C., with
the defeat of the Macedonians and their subordination to Roman authority
in the form of a Roman governor.
When opposition to Roman influence developed in Greece in 148 B.C., a
commission of ten was appointed by the Roman Senate to settle affairs in
the Greek peninsula. The city of Corinth was burned to the ground and
its lands were confiscated. Thebes and Chalcis were also destroyed. The
walls of all towns which had shared in the revolt against Rome were
pulled down. All confederations between Greek cities were dissolved.
Disarmament, isolation and Roman taxation were imposed on the Greek
cities and the oversight of affairs was assigned to the Roman governor
of neighboring Macedonia.
Successful wars against Syria and Egypt extended Roman control over
additional territory in West Asia and North Africa. A map of Italy at
the time of the Roman Federation in 268 B.C. shows Rome as the most
powerful among two score minor associates in the federation. A map of
the Roman Empire at the death of Augustus in 14 A.D. shows a Roman
Empire extending from the Atlantic seaboard on the west to Central
Europe on the north, the Black Sea on the east and a generous strip of
Africa on the south.
Within three centuries Rome had expanded from its position as a minor
state in Italy to the effective control of those portions of three
continents which bordered the Mediterranean. Conquests during the
following century further extended the Roman frontiers.
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