Roman Crisis
... into conflict with Carthage for the mastery of the Mediterranean Sea in three struggles which the called the Punic Wars. After the second Punic War, Rome began to expand in the east. At first the acted to protect their allies along Italy’s coast from pirate raids. Rome soon became involved in the conflicts between Macedonia and Greece. Rome began to acquire these other countries and triumphed overseas. However, the Romans faced growing discontent at home. Unemployment rose because plantations that were worked by slaves were driving out the farmers and the gap between the rich and poor widened. Tiberius and Gracchus, two brothers, tried to distribute state-owned land to the poor, but failed (because of the Senate’s rulings). They were both assassinated and many of their followers were executed.. In the later years of the Roman Republic, conflicts among the leaders caused upheaval. A war began with Jugurtha, the kind of Numidia, which was south of Carthage. The Jugurthine War was prosecuted with little enthusiasm and the Roman people grew suspicious of the Senate. Gaius Marius was a consul of Rome that defeated Jugurtha, but it was his lieutenant, Sulla, who defeated him for good. Sulla felt that Marius was being given credit for the work that he (Sulla) had done. The rivalry between the two men resulted in a civil war in 88 B.C. Sulla was later appointed dictator with complete control in times of crisis. He quickly tried to reform the government and make changes by restoring power to the Senate and uprooting the authority of the assembly. Rather than following through, Sulla brought about a new way of doing government. As a general, he used his own army to kill his many people (most of which were his opponents). This was the beginning of something very dangerous. Sulla’s reforms didn’t restore order to Rome. Rather, they provoked ...