After the issue of political justice between the plebeians and patricians was solved, over a period of 500 years, Rome's republic evolved to become an empire. However, one of the factors that led them to success was their army.
The Roman army, like our armies today, had ranks. The lowest rank was cadet, who was a soldier in training. Then manipulators or the lieutenant. Next was the centurion or captain. Then, ruling over all of these classes was the tribune or major. This strategic ranking system helped the army win wars. However,the punishments for disobeying orders were drastic. For example, if you were falling asleep during guard duty or during a drill, you would be executed by your friends and fellow soldiers.The punishment for walking too slowly around the camp would be a stick to the stomach, or you could get whipped until you pass out. Another punishment was to be tied in a bag of snakes and thrown into a shallow river. Because of the strict discipline, the army was made quick and battle ready. The Roman army was the world's first well trained and equipped fighting machine. For 200 years, the Roman army was at constant war, always fighting off one army or another, and eventually, half the world became Roman territory. During that time, they controlled many countries. Then the Roman empire collapsed and all its territories became free nations. Punic Wars The first Punic War started when Rome interrupted a trade route owned by Carthage, a city-state in North Africa that the Greek often fought with over trading rights. As they controlled a lot of the trade in the MediLike Rome, Carthage was a powerful nation who had a strong army, and the Romans adopted their battleship designs. The war was a naval battle, which lasted and eventually Rome won, proving that Rome was a major power. The second war with Carthage, started because Hannibal swore a blood oath against Rome. He marched his armies to Iber, a city controlled by Rome, effectively starting a war. He took his soldiers across the alps to Rome and surrounded a Roman army twice his size, and massacring them. But, the Romans got big victories against the Carthaginians making them retreat. The third war with Carthage was when Rome besieged Carthage for three years but in the end Carthage's walls fell down and Carthage became a Roman city. |
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