Think of the population it would have needed to field countless legions over a millennium. Think of the logistical nightmare Rome would have had merely to keep “occupied” Italy pacified for hundreds of years while the power of its manhood went about conquering the world. Look no further than Athens or Sparta for a perfect example of the limitations of a city-state. Greater Greece was neither a true empire nor the creation of one city-state. Alexander the Great's conquest of the Near East in the name of Greek culture lasted a mere 30 years. Neither the Greek homeland nor Macedonia's overseas possessions remained united any longer than the lifespan of Alexander himself. How was it possible, then, for one city in Italy to accomplish what the Greeks had failed to achieve?
Who were the Romans?
Ancient Rome was founded on April 21, 753 B.C. It was a Latin city — one of about thirty Latin cities in Italy inhabited by the Latini, a branch of the Italic tribes. In the earliest centuries Rome was neither the strongest nor the most important of the Latin cities (a distinction which belonged to the city of Alba Longa for nearly 500 years). Rome gradually became the most powerful Latin city as it expanded its domain across Italy and conquered the neighboring Italic tribes.
The Roman Empire was, more correctly, an Italo-Roman Empire. For Rome needed a nation to create its empire. Alone, the task was beyond its manpower and resources. The reason it is called the Roman Empire is because as Rome made its political alliances throughout the Italian peninsula it extended Roman citizenship to its Italic and Etruscan cousins. Hence, all Italians became Romans. Oftentimes, descendants of Rome's most ancient families referred to themselves as Quirites. (Even today, the President of Italy resides on the Quirinal Hill in Rome.) Virgil, Italy's poet laureate at about the time of Christ, put it very simply: the Roman Empire was the result of “the power of Roman stock allied to Italian valor.” (Sit Romana potens Itala virtute propago.)
Unquestionably, early on the Romans used their Italian cousins as cannon fodder and mistreated them, just as they had done a couple centuries earlier to their fellow Latins who lived in the other cities outside of Rome. But eventually there was a reckoning, a civil war in which the rest of the Italians demanded equality with their Roman cousins, and it was then that Europe's first nation-state was born.
The first century Roman historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus, reflecting back on the civil war, said:
“Just as their fortune was terrible, so their cause was so very just: for the Italians were seeking citizenship in that state whose empire they had protected by force of arms. Through all the years and in every war they had provided double the number of infantrymen and cavalrymen, but they had not received the same rights in that country which they had brought to such a point that it could despise men of the same ethnic origin and blood as though they were complete foreigners.”Florus, another Roman historian, wrote:
“Though we call this war a war against allies, in order to lessen the odium of it, yet, if we are to tell the truth, it was a war against brothers. For since the Roman people united in itself the Etruscans, the Latins and the Sabines, who all share the same blood and ancestry, it has formed a body made up of various members and is a single people composed of all these elements.”Although the old Romans liked to maintain the legend that they were descended from Trojans, they nevertheless admitted that their wandering Trojan antecedents intermarried with the Italic natives. Latin, the language of ancient Rome, is in fact classified as an Italic language related to the old languages of Lazio, Umbria, Abruzzo, Campania, Calabria, Veneto and many other Italian regions. But sharing the same blood and language, although it can certainly can help in forging a common identity, does not guarantee unity, as the lack of unity among the ancient Hellenes (Greeks) clearly demonstrates. Unlike the individualistic Hellenes who remained divided among themselves, these Italic cousins eventually shared their citizenship rights and obligations in common. Italy became the homeland of the Romans and held special privileges. Historians agree that by the time of Augustus men could speak of Rome and Italy as a unity.
The Romans organized the unified homeland into eleven administrative regions closely resembling today's twenty regions of Italy:
Region I: Latium et Campania
Region II: Apulia et Calabria
Region III: Lucania et Bruttium
Region IV: Samnium
Region V: Picenum
Region VI: Umbria
Region VII: Etruria
Region VIII: Aemilia
Region IX: Liguria
Region X: Venetia et Histria
Region XI: Transpadana
The islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica were added later as regions of Italy (although already by 44 B.C. the Sicilians were full Roman citizens like the other Italic people).
Roman lands located outside of Italy were called provinces; these territories were comprised mainly of non-citizens under the subjection of Imperial Italy.
Once unified, Imperial Italy became the cutting edge of civilization. It was a new civilization, forged from a combination of Italic culture and the Etruscan culture of Italy. Here was a new combination of values: the Etruscan appreciation for art and humanism, and the hard pragmatism and sense of justice of the Italic people. Imperial Italy now brought to the world stage new virtues that would facilitate empire. Rome was much more efficient and progressive than the Hellenic city-states. And unlike empires elsewhere it served its subjected peoples with a viral infrastructure — roads, sanitation, and social services — and with the rule of law.
In the matter of holding together a vast empire that covered an area of nearly 1.7 million square miles and contained some 80 million inhabitants of diverse backgrounds, Imperial Italy utilized colonies of Italians to project its power. “Wherever the Roman conquers, there he dwells” (ubicumque uicit Romanus habitat) stated Seneca, himself of Italian lineage but born in Hispania.
Whereas the Greeks planted coastal colonies and trading outposts that mirrored the mercantile commercialism of their own city-states, the ancient Italian colonies were made up of hardened army veterans who settled both on the coast and deep inland, working in both an urban setting and as agriculturalists, which greatly facilitated the spread of Roman civilization. Julius Caesar alone established about 30 overseas colonies utilizing 80,000 Italian veteran families. Augustus proudly reported that he had founded 75 colonies around the Mediterranean. The most famous and fruitful of all the ancient Italian colonies was in Hispania (modern Spain). It was a new city called, logically enough, Italica, and it produced two of the Empire's greatest emperors: Trajan and Hadrian.
With colonies such as Italica came Roman law and organization, not to mention the magnificent building programs that Italy was famous for. Over the years, these overseas Italians introduced the natives to the advantages of Italic civilization. The Empire never forced its language or culture onto its conquered subjects, but the provincials — recognizing the superiority and benefits of this civilization — willingly abandoned their own languages, adopted the Latin language and assimilated to the Italo-Roman culture brought to them by the Italians. So vital were these Italian colonies that many still survive: London, Budapest, Vienna, Beirut, Seville, Augsburg, Lyons, Istanbul, among many others.
Our Debt to Classical Italy
Imagine a world without Rome and you will soon grasp the legacy of Imperial Italy to our modern world. Were we to reverse the course of history and allow Carthage to defeat Rome two centuries before Christ, and were we to allow the German hordes co overrun Gaul, Spain and Italy at the time of Christ, what sort of cornerstone would “western civilization” have today? What nation would have been the bearer of the arts, sciences, law and order, if not Italy? Would the Christian religion and morality have been disseminated so thoroughly were there no Roman Empire or Pax Romana (the 200 years of Roman Peace)? Christianity would probably would have been a small religion with few adherents had there not been the free travel and the unifying languages (Latin and Greek) of the empire. Eternal salvation would have been denied to millions of souls! And, would Italian humanism have been instilled in the savage breast of western Europe without the stability of Roman government and law? The Greek states themselves likely would have been obliterated by the northern barbarians if the Italic legions had not defended the Danube. We can sum up Rome's (and Italy's) essential accomplishment thusly: having won the Mediterranean world, she developed its culture, gave it order, prosperity and peace for 200 years, held back the tide of barbarism for two centuries more, and transmitted classic heritage to the West before she fell.
But what of all the little things that we now take for granted that were bequeathed to us by Imperial Italy: the calendar, the Roman alphabet, tripartite government, the rule of law, construction technology, city planning, team sports and sports stadiums, agricultural science (Italians planted the first vineyards in ancient Gaul), contract law, letters of credit, risk insurance, stock issues and banking. The foundation of Italy's economic success during the Middle Ages can be traced to Imperial Italy. In the arts, it was Classical Italy that developed landscape painting, satire in literature and realism in sculpture. Sayings that we now take for granted came out of this period: All roads lead to Rome, Rome wasn't built in a day, Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, Home sweet home, Love conquers all, Quality not quantity, Not worth his salt, No sooner said than done, Head over heels, Hail and farewell, More brawn than brain, Buyer beware, Beware the dog.
For those who stand in awe of the genius of Italians today and of the sixty generations that were produced since the fall of the western Roman Empire — generations that produced composers, soldiers, scientists, saints, engineers, explorers, businessmen, athletes, authors, singers, and a myriad of other skills — should acknowledge the reason for it. Imperial Italy, in the course of five hundred years, built the finest and longest-lasting civilization the world has ever seen. Certainly the ancient Italian gene pool was filled with an overflow of talent and skills ready to flower, as it still is today, but the Empire gave the Italians an outlet to express themselves and spread their culture and ideas to others. Without Imperial Italy, the “Italian genius” we all know and love would not have existed outside of Italy, and western civilization would not exist today.
Criticisms Against Italy
In recent decades Imperial Italy has been depicted very negatively, with undo emphasis placed on the darker sides of Italian society, such as the carnage of the arena, pervasive slavery and brutal conquests, as if these were the whole picture of ancient Italy. Hollywood films such as Ben Hur, Spartacus and The Robe have fostered anti-Roman sentiment which has defined the Roman Empire as a cruel blot on human history in the eyes of the modern public. However, the ancient Italians were no worse than their contemporaries in Europe, Africa, or the Near East. In fact, Julius Caesar was considered humane by ancient standards because he refrained from murdering women and children during his conquest of Gaul. But one has only to read the Old Testament to learn how the Israelites annihilated Canaanite populations, women and children included. Similarly, the Greeks raped and pillaged each other with fierce cruelty. The Carthaginians practiced child sacrifice to placate their gods, as did several of the Celtic and Germanic tribes. The Romans actually learned crucifixion from the Carthaginians and gladiatorial combat from the Etruscans. Those who would judge ancient Italy harshly must place that judgement in the context of the times. One will then realize that ancient Italy was undoubtedly one of the most humane and civilized countries of the ancient world, despite any criticism given through modern lenses.
As regards conquest, the Italic people came by their empire, at first, for reasons of defense. Ancient Celts once invaded and occupied northern Italy and in 390 BC laid siege to the young city of Rome. The Italic people needed the Alps as a defensive line, and the conquest of northern Italy became a necessity for this purpose. Most of the Gauls were killed in the wars. The survivors were pushed back across the alps from whence they came, never to disturb Italy again.
Contrary to what some Hellenophiles believe, the Greeks were not the original inhabitants of southern Italy, nor were the Hellenic cities of Magna Graecia established according to the principle of peaceful coexistence either. In fact, these cities saw a considerable amount of warfare both against each other and against the native Italic tribes of southern Italy and Sicily whom the Greeks sought to keep in subjection. The Hellenes feared the aboriginal Italic tribes, who often rose in rebellion. The most famous case was the revolt of Ducetius, leader of the Sicels, who attempted to establish an independent Sicilian federation and reclaim Sicily from the Greeks. But above all, the Hellenic cities feared the fierce Romans and called in their Greek cousins to keep these Italic warriors in line. A Greek king called Pyrrhus invaded Italy and put up a strong fight against the Romans in every battle, but lost so many men in the process that the phrase “a Pyrrhic victory” came into our lexicon. The end result was an Italic victory and Rome's absorption of all southern Italy.
A reading of Roman history makes it clear that nearly every major campaign undertaken by the Romans was one of defense and survival, not grandeur: the famous wars against the Gauls, Greeks, Carthaginians, Germans and Illyrians all had perfectly reasonable casus belli. And so it went that in her own defense Italy conquered and vanquished one enemy after another. In some cases, Rome was invited into a foreign country to forestall a civil war and then never departed. Such was the case in Judea. And in the case of Pergamum in Anatolia, for example, the Romans took possession of the city because they were named as the heirs in the dying ruler's will in 133 B.C.
Running an Empire
As Emperor Augustus observed, it is not quite as difficult to conquer an empire as to maintain one. In this regard, Augustus was superior to Alexander. The Macedonian's empire only lasted some 30 years, whereas Imperial Italy, established by Augustus, lasted nearly 500 years, two hundred of which are known as the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, when the empire of 80 million enjoyed relative peace and prosperity.
Once conquered, the subjected people came to understand the benefits of peace and cooperation. Except for the security needs of the more recalcitrant provinces, Italy's legions were based along me frontiers, away from the pacified core. It is somewhat amazing to consider that a mere 30 legions (150,000 men) were under arms to defend an empire that covered three continents. Only Italians were permitted into the legions. They were supplemented with an equal number of local volunteer auxiliaries.
With the economic boom throughout the provinces came education for the masses. The Romans developed public school systems, public libraries, and professional certifications. Believe it or not, England under Roman rule had a higher rate of literacy than any British government for the next 14 centuries.
Accessing Imperial Italy
We know more about the ancient Italians and their subjects than any other people of the distant past. More information was disseminated in those years and more has come down to us than any other ancient civilizations. Unfortunately, the high rate of literacy throughout the Empire meant that even the gossip mongers had a wide audience, even before the invention of the printing press. Much of the “dirt” we think we know about Rome's ruling class came from questionable authors like Suetonius whose Lives of the Twelve Caesars — like a modern celebrity gossip rag — freely explored the private affairs of marginal emperors like Tiberius, Nero and Caligula. Relying on such accounts would be the equivalent of relying on Protestant authors to be the final word on the lives of the popes. Was there a Caligula among the Egyptian pharaohs, or a Nero among the emperors of China? Surely there were, but unlike Rome there was no free press in those civilizations, and thus no authors to document their dirty laundry. So, we mustn't think of the Romans as morally inferior to anyone.
In regards to the persecution of Christians, one of the most regretful and unfortunate events of Roman history, it must be remembered that while these persecutions were conducted by Roman state administrators, the majority of the victims were fellow Romans who died in the name Christ. It should not be forgotten also that these great persecutions were soon followed by an even greater conversion of the whole Empire. In fact, Christianity thrived under Italic dominion due in part to the protection afforded to Christians by the same Romans, who officially brought Christianity under the protection of the Empire for the last 163 years of its existence. On the other hand, the same can not be said of the Arabic, Indian and Chinese worlds, where Christians are still regularly persecuted to this day.
Unquestionably, Imperial Italy established Western Civilization — that unique blend of Greco-Roman thought, Etruscan arts, Italic organization, Roman law and Christian values — in the time it ruled the west. It inculcated a reverence for law, an appreciation for peace, and the concept that government serves the common good of the people. The Romans built roads, not monuments; they built aqueducts, not pyramids; they devoted their energies to constructing a global civilization, rather than to philosophy and idle speculation. By surviving as long as it did and by developing the bone and sinew of a great empire, Imperial Italy preserved the mechanisms that would energize the commerce of the Middle Ages and later inspire the Renaissance. For these things did not happen by accident.
As Pliny the Elder said in his Natural History:
“Italy is a land that is the nursling and mother of all other lands. Italy was chosen by the divine inspiration of the gods to enhance the renown of heaven itself...to give mankind civilization. To put it succinctly, Italy was to become the sole parent of all races throughout the world.”And because Italians colonized much of the western world, many of us, especially today's Italian people, can claim a direct link with Imperial Italy through Italic ancestry or through Roman culture. Its contributions have touched, in one way or another, all six inhabited continents and provide us with a framework for civilization today.
Ave Italia vetere! (Hail ancient Italy!)
References:
• Virgil (Aeneid, 31-19 BC)
• Marcus Velleius Paterculus (Roman History, 30 AD)
• Seneca (To Helvia on Consolation, c. 40 AD)
• Pliny the Elder (Natural History, 77-78 AD)
• Lucius Annaeus Florus (Epitome of Roman History, 2nd century AD)
