Times of war tend to bring out both the strengths and weaknesses of a society. This is particularly true of Republican Rome. Please read through one or two of the selections linked below. Pick out an incident/passage that shows either the surprising nature of Roman success or one of the characteristics of Republican Rome that makes that success not so surprising.Selections you should find interesting include: Livy's description of the Roman method of declaring war, Livy's account of the war with and eventual destruction of Veii (Book V, sections 1-23), Livy's account of the Sack of Rome by the Gauls and Camillus' rescue of Rome (Book V, sections 33-55), Polybius' description of The Battle of Cannae, Polybius' comparison of the Roman maniple to the Macedonian phalanx, and Polybius' description of Roman government.
I think the Roman idea of starting a war is quite interesting, but I do see some similarities to society in today’s day and age, particularly with the United States for example. First off, I think it’s funny that an individual would go to the land or the area where the potential war takes place and proclaims that they will fight if they don’t get what they want in 30 days. I find it interesting that they spread this message and basically ruin the idea of the element of surprise, and find themselves potentially in a compromising position. I also wonder why someone wouldn’t attempt to kill the individual who is “threatening” one Empire because the individual is basically coming to threaten them. Now assuming they don’t get what they want, here’s where I see the connection with the United States government for example, by coming back and voting upon a declaration of war. Another similarity between Roman society and today’s society is there’s always a particular reason why one individual would want to go to war. Nobody just goes to war for fun, or lives aren’t lost because they’re playing with knives around the house; there’s always a reason. The example I chose was the Battle of Cannae. We see the demands or threats presented early as far as action if they didn’t get what they desired, and so after waiting they surrounded the land in hopes of achieving victory in the war, “Then Hannibal, seeing that his circumstances called for a battle with the enemy, being anxious lest his troops should be depressed by their previous reverse, and believing that it was an occasion which required some encouraging words, summoned a general meeting of his soldiers” (Halsall 111). All the hard work and effort put into the battle turned into a disaster, as there were more negatives that came out of it, than positives, “Such was the end of the battle of Cannae, in which both sides fought with the most conspicuous gallantry, the conquered no less than the conquerors” (Halsall 117). This battle as a whole, seemed to leave the Romans in despair, and almost a questionable future down the line, as far as the lives lost and the rebuilding process that they had to do, but as time went on, the Romans were able to achieve way more success and control over Italy supremely, and defeating the Carthaginians, which actually lead to more successes down the line, and overall dominance as one of the most powerful Empire’s in the entire world, “they not only recovered their supremacy over Italy, by eventually conquering the Carthaginians, but before very long became masters of the whole world” (Halsall 118). By looking at an original glance, you would’ve presumed that the Romans were screwed, and there was no chance of success, but it’s surprising to see the nature of the success, and the lessons learned that helped the Romans recover and continue to possess dominance over the rest of the other Empires in the world. If situations like this hadn’t happened in the history of Rome, Rome would be in a different position, and probably wouldn’t have seen the mistakes they had made, to better prepare themselves for dominance down the line. It’s a prime example of turning a negative into a positive. - Nile Hesson
ReplyDeleteThe way the Roman's do war is quite interesting but smart at the same time. The Roman Empire would send out a delegate to the enemy or not the enemy and tell them that they needed to give the Romans what they wanted in a certain time and if they didn't they would go to war against that enemy and take what they wanted. The Roman's success in starting war is not surprising at all. They send an official delegate to most likely not just tell the enemy what their plans were but to map out the city he is visiting and the land surrounding it. The Roman king and senators even come together to vote about their options and even if they should go to war. They don't just head feet first into war whenever they want but they vote if they should go to war and they take their time in getting everything ready for war. The Romans only go to vote to go to war against their enemies if the enemy decides to not do what the Romans want them too. I do have to agree with Nile on how surprising it is that the Roman people would just tell the enemy what their plans are but again the Roman people didn't want to have to use resources and lose lives if they didn't have to and if the enemy would want to do the same and just give into the Roman people then that would save Rome resources and men. The Roman Empire was smart when it came to the art of war. In this sense it really doesn't surprise me that the wars they fought in were successes. Even how the Roman soldiers fought was wise. One of my favorite Roman war tactics was having a group of men with shields and spears with the shields protecting all of the men in the group and the spears going outward with the men slowly walking closer to the enemy. Overall, the Roman soldiers being successful in their war and declaring war is no surprise.
ReplyDeleteReading about how the Romans declared war was very interesting. The passage that caught my eye was this. "The [Roman] envoy when he comes to the frontier of the offending nation, covers his head with a woolen fillet, and says: Hear, O Jupiter, and hear ye lands _____ [i.e., of such and such a nation], let Justice hear! I am a public messenger of the Roman people. Justly and religiously I come, and let my words bear credit! Then he makes his demands, and follows with a solemn appeal to Jupiter. If I demand unjustly and impiously that these men and goods [in question] be given to me, the herald of the Roman people, then suffer me never to enjoy again my native country!"
ReplyDeleteI knew that the Romans worshipped many gods, but this surprised me. I didn't think that someone had to pray to Jupiter to help them win the war, but in the end it makes sense. Though this was superstition and their way of ensuring they won the war, they sometimes didn't win. With this being said, it is not surprising that Rome relied on their gods to win a war, it's just surprising how they made sure they would win the war.
I read Livy’s description of the Roman method of declaring war and I was very surprised by what I read. I was unaware of all the “pomp and circumstance” that went into declaring war. In my opinion all the fancy words and ceremonies were entirely unnecessary. It seems to me that before they even start fighting the Romans are trying to impose their will upon their opponents by forcing them to conform to their beliefs and pre-battle rituals. What if the opposing entity did not believe in the Roman gods (Hear, O Jupiter and you too, Juno---Romulus also, and all the celestial, terrestrial, and infernal gods!) or in such ritualistic ceremonies (because some of them were just weird and creepy - bringing a blood dipped javelin into another country??? Very weird!!). All of these pre-battle methods take up so much time, time that could be used better.
ReplyDelete