Part 31

=273. Why Alexander Failed.= Alexander's army made its way to India. But its great general, now only thirty-two, was drunk with power. He even permitted the people he conquered to worship him as a god. He loved the wine-cup too well and was stricken with a fever and died.

There was no one to take his place, but much that was finest and best in Greek life remained to the world.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

=The Leading Facts.= _1._ Greece, a land of hills, mountains, plains, bays, and gulfs. _2._ Greeks traded and planted colonies. _3._ The deeds of Greek heroes. _4._ The great men of the newer Greece. =5.= The reason why the Persians attacked the Greeks. =6.= Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis. _7._ Alexander the Great, his father, his education, his army, and his victories. =8.= Spread of Greek ideas.

=Study Questions.= _1._ See map for the boundaries of "Greater Greece." _2._ Name heroes among the ancient Greeks. Do you know of any others? _3._ What was their favorite story? _4._ What was the cause of the Trojan War? _5._ Who was Helen and for what was she famous? _6._ Who was Socrates? Plato? Aristotle? _7._ How is Aristotle connected with Columbus? _8._ Who were the Persians? _9._ Why did they attack the Greeks? _10._ Name the great battles. _11._ How was Alexander able to beat the Persians in their own land? _12._ How did Alexander benefit the world in what he did?

=Suggested Readings.= Guerber. _The Story of the Greeks_; Hall, _Life in Ancient Greece_, II, 166; Harding, _Stories of Greek Gods, Heroes, and Men_; Tappan, _The Story of the Greek People_; Yonge, _Young Folks' History of Greece_; Mace-Tanner, _Old Europe and Young America_, 24-73; Hall, _Four Old Greeks_.

WHEN ROME RULED THE WORLD

=274. Rome, the Eternal City.= Italy looks like a big boot hanging from the Alps Mountains down into the Mediterranean Sea. "Sunny Italy," people call it.

[Sidenote: =An old Roman myth=]

The ancient Romans all believed that their city, Rome, was founded by a hero called Romulus. He had a twin brother, Remus. A wicked uncle threw them while babies into a basket and set it adrift on the river Tiber. But the boys--so the story runs--were found by a she-wolf that nursed them until they became men, strong and cruel. With the aid of others as brave as himself, Romulus founded the city of Rome.

[Sidenote: =How Rome was ruled=]

=275. Rome Becomes a Republic.= Romulus was the first of six kings. The people drove out the sixth because he was cruel, and Rome became a republic. The republic was ruled by two men called "consuls," aided by the advice of great men called "senators." These senators were among the wisest men in the Old World.

=276. Stories of Roman Heroes.= The people of Rome, like the Greeks, had their tales of what the bold heroes of olden times had done.

[Sidenote: =Horatius saves Rome=]

One of the most famous stories is about a hero named Horatius. The Romans sent for him to lead their soldiers against the last king, who was trying to get back the Roman throne. Bold Horatius took his stand on a narrow bridge leading across the Tiber to the city. Here he met the enemy, and defended the bridge with only his good sword until the Roman soldiers broke down the bridge behind him. When the bridge fell, he plunged into the fast rolling stream and swam ashore.

[Sidenote: =The story of Cincinnatus=]

The story that American boys and girls like best, perhaps, is one the Romans never tired of telling their children. It is about an old farmer-soldier named Cincinnatus. Rome's enemies were knocking at the very doors of the "Eternal City." The Romans called for Cincinnatus to head the army. They found him ploughing on his little farm. He left his plough and oxen in the field, took command of the Roman army, and by a night attack completely defeated the enemy. He was the most popular man in Rome and could have held any office in the government. But he returned to his plow as if nothing had happened.

George Washington is often called the American Cincinnatus, for he, too, at the close of our Revolution, laid down his arms and went to live on his farm on the banks of the Potomac.

[Sidenote: =How the common people gained new rights=]

=277. The First Battle between Rich and Poor.= A fierce war between the rich and poor threatened to destroy the republic itself. The rich were selfish and thought they should have all the power. After a long struggle the poor gained some political rights by all moving to a sacred hill and beginning to build a rival city. The rich gave in and the poor in Rome had a right to choose a man who could raise his hand in the assembly and say: "I forbid," which he did by using the Latin word, "veto." This is where we get our word "veto."

=278. The People Called Gauls Take Rome.= For many years the Romans quarreled among themselves. How could they defend Rome from the great bands of brave and fierce people who swarmed down from the North? These were the Gauls. They were very large men who dressed in skins of beasts. They defeated the Romans, burned their cities, and murdered the people.

[Sidenote: =Gauls become Romans=]

After a time the Gauls lived among the Romans and finally became so mixed with them you could hardly tell them apart. They all became Romans, and Rome was then united and strong. The natural result was that Rome conquered all the other tribes or peoples living in Italy.

HANNIBAL TRIES TO CONQUER ROME

[Sidenote: =A Phoenician colony=]

=279. Carthage the Rival of Rome.= Just as Persia was the rival of Greece, so Carthage was the rival of Rome. Carthage had been settled by the Phoenicians, the traders of the ancient world. Carthage, the richest of their colonies, was just across the Mediterranean from Rome. In the days of her greatest power Carthage was said to have nearly a million people. Rome and Carthage quarreled about the island of Sicily, lying midway between them, and Rome was successful in driving her enemy out of the island. The great Carthaginian general, Hannibal, when only a boy took a solemn oath to carry on war with Rome without ceasing. When he later became a famous general he still remembered his oath against Rome. He gathered a mighty army from all Carthaginian colonies as well as from the homeland. Soldiers came from all parts of Spain and Gaul. From Africa came the finest body of cavalry in the world. The strangest part of the body was a long line of war elephants driven by their riders to trample down the Roman soldiers and to break their solid lines.

The army came together in Spain and marched over the mighty Alps into Italy. Their march was slow and hard. There were no roads at all through the mountains. The army was often attacked by people living in the mountains who hurled huge stones upon it.

After five months the army finally reached the plains of Italy, though hundreds of brave soldiers had been lost.

Rome was stirred to her depths. A great army was raised to meet the Carthaginians. But Rome had no general like Hannibal. For fifteen years he remained in Italy, defeating every general sent against him.

[Sidenote: =How Hannibal made war=]

Hannibal's greatest victory was on the field of Cannae. Rome raised a mighty army, 86,000 men. Hannibal had only 50,000, but he had faith in his veterans, especially in the African horsemen. He arranged his troops so that his center gave way easily. When the Romans thought victory near, Hannibal's heavy troops on each wing attacked them from both sides and his African horsemen struck them in the rear. The Romans lost in killed and wounded 70,000 men.

The Romans hit upon the plan of sending an army to attack Carthage. Hannibal had to rush his troops home to save his beloved city. In the great battle of Zama Hannibal was defeated and Carthage fell.

[Sidenote: =The fate of Carthage=]

Rome would not permit a rival, so she wholly destroyed Carthage, her great fleets of ships, her hoards of money, her stores of goods and her great buildings. It is said that Romans sowed salt where Carthage once stood so that nothing might ever grow there.

ROME CONQUERS THE WORLD BUT GROWS WICKED

=280. How Rome Came to Win Victories.= The wars made great soldiers out of the Romans, who, now that they had trained generals, began to conquer all the nations about them. They invaded Macedonia, Greece, Asia, and Africa, destroying the mighty nations which had grown out of the work of Alexander the Great.

[Sidenote: =How the Romans defeated the phalanx=]

How do you suppose the Romans defeated the Macedonian phalanx? The Roman generals planned the battle with the Macedonians so that it always occurred in a forest or on rough broken ground where the phalanx could not stand in solid columns. With the phalanx already in disorder the Romans charged and defeated them easily.

[Sidenote: =Roman slaves=]

=281. The Effect on the Romans.= Long before the Romans began to conquer other nations they were a simple farmer-like people living by raising grain and horses and cattle and sheep. But as soon as they began to conquer other nations many of the Romans grew proud and haughty. A great many grew rich from what they took from the defeated nations. Hundreds of Romans who had been small farmers now lived on great farms. On these farms or plantations the work was done by slaves, who were prisoners taken in battle. Some of these slaves were rude men taken in wars against half-savage people. Others, like the Greeks, were well educated, and really knew more than their masters. Those who belonged to this class of slaves were treated kindly and often played the part of tutors to the children of their rich masters.

=282. The Rich and Poor Quarrel Again.= The rich men oppressed the poor in many ways. A great many poor went to Rome to live because they found it hard to make a living on their little farms. Then, too, the great city was full of interesting doings. Besides, the city did not permit her poor to starve. Great shiploads of grain were brought from Egypt to feed them.

[Sidenote: =The Gracchi=]

In Rome at this time there lived two brothers called the Gracchi. They were both great orators and rose to high positions in Rome. They saw their city was in a bad way on account of the many poor that were flocking to it.

The Gracchi tried to change this by taking away from the very rich landowners a part of their land and giving it to the poor. The Gracchi wanted to make farmers out of the poor. This plan roused the anger of the rich. They raised riots against the brothers and both men were killed. Rome never forgot the Gracchi, and even in our time they are looked upon as noble men laboring for the good of their country.

SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL

=The Leading Facts.= _1._ What Italy looks like on the map. _2._ Romulus and Remus. _3._ The founding of Rome; the six kings. _4._ A republic with "consuls" and "senators." _5._ The story of Horatius; of Cincinnatus. Our Cincinnatus. _6._ The first quarrel, and the removal to the second hill. _7._ The capture of Rome by the Gauls; the Gauls become Romans. _8._ Rome and Carthage rivals. _9._ Quarrel over Sicily. _10._ Hannibal takes a great oath. _11._ Hannibal's army. _12._ How it reached Italy and how long it remained. _13._ Hannibal's victory at Cannae. _14._ The Romans invade Carthage and defeat Hannibal at Zama. _15._ How Rome defeated the phalanx. _16._ Romans before conquests a simple people. _17._ Effect on the Romans of conquering the world. _18._ Second great contest between rich and poor. _19._ The Gracchi to the rescue. _20._ Death of the Gracchi and why they are remembered.

=Study Questions.= _1._ Why did the Romans believe the story of Romulus and Remus? _2._ Tell the story of Horatius and Cincinnatus. Which do you like best? _3._ Tell the origin of the word "veto." _4._ Who was Hannibal and how could he stay so long in Italy with his army? _5._ Who built Carthage? _6._ Describe the battle of Cannae. _7._ Why did the Romans scatter salt over the ground where Carthage stood? _8._ How did Rome overcome the Macedonian phalanx? _9._ What bad effect did the world conquest have upon Rome? _10._ Tell the story of the Gracchi.

=Suggested Readings.= Tappan, _The Story of the Roman People_, 1-122; Yonge, _Young Folks' History of Rome_, 13-202; Harding, _The City of the Seven Hills_, 7-165; Lang, _The Red Book of Heroes_, 43-94; Guerber, _The Story of the Romans_; Mace-Tanner, _Old Europe and Young America_, 74-93.

THE ROMAN REPUBLIC BECOMES THE ROMAN EMPIRE

[Sidenote: =Conditions that favored Caesar=]

=283. The Rise of Julius Caesar.= When a country is torn by quarrels between rich and poor, very often some great man rises, seizes the government, and rules the country himself. He may use the army in compelling all parties to submit quietly to his rule. So it was in Rome.

Caesar was "tall and erect, with hooked nose, and piercing glance." He made the common people believe him to be their friend. They probably thought that he was another Gracchus.

[Sidenote: =Governor of Gaul=]

=284. Caesar Governor of Gaul.= Caesar was chosen consul, and then later made governor of Gaul. In Gaul the people were half savage and were constantly fighting.

They made friends with Caesar because he helped them defeat the Germans. The Germans were carrying fire and sword into Gaul until Caesar put them to rout.

[Sidenote: =War with the Gauls=]

Caesar now decided that he must conquer all the country of the Gauls. He called for more of the Roman legions, such as had defeated the Macedonian phalanx. One after another the tribes of Gaul were overcome. Then suddenly, when Caesar least expected it, the Gauls rose as one man and defeated the Romans. But Caesar would not give up. He finally defeated the Gauls and sent their great leader a prisoner to Rome.

=285. His Invasion of England.= The Britons were kinfolk of the Gauls and had sent them help in the fight against Caesar. The Britons were also half savage, and Caesar resolved to make them feel the power of Rome. But Caesar found the Britons ready for him when his ships tried to land his soldiers. The Britons, though bravely fighting for native land, were finally defeated.

Caesar made two invasions into England, but when his soldiers were needed at home, he withdrew.

[Sidenote: =Trouble at home=]

=286. He Crosses the Rubicon.= There were other great generals in Rome and they now became jealous of Caesar's many victories and of his popularity. They prepared to punish him. But Caesar was too quick for them. He marched his army rapidly into Italy until he reached a little stream called the Rubicon. To cross this stream meant war--victory or defeat. He stood awhile--so the story runs--in deep study. "The die is cast," said Caesar, and plunged into its waters.

=287. Caesar the Ruler of Rome.= Caesar's enemies fled from Rome, so quickly did he come. He now held the great city in his hands. He followed his enemies and defeated them in a great battle. Other armies were raised against him, but he was the final victor. He sent a famous dispatch to Rome: "I came, I saw, I conquered." Julius Caesar was now master of the civilized world.

[Sidenote: =The plot against Caesar=]

But in ruling the world Caesar had changed Rome from a republic into an empire. Many good Roman nobles could never forget that fact. Caesar planned to give Rome a good government. He was in many ways a wise ruler. Still many people could not forgive him. So those who believed Rome should still be a republic and others who were merely jealous of him, planned to kill him. As he came into the Senate Hall one day they stabbed him.

But the death of Rome's greatest man did not set her free. Another and a worse tyrant ruled Rome.

WHAT ROME GAVE TO THE WORLD

[Sidenote: =How Rome ruled=]

=288. Great Lawmakers and Governors.= Of all the ancient nations Rome was the most famous in establishing laws in regard to the ownership of property and in regard to the way men should act toward one another.

Her consuls and senators were men skillful in planning laws not only for Rome but for the nations which she had conquered.

[Sidenote: =The Colosseum=]

=289. Romans Were Great Builders.= The buildings of Greece were beautiful but those of Rome were large and strong. The Colosseum, built as a place of entertainment for the people, was a gigantic affair seating 87,000 people. In this were held fights between gladiators, men trained to kill each other, and between men and wild beasts. The effect was to make the Romans lovers of such cruel sports.

Other famous buildings put up by the Romans were the Forum and the Pantheon. You may see remains of these now in Rome. They are visited by hundreds of Americans every year.

[Sidenote: =Roman roads=]

The Romans also built wonderful roads in all parts of the empire for the use of armies and for travel and trade. Some of these roads are still used. They built strong bridges over the rivers and erected aqueducts in different parts of the empire. These Roman aqueducts brought good, pure water from the hills to supply the needs of the townspeople.

=290. The Romans Gave a Literature to the World.= Not all Romans were educated. All boys and girls did not then go to school, as they do in America. Only the sons of the well-to-do could become educated.

[Sidenote: =Classic Roman writers=]

Rome became famous for her great writers. Even Julius Caesar found time to write the story of his war against the Gauls. High school boys and girls read Caesar's _Commentaries_. There was Vergil, a great poet, who told the story of how the Greeks beat the Trojans. Vergil made these Greek heroes the ancestors of the Romans. Horace was another of Rome's great poets. He amused the Romans "by his genial and quiet humor." But Cicero was the great orator of Rome. His voice went ringing down the senate halls as he challenged Catiline, who had plotted to overthrow the republic.

=291. Rome Prepared the Way for the Spread of Christianity.= When Rome seemed sunk in wickedness there came out of Palestine the story of Jesus. His disciples were carrying the glad news everywhere over the empire. Paul, the most learned of these followers of Christ, carried the story to Greece and to Rome.

[Sidenote: =Early Christian martyrs=]

The emperors tried to stamp out the new religion, but the more they opposed the more it grew. Hundreds of Christians perished holding firm to the faith. Many were destroyed by wild beasts in the Colosseum before the eyes of thousands of Romans. But the new religion appealed to many, and especially to the poorer classes. The Emperor Constantine (305 A. D.) soon accepted the new religion and gave it protection. It then spread rapidly. Priests were sent into the villages to preach and to set up churches. Above the priest was a bishop in charge of all the churches in a district or province.

The government of the new church was formed like that of the empire and became strong. Other religions were driven out. In time the many offices of the empire were in the hands of the priests or under their influence. Many years later these two governments of the church and the empire quarreled over their rights to rule the people.

THE DOWNFALL OF ROME

[Sidenote: =How the Teutonic tribes lived=]

=292. The Coming of the Huns and Teutons.= North of the Alps, beyond the Danube and the Rhine, and between the North Sea and the Black Sea, was a vast region of wild lands. Here the German or Teutonic tribes had lived for hundreds of years. They had made little advance in ways of living. They still dwelt in poor villages. They loved to fight, or waste their time in idleness and feasts. They were noted for their love of liberty and pure family life. At the time of the invasions (4th century) they were learning to live in towns, to unite in confederations, and to be ruled by elected kings. They had so increased in numbers that more land was needed to afford them a living. This was the main cause of their moving south to the Roman frontiers.

[Sidenote: =Gradual coming of the Germans=]

For three hundred years the Germans were restless in their northern homes. But the Roman armies were strong enough to keep them beyond the Danube. Some had come over as soldiers in the Roman legions. By 330 half the troops were German. Some of the more peaceful Germans were allowed to make settlements within the empire. Other Germans came in as slaves, but mainly to work on the farms.

By the end of the fourth century after Christ the Romans had become too weak to keep the Germans back.

[Sidenote: =Battle of Chalons=]

But the Germans were gentle compared with the fierce Huns from Asia who made the next great invasion into Europe. And under their terrible chief, Attila, they swept over Europe like firebrands, laying waste all they could not carry away. At last the Germans and the Romans united and defeated the Huns at Chalons (451). The Huns moved eastward, passed through northern Italy, and soon reëntered Asia. Europe was saved.

=293. End of the Empire.= Other German tribes entered the empire, took possession of the lands, and even formed governments under their chiefs. In a quarrel over lands the German troops removed the Roman emperor and declared their chief, Odoacer, king (476). This marks the end of the Roman Empire and the rise of the kingdom of Italy, though the present United Kingdom, formed after centuries of division, among small, jealous city states, is only sixty years old.

Other invasions went on for many years. Europe was in disorder and confusion for nearly four hundred years. It was a time of seeding, when the rough, brave, liberty-loving German peoples were intermarrying with the Greeks and Romans and learning from them the finer ways of living. From this fusion a new society was built on the ruins of the old, as shown in the nations of Italy, France, and Spain.

THE ANGLES AND SAXONS IN GREAT BRITAIN

=294. The Britons.= There were already two groups of people in these islands. Under the rule of the Romans one group, the Britons, had been weakened as fighters.

[Sidenote: =Britons fight among themselves=]

Rome called her legions out of Britain to fight the Germans. This left the Britons without good soldiers to keep order and the tribes began fighting one another. One tribe, the Britons proper, invited bands of Jutes from Denmark (449) to help them. After the Britons had forced back their enemies the Jutes refused to go away. They took possession of the land, making it their home.

[Sidenote: =Where the name England came from=]

=295. Coming of the Anglo-Saxons.= Other German tribes, chiefly the wild Angles and Saxons, now came over from Europe. The new tribes soon brought the Britons under their rule. They gave their names to the land they had taken--Angle land or England. The Angles and Saxons are the forefathers of the "English" people. The Britons who would not submit were driven into the lands to the west known as Wales, and became the "Welsh."

=296. Rome Brings Christianity to the Germans.= When the western Roman Empire passed away in 476, the church remained the only strong central government in all that vast territory. It acted as a steady light when all about was dark and changing. Its priests came to be the only educated class, giving it great influence.

[Sidenote: =Clovis, king of the Franks, converted=]