Streams of History: Ancient Rome (Yesterday's Classics) (4 page)

But I have not yet told you all about Carthage. Like Rome, she was a conquering country, and after several centuries came to own and control a vast surrounding country. At first, as I told you, Carthage was a mere trading-post. For a great many years she paid rents to the natives around her for the use of their land, because at first she did not wish to own land herself, but was content to carry on a city trade. As time went on the Greeks began to move into their city. Carthage then saw that if she did not keep them out, the number of the Greeks would gradually increase, and finally the Carthaginians would be crowded out, just as the Greeks had crowded out the Phœnicians in southern Italy. Of course Carthage had no right to order the Greeks to stay out of the country about her, for it did not belong to her. But at last, four hundred years after she had been paying rent to the natives, she refused to do so any longer, and took possession of it. Carthage now ordered the Greeks to stay out, and began pushing the tribes about her farther and farther back into the country, and claiming all the conquered land for herself. In this way the nobles of Carthage got immense farms. But after getting them they must get men to till them, for the Carthaginian nobles did not work much themselves. Now you must see how Carthage obtained her laborers.

Let us again follow the quinqueremes as they go on their journeys. Hundreds of them sail westward, past the Pillars of Hercules, and creep down the western coast of Africa. Here at night hundreds of men slip into the negro villages and snatch the sleeping negro men, women and children from their homes, bind them in chains and load them on their ships. Thus thousands and hundreds of thousands of negro slaves are carried into Carthage. They are then sold to the nobles, sent out to the great farms, and forced to work under the lash. It is said that many single farmers owned as many as twenty thousand slaves. So you can easily see how the Carthaginians made part of their money; it was by slave-labor, not by their own. Do you believe these slaves would love Carthage and the great farms as much as the Roman farmers loved Rome and the little farms which they had made by their own toil?

Gradually, as Carthage grew to be a great country at home, she established trading-posts wherever she went, just as Tyre had done. At the time at which we are studying,—that is, about two hundred and fifty years before Christ was born,—she extended along the northern coast of Africa from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of one thousand six hundred miles, or farther than from St. Louis to New York. She owned Corsica and Sardinia; also cities in Spain and western Sicily. You shall hear more of why she wished Sicily after a while.

But I must tell you that Carthage treated the people whom she ruled quite differently from the way Rome at this time treated her subjects. You already know how Rome built fine roads to her conquered cities, compelled them to trade with her, and soon made them proud to be called Romans. The tribes about Carthage hated her because she oppressed them sorely and made them pay exceedingly heavy taxes. For example, Leptis, a small city south of Carthage, is said to have paid $400,000 in taxes every year; and to make a dollar then perhaps required as much work as to make ten dollars now. If any of the cities delayed the least in the payment of taxes, or grumbled, the leading citizens were put in chains, beheaded, or crucified at once. The surrounding tribes were compelled to raise only such crops as Carthage required, and to supply whatever she ordered; no one was allowed to own a weapon of any sort, because Carthage was always afraid of a rebellion; if a village rebelled against Carthage, all the inhabitants were sold into slavery.

You may wonder why all these tribes permitted this so long. I will tell you the main reason. With part of the taxes obtained from her subjects, Carthage hired people to fight for her. Most of her own citizens would not fight, for they were too busy trading. Now you can see if a time comes, when Carthage is unable to pay her soldiers, or if any other country is able to pay more than Carthage, we shall not be surprised to find the people she has conquered and oppressed fighting against her. How different all this is from Rome at this time! The Roman farmers, almost to a man, proudly fought for Rome, because Rome gave them good laws, protected their homes, built roads to their farms, and at this time taxed them lightly as compared with Carthage.

So now you can see, I hope, in your minds as well as on the map, the position of two rich and powerful cities,—Rome in the center of Italy, and Carthage three hundred and fifty miles south, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Each is looking with jealous eye toward the other. At the least trifle they will jump at each other's throats like two mad dogs.

But I mentioned Sicily a while ago, and said you should hear more of it. Look again at the map and notice the three-cornered island at the toe of the boot. This island is Sicily. As I have said before, the boot is drawn back as if to kick, and you shall learn before long that the country of Rome really did treat Sicily very roughly. Look at the great Mediterranean Sea, and you will see that this island is almost in the middle of it. It looks as if Sicily is between two large lakes,—the eastern and western halves of the Mediterranean. What a fine stopping place this must have been for the ships in their long journeys from Greece, Phœnicia or Egypt, to Rome, Spain and the islands of the western Mediterranean and far away England! It makes us think of the Hawaiian Islands, in the middle of the Pacific, where our own ships stop for coal, fresh water and new supplies on their long trips to Japan, China, India and the Philippine Islands. Since Sicily had been the stopping place of the Mediterranean ships for a thousand years, it is easy to see why many different peoples would want it and be willing to fight for it. You remember of learning in the previous volume of this serieshow the Greeks flocked to this island from their native country and built great cities upon it.

But look again at the map, and you will see that this island is not so very much farther from the city of Rome than it is from Carthage. The northeastern corner almost touches the southern part of Italy. In fact it is only two miles from it. The western corner of the island is not much more than a hundred miles from Carthage. A trireme could easily run across between sunrise and sunset. So here are two great cities, one mighty on land, the other mighty on sea, both eagerly eyeing Sicily. Can you see the two hungry dogs, as we said awhile ago, ready to jump for the bone? But is the bone worth fighting for? Let us look farther and see. Sicily is the largest island of the Mediterranean Sea, being just a little larger than New Jersey. But how different its surface is from New Jersey! No land could well be more mountainous than Sicily. In it are no large, flat farms, as there are in New Jersey or Kansas, for example. Indeed there is not a spot in the whole island that is out of sight of a large hill, and in most places lofty mountains are in sight. Since this island is so small, of course there are no large rivers, and hence we shall see no ships on them, as we have seen so often on the Nile and Tiber. There were, however, upon the island many small creeks, streams and springs. During the winter rains these became little torrents, but during the summer they became almost or completely dry.

If we were to imagine ourselves in Sicily during the spring or summer, we should see everything fresh and green, for the slopes of the hills and the little valleys were very rich and fertile. Forests would cover the hills and mountains. We would also find hundreds of orchards and vineyards on the hill slopes. And I must tell you that such an abundance of grain was raised on this island, and so much did Rome depend upon it for its wheat, that it came to be called "the granary of Rome." So rich was the ground that even on the hilly and stony places rich patches of wheat would grow between the stones. Indeed, it is said that one bushel of wheat sown would produce three hundred bushels. No country in the world raised more abundant or finer wheat than Sicily did. Hundreds of flocks of sheep, also, and herds of cattle fed on the mountain slopes. On the southern coast was raised the finest breed of horses. It was here that Rome got horses for her cavalry.

As I told you, the rivers were small, so the ships could not go inland, and for this reason the trading was done at the seacoast. And here it was that the large cities grew up.

One of these cities, Syracuse, on the southeastern corner of the island, was very large and rich; and Athens itself was the only city in the world that was more beautiful.

This island, with its numerous streams, its beautiful valleys, its vineyards, its wheat fields, its orchards of olives and fruits, its fine breed of horses, its herds of sheep and goats, and its wealthy cities, is the prize for which both Rome and Carthage are struggling. Do you think it was worth the struggle?

In early time Carthage reached her arm across the Mediterranean and obtained the western half of the island for herself. Rome, now jealous of the rising Carthaginian power, desired to own the whole island. An excuse for fighting was easily found by the Romans, and the first great struggle between the two strongest cities of the world at that time began two hundred and sixty-four years before Christ, and lasted twenty-three years.

City after city fell in Sicily, until Rome had conquered the whole island except a few strong forts on the coast. These were held by the great Carthaginian, Ha-mil'car. No Roman general was a match for him. It was now plain to Rome that if Carthage was to be conquered, her great power on the sea must be destroyed. Rome then rapidly built fleets. Soon she became powerful on the sea and beat the Carthaginians wherever she met them. Peace was declared after twenty-three years of fighting, and the great general Hamilcar, who had never lost a battle on land, and had stubbornly held his forts for seven years, was compelled to leave Sicily because of the failure of the Carthaginian ships at sea. Not only was Carthage forced to give up Sicily, with all its riches, and the islands about it, but she was also compelled by Rome to pay the large sum of $4,000,000, which, because money was so scarce then, would be equal in value to perhaps ten times that much now.

Shortly afterward, while Carthage was having great trouble with her slaves, Rome seized both Corsica and Sardinia. When Carthage then complained, Rome compelled her to pay another large sum of money, a million and a half of dollars.

All this was hard for Carthage to bear. Some of her citizens, especially the nobles, were willing, however, to bear it, for they wanted to trade and did not wish to fight. But there was one man who tried to stir his people to fight for their country. This was the brave Hamilcar. And now let us look at his plans. Hamilcar was elected commander of Carthage's army and resolved to conquer Spain. This was the first step in his plan to humble Rome and regain Sicily. For fear he should not live to strike Rome the final blow, he required his little son, Hannibal, who was then about nine years old, to swear at the altar of his god, Baal, to humble Rome and remain her enemy forever. You shall see presently how courageously he did this. Hamilcar then took Hannibal to Spain with him. Here he remained in camp for nine years and became used to the soldier's life. At eighteen he was sent back to Carthage to receive his education. There he became a good athlete, obtained a good knowledge of Greek, and came to know much about the history of the Greeks and Romans, and the great peoples who had lived before them. He then returned to Spain and gained further schooling in the rough camp of war. When Hannibal was twenty-nine Hamilcar died, and the army declared that Hannibal should be their leader.

Thus you see Hannibal was not made general merely because he was the son of Hamilcar. He was, in fact, much like his father in many ways, but he was also the best rider and the best marcher in the whole Carthaginian army. He was willing to bear the greatest hardships in order to fulfill the sacred promise he had made his father when a boy,—that he would give his life to humbling Rome. Oftentimes on the march he slept on the bare ground with only a cloak for cover. He was ever ready to bear the same trials and hardships that his men did. For this reason his soldiers loved him, and as he never complained of the hard things that came, they too were ashamed to complain.

Soon Hannibal with his brave army had captured almost all Spain,—or as far north as the Ebro River,— and by the products of the rich silver mines of Spain Carthage had gained much wealth. So long as the war did not cost her as much money as they were getting from the mines, the nobles of Carthage did not complain. They were glad to have the land conquered from the wild Spaniards, if only some one except the rich merchants and planters of Carthage would do the fighting. But by all this fighting in Spain an army is being trained for a greater task; for Hannibal, though young, was very wise. He took this as the best means to train an army with which to strike Rome a deathblow. He began by attacking Saguntum, a city on the eastern coast of Spain. This city was a friend of Rome's, and he knew that to seize it would make Rome angry and lead her to declare war.

Carthage did not much like this new action of Hannibal against Rome. But when Saguntum fell, after a siege of eight months, and the rich spoils of gold, silver and fine weapons went flowing home to Carthage, the people rejoiced and declared war against Rome. If the war would continue to enrich her greedy merchants, Carthage would be pleased. When war was declared Hannibal began to make his plans; and when I tell you of the great plan he made you will see something as to whether he was a brave man and a great general or not. He decided to make his way by land through fierce barbaric tribes from Spain to Italy, gaining if he could the help of the Gauls, a people living far north of Rome, up in the passes and around the feet of the Alps. His further plan was to stir up all those nations of Italy who had fought against Rome so long ago, such as the Gauls, Samnites and the Greeks, and get them to join his army against Rome. He could not go in ships, for Carthage, as you remember, had lost her power on the sea in her first struggle with Rome. So he now started out on his long journey, a distance of over eleven hundred miles, farther than from Chicago to New York, before he could reach northern Italy and get help from the Gauls.