After Pyrrhus, battled in his attempts to check the progress of Rome, had withdrawn to Greece, the Lucanians and Samnites, whom his reputation and original successes had induced to rise once more against the dreaded foe, continued the unequal struggle, but "even the bravery of despair," as it has been said, " comes to an end; the sword and the gibbet at length (269 p.c.) carried peace even into the mountains of &minium." Tarentum had surrendered three years earlier; and now from the 3iacra and the Rubicon to the straits of Messina there was not a nation in Italy that did not acknowledge the supremacy of Rome. Distant kingdoms began to feel that a new power had risen in the world; and when Ptolemy Philade:phus, sovereign of Egypt, hoard of the overthrow of the famous Epirote warrior, he sent an embassy to Rome (273 n.c.), and concluded a treaty with the republic. To secure their new acquisitions, the Romans established in the s. military colonies at Pmstum and Cosa, in Lucania (273 n c); at Beneventum (239 n.e.), and at /Esernia (263 n.e.), to overawe the Samnites; and in the n.. as outposts against the Gauls, Ariminurn (268 n.c.), Firmum in Picenum (261 n.c.), and the burgess colony of Castrum Novum. Preparations were also made to carry the great Appian highway as far as Brundisium, on the Adriatic, and for the colonization of the latter city as a rival emporium to Tarentum.
The political changes were almost as important as the military. The whole popula tion of peninsular Italy was divided into three classes-1. Cites Romani, or such as enjoyed the full burgess privileges of Roman citizens; 2. Nome». Laeinum—that is, such as possesged the same privileges as had been enjoyed by the members of the quondam Latin league—viz., an equality with the Roman burgesses in matters of trade and inher itance, the privilege of self-government, but no participation in the Roman franchise, and consequently no power to modify the foreign policy of the state; 3. Snell. or " al lies," to sonic of whom were conceded most liberal privileges, while others were governed in an almost despotic fashion. The gives Romani no longer embraced merely the inhab itants of the old Roman community, the well-known "tribes") of whom there are now 33), but all the old burgess-colonies planted in Etruria and Campania, besides such Sabine, Volscian, and other communities as had been received into the burgess body on account of their proved fidelity in times of trial, together with individual Roman emi grants or families of such, scattered mu•ielpirt, or living in villages by them selves. The cities possessing the Latin:um Nomen included most of the "colonies" sent out by Rome in later times, not only in Italy, but even beyond it; the members of which, if they had previously possessed the Roman franchise. surrendered it in lieu of an allottnant of land. But any " Latin" burgess who had held a magistracy in his native town, might return to Rome, be enrolled in one of the tribes, and vote like any other citizen. The Socii comprised all the rest of Italy. as the Ilernicans, the Luca Mans, Bruttians, the Greek cities, etc. All national or cantonal confederacies and alli ances among the Italians were broken up, and no means were left unemployed by the victors to prevent their restoration.
The Punic Bram—The origin of Carthage, and the steps by which she rose to power, are sketched in the article CABTHAGE. At the time when she came into collision with Rome she was indisputably the first maritime empire in the world, ruling as absolutely in the central and western Mediterranean seas as Rome in the Italian peninsular. Be tween the Carthaginians and the Romans there had long existed a nominal alliance—the oldest treaty dating as far back as the 6th c. B.C. But this alliance had never possessed any real significance, and latterly the two nations had come to regard each other with considerable distrust. The incident that occasioned the outbreak was quite trivial, and need not be recorded. Suffice it to say that in war was formally declared between the two nations, and incomparably the most terrible contest iu which Rome was ever engaged began.
We do not propose to follow minutely the course of the famous Punic wars—the details of which are narrated at sufficient length under the heads CARTHAGE, HAMILCAR, HANNIBAL. HASDRUBAL, HIERO, REGULUS, METELLUS, FABIUS. MAItCELLL'S, SCIPIO, and NU3HDIA, to which we refer the reader, but we may briefly indicate their character and result. The wars with Carthage, like those with Samnium, were three in num ber. The first lasted 23 years(n.e. 264-241), and was waged mainly for the possession of Sicily. Its leading feature was the creation of a Roman navy, which, after repeated and tremendous misfortune, finally wrested from Carthage the sovereignty of the seas. Rome, indeed, had never been a merely agricultural state, as may be inferred from a variety of particulars—e.g., the antiquity of the galley in the city arms, of the port-dues on the exports and imports of Ostia, and of commercial treaties with transmarine states— but events had hindered it front engaging to any large extent in maritime enterprise; and its shipping, or at least its fleet, was still quite insignificant, although it had become master of nearly all the Italian seaboard. The necessity for a navy now began to show itself. Not only was there a difileolty felt in transporting troops to Sicily, but the shores of the main-land were completely exposed to the ravages of Carthaginian squad rons. So energetically did the senate set to work, that (we are told) in sixty days from the time the trees were felled, 120 ships were launched, and soon after the consul Caius Duilius gained.a brilliant success (260 "Lc.) over the Carthaginians off the Mylae, on the north-east coast of Sicily. The exultation of the Romans knew no bounds; and the "triumph" which Duilius received on his return to the city had more the aspect of a carnival thau of a noble ceremony. The Colanzna Rust-rata ("Beaked Column") in the forum preserved for ages the memory of the " glorious victory." Subsequent events, however, were less favorable. An invasion of Africa by Regulus (q.v.) ended in disas
ter, and the war, which was henceforth confined to Sicily, miserably languished. Thrice was the Roman navy annihilated by storms at sea (255 B.C., 253 B.C., and 249 B.C.); and in spite of a series of unimportant successes by land, the Romans long found it impossi ble to make any impression on the great Carthaginian strongholds of Lilybteum and Drepanum. mainly on account of the brilliant strategy with which they were held in check by Hamilear Berea, the father of Hannibal. At last, however, a great sea-light took place off the rEgetes isles (242 n.e.), in which a Roman fleet, commanded by the consul Lutatius Catulus, obtained a magnificent victory. The Carthaginian government, whose treasury was empty, and who had in vain tried to raise a state-loan in Egypt, could—fo• the present—continue the struggle DO longer, and the whole of Sicily. except the territory of Hiero of Syracuse, who had been a firm ally of the Romans, passed into the hands of the victors, who constituted it a Roman province, and placed it tinder the government of a prxtor.—A lapse of 23 years occurred before the second Punic war began, but during that interval neither Romans nor Carthaginians had been idle. The former, with worse than "Punic faith," had bullied their weak and exhausted rival into surrendering Sardinia and Corsica, which, like Sicily, were transformed into a Roman province. In addition, they bed carried on a series of Gallic wars in northern Italy (231-222 n.e.). the result of which was the complete humiliation of the barbarian Boil, Iusubres, etc., and the extension of Italy to its natural boundary—the Alps. On the eastern coast of the Adriatic also. the Romens made their power felt by the vigor with which they suppressed Illyrian piracy (219 B. e.). Meanwhile, the descent of Hamilcar on the Spanish coast was followed, after some ineffectual opposition on the part of the natives, by the establishment of a new Carthaginian empire, or at least a protectorate, in the west; and thus, almost before the Romans were aware of it, their bated rival had made good her losses again, and was even able to renew the struggle in a more daring fashion than before. How confident the hearing of the Carthaginians had now become may be seen from the fearless spirit in which they accepted the Roman challenge, and entered on the second Punic—or (as the Romans called it) the Hannibalie—war, the grand events of which were the crossing of the Alps by Hannibal, the terrible disasters of the Romans at lake Trasimene (q.v.) and Canna; (q.v.), and the final overthrow of Hannibal at Zama (q.v.), 202 B.C., by Scipio, which once more compelled the Cartha ginians to sue for peace. It was with Carthage as with Samnium. The second war virtually sealed her fate, and the third displayed only the frantic heroism of despair. Her Spanish possessions, like her Sicilian. passed to the Romans (who formed out of them the provinces of Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Ulterior); so did her protectorate over the Numidinn sheiks. She was forced to surrender her whole navy (excepting ten triremes), and all her elephants, and to solemnly swear never to make war either in Africa or abroad, except with the consent of her vanquisher. In a word, the imperial supremacy of Rome was now as unconditional in the western Mediterranean as on the main-land of Italy. her relations, indeed, to the conquered Italian nationalities became much harsher than they had formerly been, for, after the first victories of Hannibal, these had risen against her. The Picentes, Bruttii, Apnlians. and Samnites were deprived either of the whole or the greater part of their lands—some communities were actually turned into serfs—the Greek cities in lower Italy, most of which had also sided with Hannibal. became the seats of hurgess-colonies. But the loss of life and of vital pros perity was frightful. "Numbers of flourishing townships," says Mommsen, "400 it was reckoned, were destroyed and ruined." Slaves and desperadoes associated themselves in robber-bands, of the dangers of which an idea may be formed from the fact that in a single year (185 n.c.) 7.000 men had to be condemned for robbery in Apulia alone; the extension of the pastures with their half-savage slave-herdsmen favored this mischievous barbarizing of the land. But the exultation of victory closed the eyes and the ears of the Romans against every omen, and the perilous work of conquest and subjugation went on. During 201-196 ire., the Celts in the valley of the Po, who, with the fiery unwisdom of their race, had recommenced hostilities at the very moment Rome was freed from her embarrassments, were thoroughly subjugated; their territory was La tin ized, but they themselves were declared incapable of ever acquiring Roman citizenship; and so rapidly did their nationality dissolve that when Polybius, only 30 years later, visited the country, nearly all traces of Celtic characteristics had disappeared. The Boil were finally extirpated ahont 103 B.C.', the Ligurians were subdued 180-177 n.c. ; and the interior of Corsica and Sardinia about the same time. The wars in Spain were trouble some and of longer duration, but they were not at all serious. The natives were indeed perpetually in arms, and the Romans suffered frequent defeats from their sudden and Impetuous insurrections; but in the cud the superior discipline of the legions always prevailed, and the fiery and chivalrous tribes hed-of course to make ignominious sub mission. So little reliance, however, could be plated on these forced submissions, that the Romans felt it necessary to hold Spain by military occupation, and hence arose the first Roman standing armies. Forty thousand troops were maintained in the Spanish pyeniusula year after year. The most distinguished successes were those achieved by Scipio him-elf, by Quintus inticius (197-196 me.), by Marcus Cato (195 n.c.). by Lucius Paullus (189 n.c.), by Caine Calpurnius (185 n.c.), by Quintus Pulvins llamas (181 n.c.), and by Tiberius Gracchus (179-178 n.c.).