Mediterranean Southwest Europe (189 BCE–46 BCE): Roman Expansion and the End of the Republic

The age 189 BCE to 46 BCE is characterized by Rome's expansion and consolidation of power throughout Mediterranean Southwest Europe, marked by significant military conflicts, colonization, and internal political upheaval culminating in the collapse of the Roman Republic.

Rome’s Dominance and Greco-Roman Integration

Following Rome's victory against Seleucid king Antiochus III around 189 BCE, the Roman Republic asserts itself as the dominant power across the Mediterranean basin. Rome notably rewards its supporters such as Pergamon and Rhodes, while punishing opponents like the Aetolians, thereby altering the balance of power in favor of its allies and signaling the start of an era characterized by the fusion of Greek and Roman political and cultural elements.

Roman Expansion and Conflict in Hispania

From 181 to 179 BCE, the First Celtiberian War is fought between Rome and the Celtiberian tribes of Hispania Citerior, highlighting Rome’s increasing involvement in Iberian affairs. Rome’s aggressive colonization and military presence trigger continuous resistance among the indigenous populations, laying groundwork for future conflicts such as the prolonged and challenging Numantine War (154–133 BCE), initiated by rebellions among the Celtiberian tribes around Numantia.

Socio-Political Reform and Unrest

The internal struggles of Rome intensify significantly in the late second century BCE, epitomized by the reform efforts of the Gracchi brothers. Attempting to address vast socio-economic disparities through land reform legislation, both brothers ultimately face assassination, revealing deep-rooted tensions between the plebeians and the ruling patrician elite, and highlighting the vulnerability of the Roman political system.

Military Crises and Civil Wars

Rome endures several severe military and internal crises in the late second and early first centuries BCE. The catastrophic Roman defeat at the Battle of Arausio in 105 BCE against the migrating Cimbri and Teutones triggers a major military reform under Gaius Marius. This reform significantly reshapes the Roman army, paving the way for Roman victories at Aquae Sextiae (102 BCE) and Vercellae (101 BCE).

Meanwhile, internal conflicts intensify, as evidenced by Sulla’s civil wars (88–82 BCE), the Social War (90–88 BCE), and subsequent confrontations such as the rebellions led by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and the insurgency of Sertorius in Hispania (80–72 BCE). These struggles underscore the Republic’s escalating internal instability.

Julius Caesar and the Collapse of the Republic

The final decades of this era are dominated by the political and military ascent of Julius Caesar, culminating in Caesar’s Civil War (49–45 BCE). Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BCE symbolizes the irreversible rupture of Roman political order, sparking a conflict against the senatorial faction led by Pompey the Great.

After pivotal victories at Pharsalus, the Battle of the Nile in Egypt, and at Thapsus in Africa, Caesar consolidates unprecedented political power. His dictatorship marks the definitive end of the Republic, transitioning Rome toward imperial governance.

Colonization and Cultural Developments

Throughout this era, Roman colonization continues, notably in northern Italy. The region around modern Como, inhabited by the Celtic Orobii tribe, becomes a Roman colony, exemplifying Rome’s strategic and cultural assimilation in newly conquered territories.

Researchers have also detected cobalt in glass found in the ruins of Pompeii, indicating sophisticated Roman manufacturing techniques and trade networks, further reflecting the region's economic and technological advancement during this period.

Legacy

The period from 189 BCE to 46 BCE significantly reshapes Mediterranean Southwest Europe, marking Rome’s transformation from a powerful Republic to the cusp of imperial dominion. Political turmoil, military expansion, socio-economic reforms, and cultural integration during these critical centuries forge the region’s historical legacy and lay foundations for the forthcoming Roman Empire.

Plutarch gives the numbers advancing on Italy as three hundred thousand armed fighting men, and much larger hordes of women and children.

The barbarians divide themselves into two bands, and it falls to the Cimbri to proceed through Noricum in the interior of the country against Catulus, and of a passage there, while the Teutones and Ambrones are to march through Liguria along the seacoast against the consul Gaius Marius, who has set up camp on the Rhône.

Marius, choosing his ground carefully, builds a well-fortified camp on the top of a hill near Aquae Sextiae, where he lures the Teutons and their allies the Ambrones into attacking him.

During their attack they are ambushed from the rear by a select force of five cohorts which Marius had hidden in a nearby wood The Roman accounts claim that in the ensuing massacre ninety thousand Teutons were slain and twenty thousand, including their King Teutobod, were captured.

The only surviving reports are Roman, but certainly the complete annihilation of the Teutons and Ambrones speaks to the crushing nature of their defeat.

The captured women commit mass suicide, which passes into Roman legends of Germanic heroism (Jerome, letter cxxiii.8, CE409): By the conditions of the surrender three hundred of their married women were to be handed over to the Romans.

When the Teuton matrons heard of this stipulation they first begged the consul that they might be set apart to minister in the temples of Ceres and Venus; and then when they failed to obtain their request and were removed by the lictors, they slew their little children and next morning were all found dead in each other's arms having strangled themselves in the night.

Plutarch mentions (Marius 10, 5-6) that during the battle, the Ambrones began to shout "Ambrones!"

as their battle-cry; the Ligurian troops fighting for the Romans, on hearing this cry, found that it was identical to an ancient name in their country which the Ligurians often used when speaking of their descent, so they returned the shout, "Ambrones!".

Marius takes one hundred thousand prisoners.

Plutarch tells us that Ambrones alone numbered more than 30,000 and were the most warlike division of the enemy, who had earlier defeated the Romans under Manlius and Caepio.

The Ambrones have been destroyed.

Although Caesar mentions that the remnants of the Cimbri and Teutons formed a new tribe in Belgic Gaul, the Aduatuci, he does not mention any remnants of the Ambrones.

Aquae Sextiae has only evened the score, however: while the Teutons have been eliminated, the Cimbri remain a formidable threat.