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| 149–146 |
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| The THIRD PUNIC WAR arose from alarm and hatred among conservative Romans over Carthage's economic revival. Carthage had completed its 50 years of indemnity payment in 152. The occasion was an attack by Carthage (150) on Rome's ally, Massinissa. The Carthaginians offered submission but refused to vacate their city. With almost no resources they withstood a siege until Scipio Aemilianus captured and destroyed Carthage (146). The Romans organized a small area around Carthage as the province of Africa but left the rest to the sons of Massinissa (d. 149). | 1 |
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| 149–148 |
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| THE FOURTH MACEDONIAN WAR. A pretended son of Perseus, Andriscus, provoked the war but was defeated by Q. Caecilius Metellus. In 146 Macedonia became a Roman province. | 2 |
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| 146 |
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| Against Roman orders, the Achaeans made war on Sparta. They were defeated by Metellus and L. Mummius. The latter sacked Corinth, sent its art treasures to Rome, sold its inhabitants into slavery, and burned the city (at the order of the Roman senate). The remaining Greek cities retained a certain measure of autonomy under the governor of Macedonia, though they paid tribute. Not until later (127) did they become organized as the Province of Achaea. | 3 |
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| 135–132 |
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| The First Servile War broke out when the ill-treated slaves of the large Sicilian estates revolted under the Syrian Eunus, who called himself King Antiochus. Eunus held Henna and Tauromenium against Roman armies but was finally captured and his supporters brutally executed. | 4 |
| By 133 Rome possessed nine overseas provinces. The methods employed by the Romans to organize their Italian conquests proved inadequate for these territories. Rome determined to administer provinces by maintaining an army in the conquered territory and placing it under the command of a magistrate with imperium (a consul or praetor), who also exercised a supervisory judicial function. Thus the word provincia, which traditionally signified a magistrate's sphere of military responsibility, came to have the territorial denotation of “province.” The inhabitants of overseas provinces were required to pay annual tribute to Rome, but not ordinarily to send soldiers to fight in Rome's wars. Since the staff of a provincial magistrate was small, interference with local communities was limited to maintaining order and ensuring the collection of tribute. The growing number of provinces, together with Rome's other increasing military commitments, created the need for more magistrates capable of commanding armies. Additional praetors were elected—two in 227 for Sicily and Sardinia-Corsica, and two in 197 for the two Spanish provinces—raising the total to six a year, but the more economical solution of prolonging provincial commands was adopted. It was within the discretion of the senate to extend or “prorogue” the imperium of magistrates, making them proconsuls or propraetors. Empire also increased administrative needs. Field armies had to be equipped, roads built and maintained, and tribute collected. Rome had a very scant civil service because such tasks were contracted out through bidding conducted every five years by the censors to companies of private businessmen (publicani). As the Empire grew, such contracts became lucrative and attracted members of Rome's wealthy nonpolitical class—the equites or knights. The system led to corruption and abuse of provincials by both senatorial governors and the publicani, and eventually created serious conflicts of interest between equestrians and the senatorial class responsible for governing. A further effect of transmarine provinces was the necessity for a standing provincial army. Citizen soldiers stationed in provinces were not only prohibited from returning to their farms for harvest or for winter—that had been impractical for some time—but could be kept in overseas service for up to six consecutive years, with serious economic and social consequences. | 5 |
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