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Roman soldiers usually fought in an open order, with the heavyarmed infantry arranged in three lines: first, the Method of younger men; next, the more experienced warriors; fighting and lastly the veterans. A battle began with skirmishing by the light troops, which moved to the front and discharged their darts to harass the enemy. The companies of the first line next flung their javelins at a distance of from ten to twenty paces and then, wielding their terrible short swords, came at once to close quarters with the foe. It was like a volley of musketry followed by a fierce bayonet charge. If the attack proved unsuccessful, the wearied soldiers withdrew to the rear through the gaps in the line behind. The second line now marched forward to the attack; if it was repulsed, there was still the third line of steady veterans for the last and decisive blow.

[graphic]

A ROMAN STANDARD BEARER

Bonn Museum

A very remarkable part of the Roman military system consisted in the use of fortified camps. Fortified Every time the army camps halted, if only for a single night, the legionaries intrenched themselves within a square inclosure. It was protected by a ditch, an earthen mound, and a palisade of stakes. This camp formed a little city with its streets, its four gates, a forum, and the headquarters of the general. Behind the walls of such a fortress an army was always at liberty to accept or decline a battle. As a proverb said, the Romans often conquered by "sitting still."

From a gravestone of the first century A.D. The standard consists of a spear crowned with a

wreath, below which is a crossbar bearing pendant acorns.

Then

follow, in order, a metal disk, Jupiter's eagle standing on a thunderbolt, a crescent moon, an amulet, and a large tassel.

Roman soldiers lived under the strictest discipline. To their

Discipline; rewards and honors

general they owed absolute, unquestioning obedience. He could condemn them to death without trial. The sentinel who slept on his watch, the legionary who disobeyed an order or threw away his arms on the field of battle, might be scourged with rods and then beheaded. The men were encouraged to deeds of valor by various marks of distinction, which the general presented to them in the presence of the entire army. The highest reward was the civic crown of oak leaves, granted to one who had saved the life of a fellow-soldier on the battle field.

The state sometimes bestowed on a victorious general the honor of a triumph. This was a grand parade and procession in the city of Rome. First came the magistrates The triumph and senators, wagons laden with booty, and captives in chains. Then followed the conqueror himself, clad in a gorgeous robe and riding in a four-horse chariot. Behind him marched the soldiers, who sang a triumphal hymn. The long procession passed through the streets to the Forum and mounted the Capitoline Hill. There the general laid his laurel crown upon the knees of the statue of Jupiter, as a thank offering for victory. Meanwhile, the captives who had just appeared in the procession were strangled in the underground prison of the Capitol. It was a day of mingled joy and tragedy. The Romans, it has been said, were sometimes vanquished in battle, but they were always victorious in war. With the short swords of her disciplined soldiers, her flexible legion, and her fortified camps, Rome won dominion in Italy and began the conquest of the world.

Military genius of the Romans

Studies

I. On an outline map indicate the Roman dominions in 509 B.C.; in 338 B.C.; in 264 B.C. 2. Make a list of the Roman magistrates mentioned in this chapter, and of the powers exercised by each. 3. Give the meaning of our English words "patrician," "plebeian," "censor," "dictator," "tribune," "augury," "auspices," and "veto." 4. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 753 B.C.; 509 B.C.; and 338 B.C. 5. Why have Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica been called the "suburbs of Italy"? 6. "Italy and Greece may be described as standing back to back to each other." Explain this statement. 7. What is the origin of our names of the two months, January and March? 8. Compare the early Roman with the

161

early Greek religion as to (a) likenesses; (b) differences. 9. Why have the consuls 10. What do you understand by "martial been called "joint kings for one year"? law"? Under what circumstances is it sometimes declared in the United States? 11. Compare the position of the Roman patricians with that of the Athenian nobles 12. What officers in American cities perbefore the legislation of Draco and Solon. form some of the duties of the censors, prætors, and ædiles? 13. In the Roman and Spartan constitutions contrast: (a) consuls and kings; (b) censors and ephors; 14. Compare the Roman Senate and the Senate of the and (c) the two senates. United States as to size, term of office of members, conditions of membership, procedure, functions, and importance. 15. How far can the phrase, "government of the people, by the people, for the people," be applied to the Roman Republic at 17. What is a "Pyrrhic this period? 16. What conditions made it easy for the Romans to conquer Magna Græcia and difficult for them to subdue the Samnites? victory"? 18. Compare the nature of Roman rule over Italy with that of Athens over the Delian League. 19. Trace on the map, page 156, the Appian and Flamin21. Contrast the legion and the ian ways, noting some of the cities along the routes and the terminal points of each road. 20. Explain: "all roads lead to Rome." phalanx as to arrangement, armament, and method of fighting. 22. "Rome seems Comment on this statement. greater than her greatest men."

CHAPTER VIII

THE GREAT AGE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, 264-31 B.C.1

56. The Rivals: Rome and Carthage, 264-218 B.C.

THE Conquest of Italy made Rome one of the five leading states of the Mediterranean world. In the East there were the The Punic kingdoms of Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt, which wars had inherited the dominions of Alexander the Great. In the West there were Carthage and Rome, once in friendly alliance, but now to become the bitterest foes. Rome had scarcely reached the headship of united Italy before she was involved in a life-and-death struggle with this rival power. The three wars between them are known as the Punic wars; they are the most famous contests that ancient history records; and they ended in the complete destruction of Carthage.

More than a century before the traditional date at which Rome rose upon her seven hills, Phoenician colonists laid the

foundations of a second Tyre. The new city occu

Foundation of Carthage pied an admirable site, for it bordered on rich farming land and had the largest harbor of the north African coast. A position at the junction of the eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean gave it unsurpassed opportunities for trade. At the same time Carthage was far enough away to be out of the reach of Persian or Macedonian conquerors.

Commercial empire of Carthage

By the middle of the third century B.C. the Carthaginians had formed an imposing commercial empire. Their African dominions included the strip of coast from Cyrene westward to the strait of Gibraltar. Their colonies covered the shores of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and 1 Webster, Readings in Ancient History, chapter xv, "Hannibal and the Great Punic War"; chapter xvi, "Cato the Censor: a Roman of the Old School"; chapter xvii, "Cicero the Orator"; chapter xviii, "The Conquest of Gaul, Related by Cæsar"; chapter xix, "The Makers of Imperial Rome: Character Sketches by Suetonius."

southern Spain. The western half of the Mediterranean had become a Carthaginian lake.

Before the opening of the Punic wars Carthage had been much enlarged by emigrants from Tyre, after the capture of that city by Alexander. The Carthaginian

Phoenician colonists kept their civilization own language, customs, and beliefs and did not mingle with the native African peoples. Carthage in form was a republic, but the real power lay in the hands of one hundred men, selected from the great merchant families. It was a government by capitalists who cared very little for the welfare of the poor freemen and slaves over whom they ruled. The wealth of Carthage enabled her to raise huge armies of mercenary soldiers and to build warships which in size, number, and equipment surpassed those of any other Mediterranean state. Mistress of a wide realm, strong both by land and sea, Carthage was now to prove herself Rome's most dangerous foe.

[graphic]

Origin of the
First Punic
War

COLUMN OF DUILIUS (RESTORED)

The Roman admiral, Duilius, who won a great victory in 260 B.C., was honored by a triumphal column set up in the Forum. The monument was adorned with the brazen beaks of the captured Carthaginian vessels. Part of the inscription, reciting the achievements of the Roman fleet, has been preserved.

The First Punic War was a contest for Sicily. The Carthaginians aimed to establish their rule over that island, which from its situation seems to belong almost as much to Africa as to Italy. But Rome, having become supreme in Italy, also cast envious eyes on Sicily. She believed, too, that the Carthaginians, if they should conquer Sicily, would sooner or later invade southern Italy.

The fear

for her possessions, as well as the desire to gain new ones, led Rome to fling down the gage of battle.

The contest between the two rival states began in 264 B.C. and lasted nearly twenty-four years. The Romans overran

1 See page 123.

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