Why was Rome expationist?

Answer 1

The Roman Empire did not grow out of a grand design of conquest and expansion. The Romans did not really need to control the Mediterranean. The empire grew out of a chain of separate events and situations, such a wars waged against her, her being drawn into the squabbles of other peoples, and concerns about the instability of areas bordering the empire when Rome was already in control of most of the Mediterranean. It was only after this that annexation truly became a war aim.

Rome fought three wars against Carthage. The first war developed into a fight over the control of Sicily. The second one was an invasion of Italy by the Carthaginians, but its outcome and that Rome took the Carthaginian possessions in southern Spain. In the third war, Rome destroyed Carthage because she feared a resurgence of her military power and became the sole master of the western basin of the Mediterranean. Three Illyrian wars were fought on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea (next to Italy). Rome established a protectorate in Dalmatia (the coastal part of Croatia). Rome wanted control of the Adriatic Sea to stop piracy from Dalmatia.

The expansion into the eastern Mediterranean started with the annexation of mainland Greece which was due to political instability in Greece. This annexation aimed at ending this instability, which had drawn Rome into wars in the area to defend her Greek allies in wars between Greek states.

The expansion into Turkey started with the bequeath of a kingdom in western Turkey (Pergamon) to Rome by its king. The king of Bithynia (in north-western Turkey) also bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Three wars were waged against Rome by Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus (in eastern Turkey) who wanted to expand into the rest of Turkey. Rome won. As a result Rome annexed parts of Turkey and set up a client state in Armenia. Concerns about political instability in Syria and Judea, which had become neighbours of the empire, led to the annexation of Syria and the setting up of a client state in Judea.

It was only after this that there were wars with the design of annexation. This is not surprising as Rome had become a superpower. The first instance of this was Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul.

Egypt was annexed because of the Final Civil War of the Roman Republic, which was a clash to decide who would be the sole ruler of Rome and her territories Octavian defeated Mark Antony and his ally, Cleopatra VII of Egypt. The annexation of Egypt was a result of Cleopatra becoming involved with Roman politics.