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How Did Rome Win A Semi-Citizenship?

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Rome’s Ingenious Plan: Semi-citizenship

From 218-202 BCE, Hannibal attacked Rome in the Second Punic War, winning nearly every battle he fought; Hannibal was triumphant throughout most of the war. However, Rome was still able to win the Second Punic War due to its ingenious plan, semi-citizenship. During the war Rome lost many soldiers, but bounced back stronger than ever and won the war against Carthage and Hannibal. Rome was able to recover extremely quickly as a result of its semi-citizenship. Susan Wise Bauer writes, “(Rome) granted citizenship without the right to vote.” This was essentially taxation without representation; it allowed Rome to use all of Italy’s troops, resources, money, and food, without having to manage or even visit the territory that they rule. …show more content…

This was made possible because the army was comprised of Roman citizens, as well as a great deal of semi-citizens. Therefore, Rome immensely relieved on its semi-citizens during in times of conflict, such as the Second Punic War; they “...were the linchpin in the war…” as John T. Medin IV puts it, “The power of Rome was directly related to the ability of Rome to keep its allies within the system.” With a seemingly endless supply of allies, Rome could afford to lose every battle in the war, yet still win because they controlled not only their own resources, but all of Italy’s resources. Another example of Rome’s firm resilience was proven at the battle of Cannae, where around 70,000 soldiers died, according to Polybius. Despite the enormous loss, a mere five years later the Roman army was able to come back and recapture part of Sicily. The powerful loyalty of semi-citizenship made Rome and her allies not only strong, but

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