. Influenced by the intransigence of the Romans, many of their old allies in central and northern Italy remained loyal to Rome. The Romans switch to waiting tactics. to what Fabius Maximus suggested. The Romans tried to wear Hannibal out with petty skirmishes, besieged and brought to submission the settled cities, defended the colonies and allied communities.

Hannibal was more and more forced to turn to defensive warfare. The army was losing people. Discipline and morale were in decline. Wintering in rich Capua contributed to the gradual decomposition of the Carthaginian army. Hannibal's main problem is the lack of reserves. The Romans achieve great success in Spain - the brothers Publius and Gnaeus Scipio, having crossed the Iberus, defeated Hasdrubal, who was going to join Hannibal.

The Romans sent an army to Sicily to lay siege to Syracuse. The siege from land and sea of ​​the city was led by Claudius Marcellus. The Syracusans used throwing machines made according to the drawings of Archimedes, mechanisms that captured Roman ships or Roman soldiers with an iron paw, a special installation of huge mirrors. with the help of which the sun's rays were directed to enemy ships. But all the cunning mechanisms of Archimedes were powerless against the blockade and bribery. In addition, the plague epidemic destroyed almost the entire Carthaginian garrison, who had taken refuge in one of the parts of the city. The Syracusans voluntarily opened the gates to Marcellus in 212 BC. Syracuse was given over to the soldiers to plunder. During the robbery, Archimedes also died. in the midst of the battle, 75-year-old Archimedes sat on the threshold of his house, thinking in depth over the drawings he made right on the road sand. At this time, a Roman soldier running past stepped on the drawing, and the indignant scientist rushed at the Roman, shouting: “Do not touch my drawings! (Noli tangere circulos meos. Don't touch my circles). The soldier stopped and cold-bloodedly cut the old man down with his sword. On the territory of Italy, the struggle for Capua acquired decisive importance. If Hannibal preempted the first attempt of the Romans to besiege Capua, then for the second time the Romans managed to take Capua into the siege ring, which Hannibal could not break through. The Punic commander undertook a campaign against Rome in order to divert the Roman forces from Capua.

But Fabius Maximus, having unraveled the plan of Hannibal. left the bulk of the forces to continue the siege. In Rome, the news of the approach of Hannibal caused great alarm - "Hannibal at the gate!". ( Hannibal ante portas (Hannibal ad ports) (rus. Hannibal at the gate)) Hannibal approached Rome and settled down a few kilometers from it. A Roman detachment from Capua also approached there. The element, the downpour prevented the battle. In the Punic lagar, this was considered a divine sign. After standing for some time under the walls of the city, he went to the south of Italy. The Romans soon took possession of Capua, and the Italian cities and communities were now returning to Roman rule. However, the Romans were waiting for defeat in Spain, where Hasdrubal defeated Gnaeus and Publius Scipio in turn. Both Roman generals died. Now the Romans had difficulty holding the narrow strip at the foot of the Pyrenees. There was a danger for Rome that his brothers would move from Spain to help Hannibal.

The situation in Spain changes in favor of the Romans only after the appointment of the 24-year-old Publius Cornelius Scipio, the son of that Publius and the nephew of that Gnaeus Scipio, who recently died in Spain, was appointed commander in Spain. In the autumn of 210 BC. Scipio landed in Spain and immediately found himself in a difficult position. He had to fight with three Punic armies, led by Hannibal's brothers Hasdrubal and Magon, and another Hasdrubal, the son of Geskon. Scipio decided on a daring enterprise, approaching the walls of New Carthage. The Roman fleet blockaded the city from the sea. But its location made it almost impregnable. It was located on a peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus about 370 m wide. From the north there was a large lake connected to the sea by a channel through which ships could not pass. the city was fortified with very high powerful walls. Scipio announced to his soldiers that Neptune appeared to him in a dream, who promised to help during the battle. Scipio decided to use some kind of natural phenomenon - the periodically observed outflow of water from the lake to the sea. He learned about it by asking the fishermen. At low tide, a strong north wind blew, driving water from the lake into the sea, and the Roman soldiers marched along the bottom of the shallow lake. They ended up on that section of the wall, which was on the shore of the lake and was not protected by the Carthaginians, since they did not expect a threat from this side. As a result, the city, which was the main port of the Carthaginians in Spain, was taken. Remaining until the end of the year in New Carthage, Scipio attracted allies from the Iberian tribes, trained and trained troops, the first of the Roman generals to use a special system of exercises and maneuvers. In 208 BC he defeated the army of Hasdrubal, Hannibal's brother. After that, at a meeting of the Punic leaders, it was decided that. that Hasdrubal with the best troops will move to Italy to Hannibal. In 207 BC Hasdrubal's troops set foot on Italian soil. But in the battle of the Metavra River, the Carthaginian troops were completely destroyed by the Romans, and Hasdrubal died. The danger to Rome was eliminated. Hannibal no longer had the strength for active offensive action. although the Romans could not defeat him or force him to leave Italy. When Magon landed in Northern Italy and operated there for several years, Hannibal did not even try to connect with his brother.

In 206 BC fighting resumed in Spain. Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC led to the defeat of the Carthaginians and soon to the loss of Spain. Returning to his homeland, Scipio put forward his candidacy in the consular elections and was elected consul. Scipio planned to move the war to Africa. Many senators opposed this plan, even the 80-year-old Fabius Maximus, who accused Scipio of excessive ambition and considered him a darling of fortune, whose victories are obtained by chance. Influenced by these opinions, although the senators handed over the island of Sicily as a province to Scipio, and even allowed him to cross over to Africa, if he considered it necessary, he did not receive any opportunity to recruit troops in Italy. no money from the state treasury. At his disposal were only two legions that were in Sicily - soldiers. survivors of the Battle of Cannae. They formed the core of Scipio's army. He recruits volunteers, Italian cities send ships with crews. Individuals and communities willingly lent him money. Soon, Scipio had 40 military and 400 transport ships and 30 thousand soldiers at his disposal, whom he trained. He managed to win over to his side some of the Numidian princes, among whom was Masinissa. Prior to this, Masinissa faithfully served the Carthaginians in Spain and was the main culprit in the death of his father and uncle Scipio. But Masinissa was struck by the generous act of Scipio, who released his nephew Masinissa, who had been captured by him. Masinissa made an agreement with Publius and strictly observed it. In 204 BC Scipio landed 35 km from Carthage. Scipio managed to get out of the predicament, defeat the Carthaginians and the Numidian king Syphax. New army The Carthaginians were defeated by him on the Great Plains. Syphax was soon captured, and power over the Numidians passed to Masinissa.

The Carthaginian government decided to call Hannibal from Italy and began to prepare the city for defense. In the spring of 202 BC. Hannibal returned to Africa. Near the city of Zama, a meeting between Hannibal and Scipio took place, but it did not lead to anything. The decisive battle took place at Zama. The military talent of Hannibal was not enough. to overcome the Roman army, which had learned much from defeat and was now led by a great general. The result of the battle is the flight of the Carthaginian army and Hannibal after stubborn resistance, 10 thousand were captured by the Romans. The Romans lost a little over 1.5 thousand soldiers.

Scipio dictated harsh but reasonable peace terms to the vanquished. Even Hannibal himself spoke out in favor of them in the Carthaginian assembly. According to the peace treaty of 201 BC. Carthage lost all its possessions outside of Africa. He retained independence in internal affairs, but now he could not start any war without the permission of Rome. The Punians were to hand over the prisoners and defectors, as well as the entire navy, except for 10 ships, and all war elephants. The Carthaginians were to recognize Masinissa as king of Numidia within the limits that Scipio would indicate. which the. of course, he was not stingy to reward a loyal ally with additional possessions at the expense of a defeated enemy. Carthage became an actual tributary of Rome: it was obliged to pay 10,000 talents to the Roman treasury for 50 years. Thus, Carthage lost its position as a great power.

The victory of Rome in the Second Punic War was the result of high heroism, self-sacrifice and patriotism of the entire Roman people. The victory cost the Roman Republic dearly: the number of its citizens decreased by almost a quarter. Many regions and cities of Italy were subjected to terrible devastation. At the same time, the war proved the power of the Roman state and the strength of its alliance with the communities of Central Italy, which remained loyal to Rome and were an inexhaustible source of replenishment for its troops. The Roman-Italian alliance emerged from military trials even stronger. The war had a huge impact on internal development Roman state and military affairs. The Romans learned much from Hannibal and made important improvements in the tactics and weapons of their army. Rome emerged from the war as the most powerful military power. Having established his dominion over the entire western Mediterranean, he inevitably had to come into conflict with the states of the Eastern Mediterranean - Macedonia and the Seleucid state, Greek cities and unions. Rome embarked on the path of world domination.