Wars of the Roman Republic
The "Wars of the Roman Republic" refers to a series of military conflicts from 264 to 31 BCE that solidified Roman dominance in the Mediterranean and reshaped its political landscape. Following the defeat of Carthage and Corinth in 146 BCE, Rome emerged as the preeminent power but faced challenges from both foreign adversaries and internal strife. Notable conflicts included the prolonged guerrilla warfare in Spain, the Jugurthine War in North Africa, and battles against migrating Germanic tribes like the Cimbri and Teutons. These wars often highlighted the shortcomings of the Roman Senate and the shifting dynamics of military power, as generals like Gaius Marius and Pompey the Great gained influence through their military successes.
The conflicts also involved significant confrontations with Mithridates VI of Pontus, revealing the discontent among provincial populations under Roman rule. The Republic's military strategies evolved, with special commands becoming a common practice, allowing generals to cultivate loyalty among their troops. However, these developments contributed to a decline in Senate authority as generals began to leverage their military power for political ends. The culmination of this tumultuous period was marked by Octavian's victory over Marc Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, which signaled the transition from a republican system to one of centralized imperial rule.
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Wars of the Roman Republic
At issue: Roman political and military control of the Mediterranean basin
Date: 146-31 b.c.e.
Locations: Spain, North Africa, Italy, Asia Minor, Greece, Gaul
Combatants: Romans vs. various states and peoples
Principal commanders:Roman, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Minor Numantinus (c. 184-129 b.c.e.), Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus (d. c. 91 b.c.e.), Gaius Marius (157-86 b.c.e.), Sulla (138-78 b.c.e.), Pompey the Great (106-48 b.c.e.), Marcus Licinius Crassus (115?-53 b.c.e.), Marc Antony, also known as Marcus Antonius (83?-30 b.c.e.); Numidian, Jugurtha (c. 160-104 b.c.e.); Pontic, Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus (d. 63 b.c.e.)
Principal battles: Arausio, Aquae Sextiae, Chaeronea, Carrhae, Actium
Result: Rome gained firm control of the Mediterranean; however, warfare-related stresses led to the collapse of the republic
Background
The destruction of Carthage and Corinth in 146 b.c.e. left Rome as the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The Hellenistic kingdoms of the Greek east were still intact but were hardly major threats to Roman security. Barbaric tribes on the northern fringes of Roman territory provided occasional harassment but little more. However, because in Rome success in war meant success in politics, Roman senators would eagerly compete for commands. Therefore, warfare continued and often exacerbated conflicts at home and problems on the frontiers.
Action
Part of the inheritance from Carthage at the end of the Punic Wars (264-146 b.c.e.) was a long-standing guerrilla war in Spain, an intermittent affair marked by incompetence and vicious brutality. Some recruits reportedly cut off their thumbs to avoid service. The Spanish campaigns also offered no wealthy cities to plunder and were thus not terribly attractive to members of the elite either. Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Minor Numantinus finally ended decades of intermittent and inconclusive struggle in 133 b.c.e. when he destroyed Numantia.
The Jugurthine War (112-106 b.c.e.) against the Numidian king Jugurtha was not a glorious affair either. In 110 b.c.e. the Roman army suffered a humiliating defeat and was compelled to walk under a yoke of spears. Inquiries into accusation of bribery and corruption in addition to the effective leadership of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus restored discipline to the army. Metellus and his assistant, Gaius Marius, wore down Jugurtha by avoiding pitched battles. Marius then took the initiative of attacking fortified cities, and a decisive battle was fought at Cirta in 106 b.c.e. in which Jugurtha was finally forced to surrender. The war was significant because it eliminated a potentially troublesome opponent in North Africa, demonstrated a clear lack of foresight and unity in the Senate, and significantly advanced the career of Marius. A new danger, however, soon presented itself.
The Cimbri and Teutons, Germanic tribes from northern Europe, began migrating southward, heading toward the Italian frontier. In 107 b.c.e., the general Cassius was ambushed and killed, and the survivors in his army had to endure the humiliation of the yoke. An even greater debacle occurred in 105 b.c.e. at Arausio (modern Orange). Some 80,000 troops were annihilated, and Italy lay open to invasion. Once again, Marius ended the threat by means of a well-disciplined and mobile army. In the decisive Battle of Aquae Sextiae (102 b.c.e.), Marius lured the Teutons into a narrow valley and cut them to pieces. The Cimbri were routed in similar fashion at Vercellae in the following year (101 b.c.e.), ending the threat of invasion.
Soon after the end of the war with the Italian allies in Italy (Social War, 91-88 b.c.e.), word was received that Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus had invaded Roman territory. The wars with Mithridates highlighted the distress of the provincial inhabitants who endured high taxes and mistreatment under Roman officials. Sulla defeated a Mithridatic army three times larger than his own at Chaeronea (86 b.c.e.). Civil struggles back in Rome allowed Mithridates to reassert himself later, but he was finally defeated by Lucius Licinius Lucullus in 68 b.c.e. The unsettled situation in the east provided opportunities for Pompey the Great. While on campaign, Pompey forged connections between himself and the wealthy kings of Asia Minor and the Middle East, and by 62 b.c.e., he had added Syria to the empire and made numerous “client kings” dependent on Rome.
A noteworthy development in the wars of 146-31 b.c.e. was the growing use of special commands. Granted by the Senate, these commands were designed for a specific purpose (to fight pirates, to put down a slave revolt) and extended longer than normal military commands. It made practical sense to allow commanders to remain in the field at far distances from Rome. However, special commands also allowed generals to build strong bonds with their troops, who were mostly drawn from the lower classes and who saw military service as a means to obtain money and land. Generals therefore often used their soldiers as tools in wresting demands from an increasingly ineffective Senate.
Parthia, a kingdom that encompassed much of modern Iran and Iraq, was a formidable if not overtly hostile neighbor of Rome in the last century b.c.e. Seeking to enhance his military reputation with a glorious victory, Marcus Licinius Crassus became involved in an internal struggle and invaded Parthia with seven legions. He failed to reckon with the strength of the Parthian cataphracts (mounted heavily mailed warriors) or light cavalry armed with asymmetrical bows. A disastrous defeat at Carrhae (53 b.c.e.) resulted in the death of Crassus and the humiliating loss of the Roman legions’ standards. Marc Antony renewed the struggle with the Parthians after their invasion of Syria but did not enjoy much success. It was not until the reign of the emperor Augustus that Crassus’s lost standards were returned, by negotiation rather than war.
Aftermath
Exhausted by decades of wars both external and internal, the leadership within the Senate was no longer able to effectively control the vast Roman territories. After the victory of Octavian over Marc Antony in 31 b.c.e. at the Battle of Actium, the stage was set for one-man rule.
Bibliography
Badian, Ernst. Roman Imperialism in the Late Republic. 1971. Reprint. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1981.
Brunt, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Republic and Related Essays. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1988.
Gruen, Erich. The Last Generation of the Roman Republic. 1975. Reprint. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.
Sallust. The Jugurthine War: The Conspiracy of Catiline. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1963.