HST103A/104A: World History | Unit 3 | Lesson 9: Rome’s Expansion and Crisis

Lesson Answer Key

Rome’s Expansion and Crisis
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1. Why was the Roman army so effective?

Answers could include: it was powerful and well-disciplined; it was made up of highly mobile units called
legions; it used effective tactics; there was constant training and fierce loyalty.

2. Briefly describe three major causes of the Punic Wars.

Rome decided to stop Carthage from completely taking over Sicily. Rome was interested in the rich
plunder that a war might bring. Romans were concerned that Carthage was planning to extend its empire
into Italy.

3. Place the following events in the order in which they occurred to describe some of the major events
of the Punic Wars. Fill in the blanks in the statements, and then write the number of each event in the
correct box below the time line.

1. Rome attacks Carthage and 2. Hannibal raids Italy, 3. Rome burns Carthage,
defeats Hannibal. destroying crops and ending the Third Punic War.
burning villages.

4. Using a new type of naval 5. Hannibal launches a military

warfare, Rome drives the expedition over the Alps to
Carthaginians out of Sicily. attack Rome.

264 B.C. 146 B.C.

4 5 2 1 3

4. What was the result of the Punic Wars in terms of Rome’s territorial expansion?

North Africa became a Roman province. Rome controlled all the western Mediterranean and most of
Spain.

5. In 264 B.C., when the First Punic War started, the borders of the Roman Republic were within which
present-day country?

Italy

6. In 146 B.C., how far west did the Roman Empire extend?

present-day Spain

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 HST103A/104A: World History | Unit 3 | Lesson 9: Rome’s Expansion and Crisis

7. By which date (from the map key) had Rome become an empire? Explain your answer.

146 B.C.; By the end of the Punic Wars, in 146 B.C., Rome had brought together different peoples and
formerly independent states together under the control of the republic.

8. How did the Roman Republic maintain power and control in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea it
had conquered?

It organized conquered territories into provinces.

9. Complete the following to show the changes that were occurring in Rome around 100 B.C. In each
rectangle, write a sentence or phrase that describes the problem.

Farmers

Couldn’t pay rent; driven

from their farms
Rome’s Northern Border Poor and Rich

Tribes harassed thinly Riches from latifundia

stretched Roman legions. created a growing divide
between the rich and the
poor.
Changes in
Rome
Conquered Cities Urban Problems

Grew restless Landless farmers and

unemployed vets crowded
Slaves into Rome; riots broke out.

Launched revolts against

their masters

10. What did the Gracchi do that angered patricians?

They pushed for land-reform laws to redistribute public lands to poor soldiers and small farmers and
extended Roman citizenship.

11. What did Gaius Marius do that changed the Roman army?

He raised an enormous army of unemployed farmers and workers that was loyal to him, not to the
republic.

12. What problems, if any, did the Roman Republic begin to experience that were similar to the problems
previous empires had faced?

Answers may vary. Rome, as other empires in the past, experienced slave revolts, riots, a wide gap
between the rich and the poor, attack by foreigners on borders, and not enough troops to defend a
growing empire.

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 HST103A/104A: World History | Unit 3 | Lesson 9: Rome’s Expansion and Crisis

Use What You Know

Changes/problems could include the following:

• Farmers were going bankrupt and being driven from their farms.
• The gap between the rich and the poor was widening.
• Rome was becoming overcrowded and experiencing riots.
• Slaves were launching revolts against their masters.
• Cities that Rome had conquered were growing restless.
• Tribes on Rome’s northern borders were harassing thinly stretched Roman legions.

Solutions will vary.

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