Learning Journal
Rome’s conquest of Syria and Egypt further extended its control in Asia and Africa. Based on your understanding of the two conquests, answer any one of the following questions.
Put yourself in the position of Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire of Syria.
How would you have acted differently in order to avoid conflict with Rome?
OR
Concerning the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, it is stated in World History Encyclopedia “she was simply on the wrong side of a power struggle” (Wasson, 2016).
Which power struggle is the author referring to here?
Being in Cleopatra’s shoes, what would you have done to avoid the Roman conquest of Egypt?
The Learning Journal entry should be a minimum of 500 words and not more than 750 words. Use APA citations and references if you use ideas from the readings or other sources.
YOU CAN USE OR ADD OTHER JOURNALS OR INFORMATION.
Introduction
In the previous unit, we learned about the rise of Rome and the Roman Republic. But Rome
was not the only city in the region of Italy known as Latium. Much like the Greeks, the people of Latium also lived in independent city-states. They had a common language, worshipped the same gods and celebrated similar festivals but often came into conflict with each other. For example, the city of Etruria situated to the north of Rome and ruled by Etruscans often attacked cities in the Latium.
Hence, defense was central to Rome’s military and political policies. At the same time, expansion into the Italian peninsula would prove beneficial for trade by eliminating its rivals. A relatively new player in the Latium, Rome soon rose to a powerful position and began to conquer the lands and people in its neighborhood. Naturally, it had to fight many wars to achieve dominance in Italy. Soon, it looked beyond Italy to the whole of Mediterranean, and eventually far off lands in Asia and Africa. In this unit, we will learn about the wars and conquests at home and abroad that led to Rome’s rise as a global power.
Conquest of Italy and Carthage
Conquest of Italy and Carthage
The Roman conquest of Italy. (n.d.). UNRV Roman History.
This article gives a detailed analysis of Rome’s consolidation of Latium by describing the various conflicts and wars that it fought in the process.
After reading the article, scroll down to the table of contents and read:
Veii and the Etruscans
The Gallic Sack of Rome
The Samnite Wars
The Latin Revolt and the End of the Latin League
The Pyrrhic War
Coco, A. A. (2019). Cause, course, and consequence: The Punic wars (264 BCE to 146 BCE) (Publication no. 645) [Honors thesis, Wellesley College]. Wellesley College Digital Repository.
This paper discusses the causes and consequences of the First and Second Punic wars on Rome.
Read pp. 6 – pp. 45 and pp. 133 – pp. 144.
Video:
Ancient Rome Live. (2020, October 30). Rome’s conquest of Italy: 509-272 BCE – Ancient Rome live [Video]. YouTube.
The Macedonian Wars
The first Macedonian war. (n.d.) UNRV Roman History.
This article discusses the events and consequences of the First Macedonian War.
The second Macedonian war. (n.d.) UNRV Roman History.
This article discusses the events and consequences of the Second Macedonian War.
The third Macedonian war. (n.d.) UNRV Roman History.
This article discusses the events and consequences of the Third Macedonian War.
The fourth Macedonian war. (n.d.) UNRV Roman History.
This article discusses the events and consequences of the Fourth Macedonian War.
Conquest of Syria & Egypt
Immacolata, E. (2015). Syrian Wars. In Y. Le Bohec. (Ed.), Wiley Online Library. John Wiley & Sons.
Wasson, D. L. (2016, October 24). Roman Egypt. In World History Encyclopedia.
This article discusses the early relations of Rome and Egypt, Rome’s conquest of Egypt, Egyptian attitude towards Roman control and the end of Rome’s hold over it.
Video:
Kings and Generals. (2017, November 9). Battle of Magnesia 190 BC Roman-Seleucid Syrian war documentary [Video]. YouTube.
