The Republic of Rome
In 340 BC, the city of Rome, under its Republic, was embroiled in simmering conflict with the other members of the Latin League. According to historians, the Latins demanded that one of the Roman Consuls be elected from their number, while the Romans balked at this demand. The Roman Republic had just amended their constitution to divide up the dual consulship between one Patrician and one Plebeian, and neither class of Roman citizenry was willing to sacrifice their share of the supreme Magistracy in the Republic.
The demand of a Consulship was more of a symptom of the dispute between the Latins and Romans, rather that the cause, and war seemed inevitable, as the rest of the Latin League was eager to check Roman dominance. However, compromise was ultimately reached, as, after some particularly auspicious omens, the Romans and Latins agreed to expand the number of Consuls elected every year to three: two Roman - one Patrician and one Plebeian - and one Latin.
The crisis averted, the Latin League and Roman Republic - two increasingly indistinguishable terms - focused their attention southward towards Samnium, where they were eager to address the threat that the warlike inhabitants presented them. As the Romans and Samnites jockeyed for advantageous position and the most auspicious justification for war, events further south sparked a larger conflict.
Alexander Molossus
Alexander I of Epirus, uncle to Alexander the Great, sailed to the aid of the Greek colony of Taras (Roman Tarentum) in 334 BC. Taras had been under continual pressure from the surrounding peoples for some time, and Alexander was the latest Greek King to answer their request for aid in hopes of glory and wealth.
His campaign was largely successful, if prone to frequent setbacks. The natives of southern Italy were fiercely independent, and, like so many other fiercely independent people in history, the only thing that could unify them was a foreign army marching through their homeland. As Alexander went from one victory to another, signing treaties with the variously more amenable cities and tribes, his conquests would evaporate as his army marched away. The only treaty that seemed to hold up was that which was made with Rome, though this was most likely due to distance and the fact that both Alexander and Rome had a common enemy in the Samnites.
Determined to secure victory, Alexander spent the better part of the next decade slogging through the region, and was on the eve of total victory when the Republic of Syracuse, in one of more democratic phases, decided to throw its weight against the invading Epirote. Syracuse was fresh off a resounding victory over Carthage, and, with Sicily secure for itself, sought to expand into Magna Graecia, positioned as a liberator to its fellow Greek democracies in the peninsula.
It was while fighting the Syracusans, in 323 BC, near the Italian Acheron that Alexander fell in battle, in accordance with a prophecy which many consider to be the reason he was determined to conquer the area in the first place: it was foretold that he would die on the banks of the river Acheron. Alexander assumed the prophecy referred to the river named such in Epirus, rather than an identically named river in Italy.
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon fell ill in 323 BC, widely suspected to be due to poisoning. Whatever the reason may be, it was widely accepted that he was near death, and his loyal soldiers filed past his prone, mute form. However, the young king persisted and, within a few weeks, was fully recovered. True to form, Alexander did not let a minor inconvenience like a brush with death dampen his enthusiasm. He was still Alexander the Great, he was still young, and there were still countries in the world left to be conquered.
First on that list was Arabia, which was invaded from both the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Up to this point, the invasion of Arabia was the greatest naval undertaking of Alexander's career, and the campaign, lasting until 321 BC, secured the naval lines from Egypt to Persia and beyond to India. It also provided the Macedonians the opportunity to fully grasp the importance of the monsoon trade winds.
As valuable as that knowledge would prove, Alexander's sights were now firmly on the west, where the wealth of Carthage lay beckoning him, and the murder of his uncle at the hands of the Syracusans required response. So, in 320 BC, the fleet Alexander had been building since his brush with death sailed west, complimenting the invasion army that marched along the coast, subjugating the Greek Republic of Cyrene peacefully, before finally reaching Carthage.
The Punic Republic of Carthage made some efforts to resist Alexander, but, as with so many previous conquests, they never truly stood a chance. They acquitted themselves admirably at sea, though the sheer size and number of Alexander's ships proved to be insurmountable; the Carthagians might be able to sink twice their number in any skirmish and still lose. On land, they fared much worse, never coming close to winning a battle. By 319 BC, Alexander's army had reached the city, and the Suffets (The Carthagian analogue to Consul) surrendered Carthage to Alexander, maintaining only nominal control over the city. The locals chafed under the foreign conquest, but mercantile activity maintained Carthage's relevance in the new order.
Alexander then turned north to Sicily, eager to punish Syracuse for the insult of defeating a close relative in battle. The Syracusan fleet was defeated by a combined Macedonian-Carthagininan fleet, and the city was put under siege. Syracuse held out for half a year, but it, like so many others, fell to Alexander. Moving into Magna Graecia, Alexander found no organized resistance until encountering the Samnites, who were engaged in war against the Roman Republic.
The Great Samnite War
By the time Alexander reached Italy, Rome and its allies were in a pitched war against the Samnites and found the hill tribes to be the most implacable foe the Republic had yet faced. The Romans, using the classic Hoplite model on which most of the Mediterranean civilizations based their armies, were continually outmaneuvered and defeated by the more flexible army of the Samnites. The humiliation was completely anathema to the Roman character, and something had to be done. They were determined not to lose, and could not afford to be exhausted with the looming threat of the Macedonian juggernaut working its way west.
In 318 BC, the Romans concluded an affirmation that Alexander the Great would honor the treaty the Republic had signed with his uncle, Alexander Molossus, thus saving the Republic from one threat. Able to focus their energy on the Samnites, the Romans began to incorporate much of the Samnites' battle formations, a military revolution that would become known as the Manipular system. This process was hastened by the near defeat of Alexander's army near the town of Venusia by the Samnites.
Alexander's ego, of course, would not allow him to actually lose a battle, though the battle Venusia would tax his abilities to their limit. Hoplite armies were of little use in broken terrain such as that in Italy, nor could Alexander's famed Companion Cavalry be put to optimum use in uneven ground. It is likely that Alexander did not even seek to engage in a battle on such unfavorable terrain, but was forced to. The battle was a long, drawn out affair, and the king would spend much of the time working to maintain the order of his lines, constantly in danger of being breached or outflanked, rather than any sophisticated maneuvers against the Samnites.
At the end of the day, the Macedonians stood triumphant, though the victory was the epitome of a Pyrrhic victory (as anachronistic as that term may be). The accounts of how the rest of the Samnite War concluded differ between Roman and Greek accounts. Both versions agree on the basic structure of the war after Venusia: Rome and Macedonia effectively acted as a hammer and anvil on a grand scale against the Samnites. The dispute lies in which side was the hammer striking against the enemy, and which was merely there to chew up the survivors.
The answer is likely lost to time, though, depending on how quickly the Romans were able to adopt the manipular system, it would make more sense for them, rather than the Macedonian hoplites, to strike into the rugged heart of Samnium. Whatever the situation may be, by 315 BC, the Samnites were defeated, with the Roman Republic pre-eminent north of the river Aufidus (Ofanto), and Alexander's forces in control south of the river.
There is also dispute as to the relationship of the treaty between Rome and Alexander. Some posit that the Republic was one of many vassals to the Macedonian king, while Roman sources insist that it was an alliance of equal sovereigns. Whatever the case may be, Alexander was declared a Friend of Rome, and even visited the city. Ultimately, Alexander went back east to consolidate his hold over the eastern half of the Mediterranean before engaging in any more adventures, while the Romans looked to the north, where the Etruscans, Umbrians, Sabines, and the various Cisalpine Gallic tribes still stood in opposition to Roman expansion.
In 340 BC, the city of Rome, under its Republic, was embroiled in simmering conflict with the other members of the Latin League. According to historians, the Latins demanded that one of the Roman Consuls be elected from their number, while the Romans balked at this demand. The Roman Republic had just amended their constitution to divide up the dual consulship between one Patrician and one Plebeian, and neither class of Roman citizenry was willing to sacrifice their share of the supreme Magistracy in the Republic.
The demand of a Consulship was more of a symptom of the dispute between the Latins and Romans, rather that the cause, and war seemed inevitable, as the rest of the Latin League was eager to check Roman dominance. However, compromise was ultimately reached, as, after some particularly auspicious omens, the Romans and Latins agreed to expand the number of Consuls elected every year to three: two Roman - one Patrician and one Plebeian - and one Latin.
The crisis averted, the Latin League and Roman Republic - two increasingly indistinguishable terms - focused their attention southward towards Samnium, where they were eager to address the threat that the warlike inhabitants presented them. As the Romans and Samnites jockeyed for advantageous position and the most auspicious justification for war, events further south sparked a larger conflict.
Alexander Molossus
Alexander I of Epirus, uncle to Alexander the Great, sailed to the aid of the Greek colony of Taras (Roman Tarentum) in 334 BC. Taras had been under continual pressure from the surrounding peoples for some time, and Alexander was the latest Greek King to answer their request for aid in hopes of glory and wealth.
His campaign was largely successful, if prone to frequent setbacks. The natives of southern Italy were fiercely independent, and, like so many other fiercely independent people in history, the only thing that could unify them was a foreign army marching through their homeland. As Alexander went from one victory to another, signing treaties with the variously more amenable cities and tribes, his conquests would evaporate as his army marched away. The only treaty that seemed to hold up was that which was made with Rome, though this was most likely due to distance and the fact that both Alexander and Rome had a common enemy in the Samnites.
Determined to secure victory, Alexander spent the better part of the next decade slogging through the region, and was on the eve of total victory when the Republic of Syracuse, in one of more democratic phases, decided to throw its weight against the invading Epirote. Syracuse was fresh off a resounding victory over Carthage, and, with Sicily secure for itself, sought to expand into Magna Graecia, positioned as a liberator to its fellow Greek democracies in the peninsula.
It was while fighting the Syracusans, in 323 BC, near the Italian Acheron that Alexander fell in battle, in accordance with a prophecy which many consider to be the reason he was determined to conquer the area in the first place: it was foretold that he would die on the banks of the river Acheron. Alexander assumed the prophecy referred to the river named such in Epirus, rather than an identically named river in Italy.
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon fell ill in 323 BC, widely suspected to be due to poisoning. Whatever the reason may be, it was widely accepted that he was near death, and his loyal soldiers filed past his prone, mute form. However, the young king persisted and, within a few weeks, was fully recovered. True to form, Alexander did not let a minor inconvenience like a brush with death dampen his enthusiasm. He was still Alexander the Great, he was still young, and there were still countries in the world left to be conquered.
First on that list was Arabia, which was invaded from both the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Up to this point, the invasion of Arabia was the greatest naval undertaking of Alexander's career, and the campaign, lasting until 321 BC, secured the naval lines from Egypt to Persia and beyond to India. It also provided the Macedonians the opportunity to fully grasp the importance of the monsoon trade winds.
As valuable as that knowledge would prove, Alexander's sights were now firmly on the west, where the wealth of Carthage lay beckoning him, and the murder of his uncle at the hands of the Syracusans required response. So, in 320 BC, the fleet Alexander had been building since his brush with death sailed west, complimenting the invasion army that marched along the coast, subjugating the Greek Republic of Cyrene peacefully, before finally reaching Carthage.
The Punic Republic of Carthage made some efforts to resist Alexander, but, as with so many previous conquests, they never truly stood a chance. They acquitted themselves admirably at sea, though the sheer size and number of Alexander's ships proved to be insurmountable; the Carthagians might be able to sink twice their number in any skirmish and still lose. On land, they fared much worse, never coming close to winning a battle. By 319 BC, Alexander's army had reached the city, and the Suffets (The Carthagian analogue to Consul) surrendered Carthage to Alexander, maintaining only nominal control over the city. The locals chafed under the foreign conquest, but mercantile activity maintained Carthage's relevance in the new order.
Alexander then turned north to Sicily, eager to punish Syracuse for the insult of defeating a close relative in battle. The Syracusan fleet was defeated by a combined Macedonian-Carthagininan fleet, and the city was put under siege. Syracuse held out for half a year, but it, like so many others, fell to Alexander. Moving into Magna Graecia, Alexander found no organized resistance until encountering the Samnites, who were engaged in war against the Roman Republic.
The Great Samnite War
By the time Alexander reached Italy, Rome and its allies were in a pitched war against the Samnites and found the hill tribes to be the most implacable foe the Republic had yet faced. The Romans, using the classic Hoplite model on which most of the Mediterranean civilizations based their armies, were continually outmaneuvered and defeated by the more flexible army of the Samnites. The humiliation was completely anathema to the Roman character, and something had to be done. They were determined not to lose, and could not afford to be exhausted with the looming threat of the Macedonian juggernaut working its way west.
In 318 BC, the Romans concluded an affirmation that Alexander the Great would honor the treaty the Republic had signed with his uncle, Alexander Molossus, thus saving the Republic from one threat. Able to focus their energy on the Samnites, the Romans began to incorporate much of the Samnites' battle formations, a military revolution that would become known as the Manipular system. This process was hastened by the near defeat of Alexander's army near the town of Venusia by the Samnites.
Alexander's ego, of course, would not allow him to actually lose a battle, though the battle Venusia would tax his abilities to their limit. Hoplite armies were of little use in broken terrain such as that in Italy, nor could Alexander's famed Companion Cavalry be put to optimum use in uneven ground. It is likely that Alexander did not even seek to engage in a battle on such unfavorable terrain, but was forced to. The battle was a long, drawn out affair, and the king would spend much of the time working to maintain the order of his lines, constantly in danger of being breached or outflanked, rather than any sophisticated maneuvers against the Samnites.
At the end of the day, the Macedonians stood triumphant, though the victory was the epitome of a Pyrrhic victory (as anachronistic as that term may be). The accounts of how the rest of the Samnite War concluded differ between Roman and Greek accounts. Both versions agree on the basic structure of the war after Venusia: Rome and Macedonia effectively acted as a hammer and anvil on a grand scale against the Samnites. The dispute lies in which side was the hammer striking against the enemy, and which was merely there to chew up the survivors.
The answer is likely lost to time, though, depending on how quickly the Romans were able to adopt the manipular system, it would make more sense for them, rather than the Macedonian hoplites, to strike into the rugged heart of Samnium. Whatever the situation may be, by 315 BC, the Samnites were defeated, with the Roman Republic pre-eminent north of the river Aufidus (Ofanto), and Alexander's forces in control south of the river.
There is also dispute as to the relationship of the treaty between Rome and Alexander. Some posit that the Republic was one of many vassals to the Macedonian king, while Roman sources insist that it was an alliance of equal sovereigns. Whatever the case may be, Alexander was declared a Friend of Rome, and even visited the city. Ultimately, Alexander went back east to consolidate his hold over the eastern half of the Mediterranean before engaging in any more adventures, while the Romans looked to the north, where the Etruscans, Umbrians, Sabines, and the various Cisalpine Gallic tribes still stood in opposition to Roman expansion.
