Rome Conquers Italy

							           Rome Conquers Italy
I. As Rome’s Republic took shape, the people of central Italy
   (Latins) grew in power and sought to control all of the
   peninsula of Italy.

       A. By 265 B.C., the Romans had defeated the Etruscans
          to the north and the Greek city-states in the south.

              1. Rome now controlled all of the Italian
                 peninsula.
                   Carthage
B. Rome now had easy access to the Mediterranean Sea
  and sought to trade with the lands surrounding this
  great sea.

        1. The Romans mainly traded wine and olive oil
           for a variety of foods, raw materials, and
           manufactured goods from other lands.

                 a. Some powerful cities interrupted this
                    trade. The most powerful and
                    troublesome was Carthage-North Africa
      War with Carthage
C. In 264 B.C., Rome went to war against Carthage.

       1. This was the beginning of a long struggle
          called the Punic Wars.

              a. The Punic Wars were three wars which
                 took place between 264 B.C. to 146
                 B.C.
           1st Punic War
D. The 1st Punic War was fought over Sicily and the
   western Mediterranean.

       1. Rome won after 23 years of fighting.
            2nd Punic War
E. The 2nd Punic War began in 218 B.C.

        1. Carthage was led by a brilliant military general
           named Hannibal.

                 a. Hannibal assembled an army of 50,000
                    infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 60
                    elephants with the intent of capturing
                    Rome.

                 b. Hannibal would surprise Rome by
                    taking his army through Spain across
                    France and through the Alps Mts.
The Punic Wars
 Hannibal
C. Despite losing half his men and most of his
   elephants, Hannibal’s army is tenacious.

D. For more than a decade, Hannibal marches
   his forces up and down the Italian peninsula
   defeating the Roman army.

E. However, Hannibal can not capture Rome.
            General Scipio
2. Finally, the Romans found a daring military leader who could
   match Hannibal.

        a. His name was Scipio.

                 1. Scipio devises a plan to attack Carthage and
                    force Hannibal to return to Carthage and
                    defend his city.

                 2. This plan works-In 202 B.C. the Romans
                    take Carthage, defeat Hannibal’s forces in North
                    Africa and win the war.
  The Battle of Zama-202 B.C.
The two met near Zama, about a hundred miles south of
Carthage. Both sides had about 25,000 men. For once, the
Romans had the better cavalry, for Scipio had brought
with him his superb Spanish horses. But Hannibal, on
home ground in Africa now, had his elephants.

These were war elephants, specially trained, and Hannibal
staked the battle on them. He ranged his elephants,
perhaps a hundred or so, in front of his infantry. When the
battle began, he sent them en masse against the Roman
lines, like a cavalry charge. The war elephants would
charge at the enemy to trample them to death or at least
break their ranks.
It must have been terrifying to the Romans, but Scipio had
prepared them. He knew of Hannibal's plans and had his
own plan in place. He had his troops spread in normal
battle formation. When the elephants charged, the men re-
formed into columns, leaving wide alleys between.

To aid the elephants, the men were instructed to shout,
bang metal on metal, and generally make as much noise as
possible, causing the beasts to shy away from the noise and
into the alley ways. And as they went passed, archers shot
at their riders. With great faith in their commander, the
Roman troops executed the plan perfectly. The elephants
passed right through the Roman lines. While the beasts
eventually got turned back around, the massed charge on
which Hannibal had depended, was utterly ineffective. In
fact, the chaos created by the Romans made many of the
war elephants wildly charge back at the Carthaginian
infantry.
Now the real battle began. Scipio used much
the same tactics at Zama as Hannibal had at
Cannae. He allowed his infantry to give way
while his cavalry executed a flanking
maneuver. The cavalry was almost
immediately successful. The Carthaginian
infantry fought hard, though, and the battle
lasted most of the day. In the end, Hannibal
was defeated so completely that he
immediately returned to Carthage and
advised the city to surrender.
          3rd Punic War
F. During the 3rd Punic War (149-146 B.C.), Rome laid
   siege to Carthage.

       1. In 146 B.C., the city was set afire and its’
          50,000 inhabitants sold into slavery.

       2. Carthage became a Roman Province
     Punic Wars-Results
G. Rome now had control over the western Mediterranean.

H. The Romans then went on to conquer the eastern half.

I. By 70 B.C., Rome controlled all the lands around
   Mediterranean Sea and established itself as the
   mightiest empire in the world.