罗马对意大利半岛的征服及统治政策

The Roman Conquest and Ruling Policy toward Italian Peninsula

公元前 6世纪初 ,罗马只不过是意大利半岛台伯河畔一个占地不足 50平方英里的年轻共和国[1] 。到公元前 3世纪中叶竟发展成为号令意大利半岛 (除波河流域外 )的霸主。短短的几百年间 ,罗马的势力迅猛膨胀 ,对意大利半岛进行了全面地征服。面对征服后各地区所出现的新形势 ,罗马统治者不断地调整统治政策 ,使意大利半岛成为罗马向地中海区域进行更大规模扩张的稳固根据地。换言之 ,罗马对意大利半岛的征服 ,为罗马实现在地中海区域建立庞大帝国的美梦提供了先决条件。因而 ,探讨罗马对意大利半岛的征服及其统治政策 ,对深入了解罗马帝国的扩张史及其称霸地中海区域后所实施的统治政策有重要意义。

The influence of the Roman Empire in antiquity was immense, and it is also true today. At the peak of Roman Empire, the Romans ruled the entire Mediterranean basin from the fringes of the Sahara in the south to beyond the Rhine and Danube in the north, eastwards to the head of the Persian Gulf, Syrian and Arabian deserts, and westwards to the Atlantic and North and Irish Seas.Rome was only a small republic in 509BC, and was situated in the south of Tiber River in Latium of Italy. At that time, the Romans had to face very dangerous situation because they had many strong neighbours. In the worst situation, the Romans had to make themselves strong. The Roman army began as a citizen army under the Republic which was called out when need arose. The Romans became stronger and stronger, they conquered Veii city in 396BC, wined victories of the war of Gaul in 390BC and Samnites' war, then defeated Greek army of Pirrhus in 265BC. Until 264BC, the Romans became the ruler of Italy. Why did the Romans' conquest get along smoothly in Italy?In my opinion, at first, the Romans had a very excellent army, every Roman citizen was a soldier, the Romans thought they fought for their country, and they always kept the Martial Spirit. At last they were successful in Italy by their army.The second, the Roman policy of Italy was very efficient. The Romans could adjust their policy according to the new situation. For example, they used the policy of Socii, Coloniae, Municipia, in order to control differently the Italian people.After the Romans became the ruler of Italy, they started to spread their military actions to the Mediterranean areas.