Before learning about the history of the Roman Empire, we will learn about the geographical features and climate of the central Italian peninsula.
Let's take a look at the geographical features of the Italian Peninsula
Italian Peninsula Is located further west of the Orient and Greek worlds that we have been to. It is a peninsula with a characteristic boots shape in Europe.
Alps to the north Apennines in the central part of the Italian peninsula Is running vertically, and the plains are about 20% of the land and mountainous terrain . It has become. West Tyrrhenian Sea , East Adriatic , Southeast Ionian Sea Surrounded by Mediterranean It is connected to.
By the way, Italy is also a country prone to disasters such as volcanoes, avalanches, earthquakes and floods, and large-scale disasters have occurred frequently in history. The city called Pompeii is famous as an ancient city that was swallowed by pyroclastic flows overnight.
Italy's agricultural situation
Since it was 2000 years ago, the situation is different from the present, but it seems that various crops are cultivated in the current agriculture because of the abundant climate, altitude and soil due to the fact that it is a vertically long country and tends to be mountainous.
The soil called "terra rossa" that appears in the geography, climate, and characteristics of Greece is an Italian word that means "red soil." Naturally, Terra Rossa is widely found in Italy because it is derived from Italian. Terra rossa is concentrated in the southern part of the Italian peninsula, and like Greece, it grows olives, grapes and citrus fruits even if it is not very blessed with water and soil. Will be made. On the other hand, in the north, wheat, rice and dairy Is thriving.
Let's take a look at the climate of the Italian peninsula
Italy is a vertically long country, and the climate is different from north to south. The northern part is temperate with heavy rainfall throughout the year. It is a climate that belongs to. The southern part, on the other hand, has a typical Mediterranean climate Will be. Looking at the climate of typical Italian cities (albeit modern) in a table, Rome and Naples have a typical Mediterranean climate . That's right.
This difference in climate is also one of the reasons why Italy's north-south agricultural situation is different. In the plains around the Po River in the north, the amount of rainfall is stable and high enough to produce paddy rice.
Let's take a look at the people who were in Italy in BC
Looking at the map above, around 500 BC, Greek in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian peninsula. However, Italian in the south central part of the Italian Peninsula But Etruscan in the north You can see that is in control. Carthaginians in Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily You can also see.
* Carthage is the name of a colonial city that originally prospered through Phoenician trade. The Etruscans have an "Italian indigenous theory" and a "theory from a country called Lydia on the Anatolian Peninsula", but no clear evidence has been found.
The Carthaginian that was the center of trade Greeks who have been active in colonization since the 8th century BC They were from the developed regions of the time, and both have created colonial cities and city-states . There is something in common.
City-states were like the first form of the country in the first place, and it is said that city-states and small nations were naturally occurring all over the world (also existed in ancient India and ancient China). Meanwhile, Greece And Carthage What if people who are closely related to a city-state like this come in? The city-state will surely expand.
Especially Greece The climate is similar to the mountainous part, and it is thought that the Italian peninsula had enough ground to create a city-state.
There was no large unified nation nearby compared to Greece, nor was there any intervention that encouraged conflict between city-states. Ancient Rome on the Italian Peninsula Was born as a city-state, and eventually increased its territory and became a wide unified nation, because of such geographical circumstances.