What inspired the growth of Rome?

Answer 1

If you are referring to the growth of the Roman Empire, nothing inspired it. Originally, during the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire did not grow out of a grand design of conquest and expansion. It 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, kingdoms being bequeathed to her, and concerns about the instability of areas bordering the empire when Rome was already in control of the Mediterranean, even though she had not conquered the whole of it.

Rome fought three wars (the Punic Wars) against Carthage (264-241 BC, 218-201 BC and 149-146 BC). The first war developed into a fight over the control of Sicily. The second one was an invasion of italy by the Carthaginians, but Rome won. Is outcome and that of the third one was that Rome gained control of the western basin of the Mediterranean.

Three Illyrian Wars 229-28 BC, 220-19 BC and 168-67 BC) were fought on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea (next to Italy) after which Rome established a protectorate in Dalmatia (the coastal part of Croatia). Rome wanted control of the Adriatic Sea to stop piracy from Dalmatia and attacks on her allies in Italy.

The expansion into Turkey started with the king of Pergamon (who was a Roman ally) bequeathing his kingdom (in western Turkey) to Rome when he died without male issue in 133 BC. The king of Bithynia (in north western Turkey) also bequeathed his kingdom to Rome (74 BC). Three wars were waged against Rome by Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus in eastern Turkey (88-84 BC, 83-81 BC and 75-63 BC) who wanted to expand his domains into the rest of Turkey. Rome won. As a result Rome annexed parts of Turkey and set up client states in other parts and in Armenia. Concerns about political stability in Syria and civil war in Judea, which had become neighbours of the empire, led to the setting up of client states there as well.

The annexation of Egypt was the result of Octavian (Augustus) fighting a war (the Final Civil War of the Roman Republic (32-30 BC) against Mark Antony and his ally , Cleopatra VII queen of Egypt, and winning it in 30 BC.