3) The Roman Empire was aggressively militant and dedicated to constant expansion. (Pretty much the opposite is the case. However, the Romans themselves sedulously fostered this mystique of the Roman military nature.) Sorry, I'm not getting this. Surely all their conquests were not by accident? (I'm being a bit sarcastic, here, because I can't help this joke, but I'm genuinely puzzled).
Once Rome had conquered the Italian peninsula, she was simply the biggest and strongest beast in the entire Mediterranean. The rest of the story is simply the result of successive entanglements in many different local issues and crises. The Roman army was certainly exceptionally skilful, but not more skilful or valiant than that of many enemies; the point was simply that there was a lot of them. You have to think in terms of the limits of the time. Pyrrhus and Hannibal, invading Italy, had the same problem as people who invaded Russia in modern times did: no matter how many battles they won and how many armies they destroyed, they could never manage to occupy all the enemy territory, and they kept on finding new armies raised against them. In the single day of Cannae, Hannibal killed 73,000 Romans - a figure worthy of the First World War; yet, within three weeks, the surviving consul had managed, by emergency enlistment, to raise 40,000 more. That is what possessing the Italian Peninsula meant.
Do you really think Carthaginians stood no chance? E.g. if they avoided very direct confrontation and first devoted themselves to securing Spain or getting hold of the East (Egypt)? Of course it's a mere speculation, but interesting because after beating Carthagine, Rome was left really with no competitors in the Mediterranian.
The other - more simplistic - answer to this would be: the Roman Empire was relatively peacufel and mainle devoted to defence of its (vast) realm. Which was created by quite aggressive Roman Republic... Oversimplification, but not so great...
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Date: 2006-01-15 07:51 pm (UTC)Sorry, I'm not getting this. Surely all their conquests were not by accident?
(I'm being a bit sarcastic, here, because I can't help this joke, but I'm genuinely puzzled).
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Date: 2006-01-15 08:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-15 11:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 09:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-15 11:39 pm (UTC)Which was created by quite aggressive Roman Republic...
Oversimplification, but not so great...
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Date: 2006-01-16 09:20 am (UTC)