The Roman Expansion in the Mediterranean World

In the years following the end of the conflict of the orders Rome concentrated her attention on foreign affairs. Having established herself as the dominant power in Italy, she assumed new responsibilities in world politics, opened up new diplomatic relations and began to pursue the expansion of her territory and influence outside the Italian peninsula.

The city of Carthage, which was situated on the northern coast of Africa, near present-day Tunis, had started off as a Phoenician colony in the ninth century BC. By the end of the fourth century BC she had grown to become the wealthiest and most powerful city in the western Mediterranean world. The Carthagenian empire extended over the northern coast of Africa from the Gulf of Syrtis westward beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain, Sardinia and most of Sicily. Carthage was governed by an oligarchy of powerful merchant families and, for her military strength, was relying on her large mercenary army. The contacts between the Carthagenians and the Romans had began in the second half of the fourth century BC when the two states were linked by a number of treaties. At the beginning of the third century BC Carthage offered aid to Rome in her conflict with the Greek cities of southern Italy, Carthage's chief commercial rivals. But, shortly after the subjugation of the Greek city-states and the annexation of all the important ports of southern Italy by Rome, this precarious coalition turned into open rivalry and war between the two powers seemed unavoidable.

ground in 218 BC. In that year a large expeditionary force led by Hannibal, Carthage's most capable general, was dispatched to attack the Romans in Italy. Despite the initial successes of her armies, Carthage was finally overwhelmed by the Romans in 201 BC and her political and commercial supremacy came to an end. Carthage lost all her possessions outside her home territory, was forced to pay a substantial indemnity and was reduced to the position of a client-state of Rome. As a result of their success in the second Punic War the Romans gained control of Sardinia and southern Spain and established themselves as the undisputed masters of western Mediterranean. Rome's dominant position in the West was secured further after the subjugation of the Celtic tribes of northern Italy in the early years of the second century BC.

Although initially Rome showed no interest in expanding eastwards, antagonisms between eastern powers and, in particular, the ambitions of Syria and Macedonia to restore the empire of Alexander the great at the expense of smaller states in the region, gave her the opportunity to enter the scene of Hellenistic politics, first as a guarantor of the existing balance of power and, subsequently, in pursuit of her own expansionist designs. Among Rome's chief opponents in the East was king Philip V of Macedonia, who had sided with the Carthagenians during the second Punic War. Seizing upon Philip's aggressive policies and claiming to act as protectors of the independence of the Greek city-states the Romans declared war on Macedonia in 200 BC.^[503] Philip's defeat in 197 BC put an end to the Macedonian domination over Greece and secured a permanent role for Rome in Greek affairs, although no Greek territory was annexed by the Romans this time.

In 192 BC Rome found herself at war with king Antioch III of Syria, following the latter's attempt to interfere in Greek affairs. After four years of fighting the king's power was finally broken. Rome renewed her treaties of friendship with the Greek city-states, once more guaranteed their independence, and withdrew. But as Roman power and influence continued to increase, the Romans' attitude towards their allies in the East became more and more domineering. The Roman policy of interfering in other states' internal affairs drove many Greek cities to regard Macedonia's new king, Perseus, as a possible deliverer from the despotism of Rome. To prevent the expansion of Macedonian influence in Greece Rome declared war on Perseus in 171 BC (the third Macedonian war). Following Perseus's defeat in 168 BC the Macedonian kingdom was broken up into four separate republics, each being governed by its own magistrates and a senate composed of representatives elected in the several cities. But in 148 BC, after a short-lived revolt, the republics were dissolved and Macedonia was turned into a Roman province. Finally, after the dissolution of the Achaean confederacy and the sacking of Corinth by the Romans in 146 BC the whole of Greece fell under Roman domination. Unlike Macedonia, however, Greece was not organised as a Roman province. The Greek city­states were compelled to enter into treaties of alliance with Rome and the whole country was placed under the supervision of the governor of Macedonia.^[504] The same year marks the end of the third Punic War (149-146 BC) which resulted in the complete destruction of Carthage and the annexation of its territory as part of the Roman province of Africa.

In 133 BC the rich kingdom of Pergamum (situated in the north-west part of Asia Minor) was made over to Rome under the will of its last king, Attains III.