Campaigns

Roman Military Campaigns Cody Santos ( http://www.crystalinks.com/punicwars3.jpg ) The military campaign of the Roman Empire brought about the Punic wars, the success of Julius Caesar , and the Roman civil war. The Punic Wars were actually three different wars. Rome won all three of them. Rome and Carthage were “rivals”; Rome wanted control of the Mediterranean and Carthage was the only one standing in the way. The first and second war were easily won, in the third war Rome decided to finish Carthage off by completely burning their city and supposedly throwing salt on their soil so the land was no longer good to work on. (Punic Wars) Julius Caesar was one of the most powerful rulers in all of Roman history. Julius Caesar was one of the first to use his army to gain power in Rome. He joined the army when he was younger and he found an interest in politics. Caesar was appointed as consul in Gaul, France and used his army to gain more land for Rome. The Senate thought that Caesar was gaining to much power so they told him to turn himself over to Rome. Caesar refused and brought Rome to a civil war. After the Roman civil war Caesar went on to Asia minor which was described by these words “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (I came, I saw, I conquer) ( [|historylearningsite.com] ) In order for Caesar to successfully gain control of Rome he would have to defeat the large of army of Pompey. Caesar had to cross the Rubicon River and as soon as he crossed the civil war began. He then pursued Pompey and his supporters to the Balkans and defeated Pompey’s army in the Battle of Pharsalus. With this win, Caesar gained full power over Rome. Caesar became dictator of Rome, but failed to establish his power to the likings of the Senate and was assassinated five years after being appointed dictator. A second civil war occurred after the death of Caesar. The second civil war was led by Caesar’s assassins Brutus and Cassius, they were defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian, Caesar’s adoptive son. (Scarre, 8) The military campaigns of Rome eventually led to the fall of the Roman empire. They spent so much time perfecting their army and pursuing more land with their military powerhouse that they did not pay attention to their failing economy. The civil war destroyed the land so agriculture was out of the question. The military campaigns of Rome were the reason they had such a large empire, but they also destroyed the Roman Empire. (http://questgarden.com/62/15/1/080310122438/images/julius_caesar_statue.jpg )

Works Cited: 1. Kjeilen, Tore. "Punic Wars." 4 Dec 2008 . 2.  " Julius Caesar ." 4 Dec 2008 . 3.  Jenkins, Charla. ""Beware the Ides of March: A Webquest on Julius Caesar"." 4 Dec 2008 <"Julius Caesar ." 4 Dec 2008. >.   4.  "Punic Wars ." 4 Dec 2008 . 5. Scarre, Chris. __Chronicles of the Roman Emperors__. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995.