The expulsion of Tarquin was followed by long wars with the Etruscans and the Latin tribes, In the course of which Rome for a time had to contend for its existence. A great vic tory over the Latins in 496 led to the formation of a Latin Confederacy under the leadership of Rome. Thus strengthened the Romans fought successfully against the iEqui, the Volsci and the Sabines, and in 396 captured the Etruscan stronghold of Veii, which was followed by the subjugation of southern Etrura.
The place of the kings was taken after 509 by two consuls, elected by the contitia centuriata from the ranks of the patricians. The institu tion of the senate was retained and plebeians were admitted to membership, but all magisterial offices were closed to members of that order.
The period that follows, therefore, is marked by a bitter struggle on the part of the plebeians for political and, to a degree, social equality. Wealth, too, became concentrated in the hands of the patricians and the distribution of the public lands was carried on entirely in the in terests of the ruling class. Discontent was also fostered by the severity of the laws against debtors. In 494 the plebeian army, just re turned from a victorious campaign, seceded to the Sacred Mount, near Rome, and threatened to found a city for themselves unless conces sions were made. The patricians yielded and the office of tribune of the plebs was created for the defense of the interests of the lower order against the ruling class. These tribunes, originally two in number, later increased to 10, were given the right of veto on the decisions of the consuls and the senate. In the course of the struggle for an equitable division of the pub lic land, Spurns Cassius, a patrician who es poused the cause of the plebs, fell a victim to the vengeance of his caste (486 ex.). The de mand for a codification of the laws led to the appointment in 451 of 10 decemvirs Who after two years' work brought forth the Twelve Tables in which the entire system of public and private law was embodied. The act of violence attempted by Appius Claudius, head of the decemvirs, on the plebeian maiden Virginia led to the overthrow of the decemvirs in 449 B.C. Protected now against the arbitrary misuse of the law on the part of the patricians, the plebeians pursued with renewed strength the struggle for and social equality. In 445 intermarriage between patricians and plebe ians was made legally valid. The consuls were supplanted by military tribunes with consular power who might be chosen from among the plebeians. After this the plebeian conquest of offices proceeded steadily. The quiestorship was i gained in 421 a.c., the dictatorship in 356 a.c., the censorship in 351, the pnetorship in 337. After a 10 years' struggle it was provided by, the so-called Licinian Rogations (367 that no citizen should own more than 500 jugera of the public domain that the remainder should be distributed among the plebs in small allot ments. The consulship was also restored and it was made obligatory for one consul to be chosen from the plebs. By the year 300 com plete equality between the, orders 'had been established. The termination of the contest be tween the two orders may be assigned to the year 286 s.c., when the Hortensian Law made any decree of the Comitio Tributes, wherein the plebs were predominant, law for the whole peo ple, the so-called plebsicite.
The course of political progress during this period was sharply interrupted by the invasion of the Gauls who in 390 overwhelmed a Roman army on the Allia, burned the city and besieged the garrison in the Capitol. Legend ascribes the defeat of the Gauls to Camillus (q.v.), but in reality it was a large ransom in gold which induced the conquerors to retreat. The devoted patriotism of its citizens, however, restored the fortunes of the city; its houses were rebuilt, the attacks of the neighboring peoples, the Volsci, the iEqui and part of the Latini were repulsed, and within a short time Rome had more than regained its former power. With the establishment of internal peace, its career of rapid conquest begins. The Samnites, the most
formidable rivals of the Romans, were de feated in three great wars (343-341, 326-304, 298-290) in the course of which Rome con tended successfully against the united forces of the peoples of central Italy, aided in the last of the wars by the Gauls. A rebellion of the Latins was crushed in 338, the long struggle terminated in the complete subjection of the allies, and the inhabitants of Samnium, Picenum, Umbria, Apulia, Lucania and Etruria became the allies of Rome. In 280 war broke out with Tarentum, the most powerful of the Greek cities in southern Italy. Tarentum called Pyrrhus (q.v.), king of Epirus, to its aid. Sub jected at first to defeat, the Romans ultimately drove Pyrrhus from Italy and took Tarentum (272). Rome was now mistress of central and southern Italy and had fought with success against the Gauls in the north. To make con quest permanent military colonies were planted in the subjugated territories and a great system of public highways was developed to facilitate communications. The incessant wars had made Rome a nation of soldiers, and now that there wits no one KS it hi Italy, it turned its arms *ainst a foreign power, and in the gle with carthage made the first beginning of its imperial career. • The early relations between Rome and Carthage were friendly and commercial treaties between the two nations had been concluded at various times. The contest between the two broke out in Sicily, of which the Carthaginians were masters in greater part. The first Punk War (264-241 p.c.) began with the invasion of Sicily by a Roman army. The strength of Carthage, however, was on the sea, and to cope with it, the Romans built a fleet with which in 260 they gained a great victory at Mycal.v. The fortunes of the war wavered for a long time until a second victory off the 1Egatian Islands in 241 brought Carthage to terms. Sicily was surrendered to the Romans who erected it into their first province, and Carthage pledged itself not to wage war on the allies of Rome. In 238 the Romans seized Sardinia and in the follow ing year extended their sway over the Illyrian coastlands and upper Italy. Cathage, robbed of its island possessions in the Mediterranean, more than made up its losses in Spain, and in 218 a.c. the celebrated Hannibal (q.v.), son of Hamilcar Barca, the conqueror of the peninsula, renewed the contest with Rome (the second Punk War) by his attack on Saguntum, a city ally of Rome. Hannibal invaded Italy (218 ac.), defeated the Romans at Trebbia on Lake Trasi menus the following year, and in 216 ac. at Cannie thoroughly completed the rout of the Romans. Rome, however, remained steadfast with Hannibal at its very gates, husbanded its resources and by carrying the war into Africa forced Hannibal to depart from Italy. In 202 the Carthaginian general was defeated by P. Cornelius Scipio at Zama, and Carthage signed peace giving up Spain to the Romans, dis mantling its navy and paying an indemnity of 10,000 talents. The hatred of Rome, however, was not appeased, and when Carthage, after 50 years, showed signs of renewed strength, it was attacked and destroyed (146), after a siege of three years (the third Punic War). The Roman arms in the meantime had also conquered the East. Antiochus III of Syria was defeated in 190 at Sipylus and deprived of his possessions in Asia Minor. Macedonia, after repeated wars, was made a Roman province in 146, and Greece, which had enjoyed the shadow of freedom for 50 years, was reduced to the!same condition, in the same year, under the name of Achaia, after Corinth, its most prosperous city, had been stormed and robbed of its art treasures. In 133 Rome fell heir to the dominions of Attains, king of Pergamus, and the Province of Asia was formed out of the territories thus acquired. The Roman rule in the Spanish peninsula was firmly established after two formidable insur rections, one led by Viriathus (148-140) and the other known as the Numantine War (143-133), had been suppressed.