Why did the Romans want more land?

Answer 1

Rome started as a city-state which early on had about 50 square miles of farming land to support it - comprised of small farm lots. Population increases meant a need for more farmland, as the plots were too small to subdivide amongst several sons. This land had to be taken from neighbours by force, and the neighbouring cities, having the same problems, wanted to pinch Roman land.

Rome became, on average, more successful land pirates than their neighbours, gradually extending, settling part of the land of the defeated, and repelling counter attacks. There was no stopping this - they had to keep expanding, taking some as allies. In this way they spread progressively through the Italian peninsula.

When they became a power to be reckoned with, overseas cities sought their help. They came into conflict with the Gauls in northern Italy, spilt over the Alps into southern Gaul via the Greek cities there, became embroiled in Sicily and Spain, and so conflict with Carthage. Carthage defeated, they attacked Philip of Macedonia in reprisal for his support of Carthage, and in so doing intervened in Greece. This led to alliances with Rhodes and Pergamon, which embroiled them with Seleucid Syria, and so it went on. Once started, there was no stopping.

Serious exploitation came with Lucullus' and Pompey's subjugation of the east, Caesar's in Gaul and Egypt, until Augustus decided that enough was enough, and tried to stabilise the borders on the defensible Rhine-Danube line, with the east open but not much alternative, short of Caesar's ambition to outdo Alexander and knock off the Parthian empire (he was setting out to do just this when he was assassinated).
Subsequent emperors did go further afield - Britain, the Euphrates, Dacia, generally trying to establish defensible frontiers. Of course in all this conquering there were personal fortunes and honour for the generals, a share of loot for the soldiers, slaves, profits for merchants and tax collectors, land to settle retired soldiers, and vast riches and ongoing taxes for the state. And Egypt, north Africa and Sicily guaranteed Rome's grain supply as the city expanded to a million people.

Rome didn't plan an empire - they were so good at winning and had a flair for governance and exploiting territories that came their way - had they not progressed forward, they would have become the victims and the ruled, not the victors and rulers enjoying the spoils. Indeed the intrusions of the Gauls, Pyrrhus of Epirus, the Carthaginians, their own Itlian allies, all came close to dragging them down and out. They were tough and smart enough to keep winning, and winning meant expanding.

Answer 2

They believed that the Roman way was the best way of living and they wanted to share their way with others also expanding was part of roman culture during the capturing of a certain area they would take prisoners as slaves. They depended on slaves for there economy which was capitalist

Answer 3

There was a number of different reasons for Roman expansion, which occurred over a long time and at different phases of Roman history.

The original Roman expansion around the Mediterranean Empire did not arise out of a grand design of conquest and expansion. It grew out of a chain of separate events and situations, such a wars waged again her, her being drawn into the squabbles of other peoples, bequeathed kingdoms, 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 against Carthage. The first war developed into a fight over the control of Sicily. The second one was an attack on Rome, but its outcome and that of the third one was that Rome gained control of the western basin of the Mediterranean. Three Illyrian wars 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.

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 to Rome of a kingdom in western Turkey (Pergamon) by its king. Three wars were waged against Rome by Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus in eastern Turkey. Rome won. As a result Rome annexed parts of Turkey and set up client states in other parts. Concerns about political instability in Syria and Judea, which had become neighbours of the empire, led to the setting up of client states there as well.

Expansionist aims started with Julius Caesar who wanted to conquer Gaul. Augustus also wanted expansion. Claudius and Vespasian did want to conquer Britain. Trajan wanted to conquer Mesopotamia, but Conquered Dacia (Romania) not out of a desire for expansion, but because the Dacians kept attacking the empire. There were also decisions to limit expansion because the empire had become too bid or because there were powerful neighbours.

Answer 4

because they wanted a big empire