How did the roman republic expanded its territory beyond Italy?

Answer 1

Well the Roman Republic displayed a plethora of inventions that helped in it's expansion. These included the wheel, the wooden spear, and a primitive yet shockingly effective version of our modern day nutron bomb.

Answer 2

The Roman Republic's expansion beyond Italy and conquest of the Mediterranean was a long process which lasted 211 years. Her 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

Rome fought three Punic Wars against the city of Carthage. Rome won all of them. In the First Punic War (264-241 BC) Rome took over the Carthaginian possessions in western Sicily and made an alliance with Syracuse, the most powerful of the Greek city-states in eastern and southern Sicily, thereby gaining control of the whole of this island. Rome also seized Sardinia and Corsica from Carthage, taking advantage of this city having to deal with a rebellion of their mercenaries. In the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) Rome took over the Carthaginian territories in southern Spain and made an alliance with Carthage's next door neighbours, the Numidians of Algeria. In the Third Punic War (179-76 BC) Rome destroyed Carthage and took over her remaining territories, Tunisia and western Libya.

Between the First and Second Punic Wars, Rome fought the First and Second Illyrian War (229-28 and 219-18 BC) against the Illyrians of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea (next to Italy). This was due to Illyrian pirate attacks on Italian ships and Illyrian attempts to dominate the coasts of north-western Greece and Albania. Illyria was turned into a client state.

The expansion into the eastern Mediterranean started with the annexation of mainland Greece (176 BC) 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 when the last king of Pergamon, A Roman ally, died heirless and bequeathed his kingdom (in western Turkey) to Rome in 133 BC. 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 north-eastern Turkey) who wanted to expand into the rest of Turkey at the expense of Galatia and Cappadocia (both in central Turkey) which were allies of Rome. The Roman general Pompey finally won in 63 BC. Part of Bithynia was annexed and merged into the Roman province of Bithynia et Pontus. Armenia, which had sided with Pontus, was turned into a client state. In the same year a Syria, whose Seleucid dynasty was decaying, was gripped by civil war. Pompey decided to annex Syria to secure stability in the area. In Judea there was a civil war between two brothers who contended the throne. They appealed to Pompey for help. Pompey backed the brother he considered weaker, and turned Judea into a client state.

The first deliberate conquest was Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul in his Gallic War (58-50 BC). It is generally agreed that Caesar was after the glory of conquest and that he needed the spoils of war to pay off his debts. In 30 BC Octavian annexed Egypt after his final defeat of his rival for sole rule of Rome, Marc Antony, and his lover and ally, Cleopatra VII of Egypt, at Alexandria of Egypt.