How did the Romans build rome from a small city to a great power?

Answer 1

Romulus did not build Rome. The founding of Rome does not refer to the founding of the city. It refers to the creation the Roman state. Romulus unified the peoples who lived on the settlements of the hills which were to become the Seven Hills of Rome under his rule. Collectively, these settlements became Rome. Romulus was the first king of Rome as well as the founder of the city.

Answer 2

Rome was a sizeable city right from her early days, not a small one.

Roman imperial expansion did not occur through a grand design of conquest. Although there were cases in which conquest was a deliberate aim, most conquests through various separate wars which were fought for different reasons and which she won. Her military success was due to a number of factors:

1) A large pool of military manpower. When Rome expanded into the mountains of central and southern Italy as a result of the Second and Third Samnite Wars (326-304 BC and 298-290 BC) she turned the peoples who lived in these areas into allies. They had to supply soldiers who fought in auxiliary troops which supported the Roman legions at their own expenses in exchange for protection and a share of the spoils of war. The allies provided 60% of the pool of military manpower available to Rome. This was the largest pool of military manpower in the Mediterranean. This large manpower played a crucial role in defeating the attempted invasions of Italy by Pyrrhus (Pyrrhic War, 275-270 BC) and Hannibal (Second Punic War 218-201 BC).

2) The capability to deploy several legions on several fronts at the same time. This capability was developed during the Early Republic when Rome was frequently attacked from its north (by the Sabines and Etruscan cities) and its south (by the Aequi and the Volsci). It was further refined in the Second and Third Samnite Wars, when Rome, again, fought on two fronts at the same time, this time on larger scale. During the second Punic War, the Romans fought on two fronts in Italy + a campaign in Spain + a war in Greece. That makes four fronts at the same time and, contemporaneously. In addition, they also kept a legion to guard Etruria.

3) The willingness to adapt. Originally the Roman army adopted the phalanx military formation of the Greeks. When they were defeated on the mountains of the Samnites they adopted the manipular formation of the Samnite enemies because it was more flexible and better suited for mountain warfare. The Romans also adopted the Spanish sword and the Gallic design for helmets. When they needed a fleet capable to match the mighty Carthaginian fleet in the First Punic War, they adopted the ship design of the Carthaginians.

4) Sheer determination. The Romans pursued victory in war to the bitter end and by any means. One example was the titanic and very expensive building of a 180 mile long stone-paved road, the first ever in history (the Appian Way) to facilitate the movement of troops and military supplies to the front during the second Samnite War. Another example was during the First Punic War. Both the Carthaginian and Roman fleet became depleted and the coffers of both states were empty. What made the difference was that the Roman rich paid for an additional fleet from their own pockets. This fleet went on to win the final battle of the war.

5) Good military training. The training of Roman soldiers was already very good when the army was a citizen militia, before it became a professional army. When it became a professional army soldiers were trained drilled regularly and the army became even more highly structured and well organised.

Answer 3

First they settled in the hills and surrounding plain. They had to build a defensive fort on a hill as a refuge when they were threatened by nomadic invaders or neighbouring cities. Then as they expanded into a city, they walled it too as a defensive necessity.

Answer 4

By the time of Rome's expansion into central and southern Italy in the 3rd century BC and early 3rd century BC Rome was already no longer a small city. Although it was a fraction of the gigantic city which it became at the height of the empire, it was already one of the major cities of the Mediterranean.

Rome expanded into central and southern Italy as a result of the Three Samnite Wars (34.3-341 BC, and 326-304 BC) The Samnites were a substantial neighbour to the south the Roman territory. She fought together with Latin cities which were her allies. At the end of the first war, the Latins rebelled, helped by the Volsci, who were old enemies of Rome, and the Campanians north of Naples who had just came under the Romans. This has been called the Latin War (340-338 BC), which Rome won. Many of the Latin cities, the Volsci and the Campanians were incorporated into the Roman Republic. The Latins were given Roman citizenship with the right to vote (civitas optomo iure) and the Volsci and Campanians were given Roman citizenship without the right to vote (civitas sine suffragio). At this point Rome was no longer a city-state. It became a commonwealth of different peoples with different citizenship status (this was a divide and rule measure. This gave her a greater military manpower which enabled her to win the mentioned wars.

With her victories in the Samnite Wars, Rome gained control of central Italy and the mountains of southern Italy (except for those in Calabria, the toe of Italy). Rome did not annex the defeated peoples or the small peoples who were not a match for her. Instead, she turned them into allies. They remained autonomous in exchange of proving soldiers for Rome at their own expense. The system worked because Rome supported the ruling classes of these peoples and because they could share the spoils of war, which could be considerable. This system has been described of inviting the robbed peoples to join the gang of robbers for the text robberies). At this point Rome's pool of military manpower became massive and in the whole of the Mediterranean only the Carthaginians managed to match it. Rome also expanded into the heel and toe of Italy (Apulia and Calabria) when they defeated the attempt of Pyrrhus, a Greek king, to take over the Greek areas of southern Italy in the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BC).

Rome started expanding beyond central Italy by winning the three Punic Wars (264-241 BC, 128-201 BC and 149-146 BC) against the Carthaginians, the other great power in the western Mediterranean and gained control of the western basin of the Mediterranean. At this point Rome became the superpower of the Mediterranean.

Answer 5

The Romans built a strong and unified empire by their army, their law and their language. The army conquered and built roads, the law ruled and the language made communication easy.

Answer 6

Rome.