Already by the years 192 to 188 BC Rome was getting involved in Asia. The Republic had gone to war with Antiochus III, who had forced the Egyptians out of Syria and Palestine, after re-establishment of Seleucid rule in the campaign in Bactria. He was allied with the Aetolian League and wanted to obtain the Ptolemaic possessions in the Aegean and landed in Thessaly. After the defeat of Antiochus at Thermopylae in 191 BC, Rome won the battle of Magnesia over Antiochus. The Aetolian League was defeated in 189 BC by the seizure of Ambracia. In 188 BC, the Peace of Apamea required Antiochus to pay 15,000 talents in 12 annual installments and to surrender all warships to Rome. The possessions in Asia Minor, north of the Taurus were given to Rhodes and Pergamum, making them, as client states to the Romans, factors that extended her influence and provided a balance to the power of the Seleucid kingdom. Syria and Egypt, the two local powers, after witnessing this defeat quickly learned to put up with meddling Roman ambassadors and recognized Roman hegemony.
The extent and speed of Rome's rise to power was astonishing, although Rome's formal empire was still limited, being largely to Sicily, Macedon and parts of Spain. However, the actual extent of Rome's power by the 140s BC was in some new and strange lands, of which not many Romans had even heard of. There were many citizens of the Republic who felt a great sense of pride in Rome's achievements. However, many citizens also felt a sense of unease. Roman moralists, who had a history of always comparing Rome's present unfavorably with her past (as most moralists do), did not have to search far and wide to see the corrupting effects of empire. Anything from the plundered treasures of the East being bought and sold in Rome's marketplaces to the foreign languages and philosophies coming to her streets could evoke distress as well as pride. The salt of the earth peasant values that had helped Rome to become an empire never seemed more admirable, as when they were being neglected. "The Republic is founded on its ancient customs and its manpower," stated Cicero quoting Ennius in The Republic. This had been said with pride after the triumph against Hannibal. The startling transformation of the little city-state, from backwater to empire had unsettled some Romans and made them fearful of the jealousy of the gods.
There was an uncomfortable ambiguity with the Republic's interactions and empire building, as it seemed to be both a measure of Rome's success and decline at the same time. There were no lack of omens relating to Rome's possible destruction. As great as she had become, wonders-both natural and supernatural were said to have disturbed her citizens. If the omens were very troubling, the Sibyl's prophetic books would be consulted. For a long time it seemed that the proper interpretations and remedies were found in the oracular book. The Republic would be saved and the ancient customs of their ancestors would be preserved. Citizens could wonder-Would this always be the case? Was Rome really an 'eternal' city? The times-they were a changin, and soon some crises appeared that could not be averted or healed by ancient rituals. Rome's introduction to the stage of world history had set a chain of events in motion that were not easily slowed down or dealt with, even by consulting the ancient books of the Sibyl.
In a foretaste of what was to come, it was said that with the destruction of two of the greatest cities of the Meditteranean, Corinth and Carthage, that the Sibyl thought a curse put on Rome. This curse was born in the smoke and ruin of the two cities annihilation. It was said that Scipio had wept as he watched the fires in the midst of the crumbling walls of the once great city of Carthage-those fires burned for seventeen days. Perhaps, even at the time of the vanquishing of Rome's most feared enemy, when the world seemed like the Romans for the taking, Scipio could sense how fickle the hand of fate could be.
I had hoped to do more with this blog today-but time constraints really got to me. I do hope to be able to have the next post here very soon. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!
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