Rome’s beginning was as a small settlement on the banks of the Tiber River. During the centuries of the Roman Republic, Rome engaged in numerous conflicts that resulted in their gaining a large territorial state and becoming the dominate force in the Mediterranean. The reasons for Rome’s territorial achievements are many, but there are a few prominent elements to their ultimate success in both gaining and maintaining other territory. One reason for Roman success in building an extensive territorial state was because the military and military service was an important part of civic and political life. In addition, Rome was successful at developing a large territorial state because of their position regarding the varied independence of their defeated lands and their considerations for the citizenship of conquered people. Lastly, Rome expanded and sustained their hold over their territories by the establishment of colonies in strategic places.

The importance of war and the virtue of a strong war ethic in Roman life contributed to the establishment of territories beyond the original foundation. Warfare in Rome was a regular part of political and civic life. Campaigns took place every year and it was the duty of the consuls elected that year to organize their armies and their campaigns. Due to the regular campaigning of consuls, war was essential and necessary to their careers. Successful war campaigns brought with them honor and displayed military virtue. Men were eager to display their worth on the field, so regular warfare and conquest was necessary. For many other men, showing bravery on the battlefield opened up the chance for higher office. As these men fought to gain a reputation or to advance their careers, they began to collect territory for Rome. Serving in the military was a central duty for land owning male citizens. The availability of a large pool of men who could fight made regular war and conquest possible. The possibility of receiving substantial land as the result of the accumulation of new territory encouraged the poorer population of Rome to support war. With the necessary support from the Roman population, Roman consuls could campaign as they pleased with large bodies of Roman citizen armies to conquer and collect territory, building upon their initial foundation to grow into a large territorial state.

Rome also took a pragmatic approach concerning how to deal with conquered territories. When a land was conquered, the Romans rewarded loyalty and assimilated the defeated people into their society but still allowed a certain amount of cultural and governmental autonomy to remain. Some conquered people were given full citizenship and some people partial citizenship. The granting of citizenship would cause people to identify with Rome and encourage loyalty to Rome. Defeated people were more likely to accept the rule of Rome if they felt that they were being assimilated and accepted rather than being subjugated. One style of authority over an area was to make it a municipium. A municipium retained much of its old civic organization but could not make war and had to supply troops for further Roman campaigns or conquests, adding manpower to the Roman drive for more territory. Conquered people were allowed to have a varying sense of independence from Rome because they retained elements of their local government. Some areas even had the right to vote in Roman elections if they could get to Rome in person. Conquered lands could also be granted the status of Roman ally, which came with a wide range of benefits like legal marriage with a Roman citizen, enforceable contracts, and possible residence in Rome. Roman allies and municipia knew that they could depend on the Roman army to come to their aid if they were being threatened, so they benefited from the alliance in this way, too. To remain loyal to Rome and benefit was better than to defect and face harsh punishment. Rome also forced no taxes or tribute on them, which could have led to abuses and increased the chance of revolt. With each new municipium and ally assimilated in, Rome gained new territory and soldiers and kept what they gained because of their relative respect for conquered peoples and existing governments.

Not every territory was willing to endure the rule of Rome without some trouble. Some places proved to be difficult and resisted the control of the Romans. To maintain what territory they had gained, Rome had to develop strategies for keeping territories from revolting or being taken from them. In order to supervise, control, and protect their territories, Romans established communities, or colonies, in strategic places. The size of the colonies varied, but they were arranged to be self-functioning, sometimes losing their rights of Roman citizenship, with their own fighting and defense forces. The colonies allowed for a constant Roman and military presence in areas where revolt might be a problem or in places vulnerable to attack. Having a Roman army settled nearby would have served as a threat to anyone who considered taking up arms and resisting the Roman presence. It would have also threatened anyone who might have considered coming in and taking territory from Rome, protecting both allies and municipia and securing Rome’s domination of Italy.

The importance of the military, the virtues of a strong military ethic, and the presence of the military in every day political and civic life in Rome was one aspect of Rome’s success in growing from a small settlement to a large territory. Through conquest, Roman men were able to prove themselves, which made military service attractive. Plus, Rome had a substantial pool of soldiers to draw from in the landowning citizen class. Another element in Rome’s success at growing into a large territorial state was their relative fair treatment of conquered lands. Romans assimilated more than subjected, allowing some groups to remain largely independent, to become citizens, or even voters. Not only did this provide more men for military campaigns, but it lessened the chances of territories revolting to seek independence. There were benefits to allying with the Romans. Territories that did try to defect or were open to invasions that would threaten Roman hold over them were supervised or protected by colonies, each of which had their own Roman military force. This would effectively keep territories won by Rome under Roman authority and secure Roman dominance over first Italy and then the Mediterranean.