• Rome had strong army
• every male citizen had to serve in military when needed
• troops organized into legions of 6,000 men and then divided into small, mobile units of 60 to 120 soldiers
• legionaries were well-trained and disciplined; soldiers who deserted army were killed 
• Romans set up permanent military settlements to defend river crossings and mountains

well-trained Roman soldiers

permanent military settlements

• Carthage wanted to seize Strait of Messina, the narrow passageway between Sicily and Italy
• Romans conquered most of Carthage's colonies in Sicily but Carthage still had advantage because of their fleet/naval superiority
•  Romans built a larger fleet to fight back
• Romans had new tactic; used grappling hooks to stop Carthage boats, board them, and fight
• Carthage never regained Sicily or sea

payment for damages; Carthage had to give Romans indemnity after First Punic War

• Hannibal became general of Carthage army in Spain
• Hannibal wanted to take his army and the war into Italy itself
• When crossing cold Alps, half of his army and most elephants died
• Hannibal defeated most Roman armies
• Scipio, a Roman general, attacked Carthage and sent Hannibal back to Africa 
• Hannibal paid indemnity and handed over lands in Spain

• Carthage posed no threat to Rome, but Rome forced war on Carthage
• Roman senator, Cato, wanted to destroy Carthage
• Romans burned Carthage and sent its existing population into slavery
• This victory gave Rome complete control over the of the Western Mediterranean 

• corrupt Roman officials stole provincial wealth for personal gain
• wealthy Romans took land from small farmers and turned agriculture into a profitable business
• wealthy Romans used slaves from captured lands as cheap labor
• slave labor repaced paid labor and there were no jobs
• gap between rich and poor grew bigger
• slave/lower-class revolts constantly happened 

group of three persons with equal power

1)general Pompey; 2)politician Crassus; 3)Julius Caesar

• from aristocratic family
• allied himself with Pompey and Crassus
• year later elected consul
• ruled as part of triumvirate for decade
• used force and bribery to silence government critics and bend senators and tribunes to their will 

• C. realized he needed military victories to advance political career
• Took command in Gaul and brought Celts under Roman rule
• Fought Germanic tribes and invaded Britain
• Rome's lower classes saw him as military leader
• Senators saw C. as a threat and allied with Pompey
• Senators ordered C. to give up his army
• C. did not give up and civil war occured
• C.  swiftly captured all of Italy

• granted Roman citizenship to many people in the provinces outside of Italy
• public works programs to help poor- distributing free grain, hiring free laborers
• new solar, Julian calendar based on 365 days and 1 extra day every fourth year

• many believed Caesar was a tyrant who meant to make himself king
• Roman law stated that anyone who plotted to become king could be killed without trial
• group of senators led by Brutus and Cassius stabbed Caesar to death 

• 2nd triumvirate in Rome- Octavian, Marc Antony, Marcus Lepidus- they defeated Caesar's assassins
• Lepidus was forced by Octavian to retire from office, Antony committed suicide in order to escape Octavian's capture, and Octavian's period of rule marked the beginning of the Roman Empire