In the Yamakawa Shuppansha World History Glossary, the Social War is described as follows.
"91-88 BC, a rebellion caused by an alliance city on the Italian peninsula demanding Roman citizenship. The rebel sura promised to grant citizenship with the consent of the Senate and suppressed it. . "
When I was a high school student, I didn't understand the meaning even if I read this sentence. And alas, I got a score even if I didn't understand the meaning.
For high school students, world history is just a way to score points.
That's it.
That is why I would like to explain this time so that I can understand the Social War.
What is an alliance city?
Roman history is divided before and after the Punic Wars.
Before the Punic Wars, there was no idea of a province.
Rome has won various wars since its founding in the 8th century BC. And after winning, he treated it as an "alliance city" without governing.
Citizens of the Alliance City were said to be Latin citizens, or called Italian allies by Rome, and had to provide troops under Roman command during wars such as the Punic Wars.
Before the Punic Wars, there weren't many problems, but in Rome, which became a world nation after the war, the way it should be has changed completely.
Rome lent the land of the victorious country after the Punic Wars to Roman citizens at a low price. As a result, the Latifundium expanded and the gap between rich and poor widened, but as a result of the Marian reforms, military service among Roman citizens became a volunteer system rather than an obligation.
This is not a collection for the Alliance City.
For both Roman and Latin citizens, military service was a direct tax, an obligation, and a pride.
Until now, the Alliance City has fought to protect the country as well as Roman citizens, and also for pride. I thought it was an equal relationship to complete military service equally.
It's no longer equal at all.
Still, Roman citizens have a good taste.
Rome beat Hannibal because none of the allied cities turned over to Hannibal. The Alliance City regarded Rome as a fateful community.
However, that premise was broken.
It's no wonder that Latin citizens demand the same rights as Roman citizens.
Exactly civil war
In Roman history, the 1st century BC is called the 1st century BC, but the war between Rome's home country and the allied city would have been a battle that deserved to be called a crisis.
It all started in 91 BC when a man named Marx Livius Drousus became a tribune.
Drusus inherited the reforms of the Gracchi brothers and sought to give Roman citizenship to the citizens of the Alliance.
And Drusus was killed.
It is clear that it is the work of the Senate. It can be said that it was just rotten.
As soon as the leaders of the allied cities learned of this, they began to collaborate in each city and uprised all at once.
The green part below is Rome, and the red part is the territory of the Latin League.
The battle continued to intensify.
Rome's victory in various parts of the world is largely due to differences in armament and tactics. However, when it comes to fighting the Alliance City, he has the same quality of equipment and tactics.
Sulla's success and Lex Julia
The battlefield advanced in Rome's favor, partly due to the success of Sulla, the outstanding leader of the Roman side.
However, Lucius Julius's "Lex Julius Caesitita", which seeks to solve the problem fundamentally, will give Latin citizens Roman citizenship, and the war will end. I went to.
Obviously, it was the achievement of Julius, but in Yamakawa's textbook, it is no longer the achievement of Sulla. It's called the Roman part of the royal system, and the description is misleading to the examinees.
By the way, the real name of this Julius is Lucius Julius Caesar, who is the uncle of the famous Julius Caesar.
After the Social War
The expansion of Roman citizens is said to have led to a decline in the status of the Plebeian Council.
That's no surprise.
Opinions do not come together if the number of participants is huge, unlike when it was decided only by Roman citizens.
The democracy of Athens was made possible only by the citizens of Athens, and it would not be possible if Italy was so wide.
It may be ironic that the Plebeian Council was lowered by the tribunes who promoted the expansion of Roman citizenship.
As a result, the power of the Senate became stronger, and the status of the commoners declined.
In fact, the Roman Republic ended about half a century later, after which the resurgence of democracy had to wait for Britain about 1700 years later.