2.+450+BCE+to+175+BCE

Cornelia Gracchus
Cornelia Gracchus is a famous women in her time period. Her father was publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major, he conquered Hannibal in the second Punic War. Her husband was Tiberius Gracchus. HE had done a lot of things but was known more for his virtue then his honours. Nevertheless, Cornelia remains famous for her own things.

Cornelia gave birth to 12 children but only three lived to adulthood, the two famous brothers Tiberius and Caius later died championing the rights of the common people, and the daughter sempronia, the wife of Scripio Aemilianus. He was the destroyer of Carthage. She was a great mother and raised her kids the way they should be raised.

After the death of Cornelia's husband, Cornelia took it upon her self to take of the house and the children. She did not want to get married again. She would rather be a widow and stay dedicated to her husband. King Ptolemy offered her his crown and would marry her. She refused she would rather live a widow.

Polybius
Polybius was a man who lived from 203-122BC. He was born in the Greek city of Megalopolis, Arcadia. He was a Greek statesman and historian. He was active in politics. He was known to be one of the greatest historians of his time.

Polybius spent his life writing about the relentless growth of the Roman Empire. He did this to help people understand how Rome dominated the world. He also did so so that the future statesman wouldn't make the same mistakes. He recorded Roman expansion. His writings were eyewitness accounts during his time.

He had a great interest in how Rome could organize so that Rome could gain control of the world. His interest led him to analyze different types of constitutions and to come up with theories. His theories would be about how to change Rome's government. Polybius was thought highly of due to his intelligence and ideas for the future of Rome.

(264-146BC)- The Punic Wars
There were 3 Punic Wars and they were between Carthage and the Roman Republic. The first war was from 264-241BC. It was on the island of Sicily. Rome took over many of the Carthaginian cities on Sicily. Romans destroyed the Carthaginian navy. The Carthaginian empire lost control over the sea-ways for the first time. The Romans and Carthaginians signed a treaty to end the war. The treaty said Carthage had to give up Sicily and had to pay for all of Romans' costs for the war even though they couldn't afford it.

The second was from 218-202BC. It started because Carthage refused to dismiss Hannibal and send him to Rome. This war was also called The War Against Hannibal. It took place at many locations like Italy, Sicily, Spain, Africa, Greece, Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul. The result was a victory for Rome. Rome gained domination of the Western Mediterranean.

The third punic war was from 149-146BC. It was also called the Battle of Carthage. It was the last of the Punic Wars. It was between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage and the Roman Republic. This war ended Carthage's independent existance. It was smaller than the first and second war. The location of this war was in Carthage. The result was complete destruction of Carthage. 17,000 Romans were killed and 62,000 Carthaginians were killed during this war.

(437-426BC)-The Laws of the Twelve Tables
The earliest attempt by the romans to create a code of law was the Laws of the Twelve Tables. Ten men were appointed (455BC) to draw up a code of law binding on both patrician (higher up people) and plebeian(common people) in which the consuls would have to enforce. The plebeians were not happy with with this so a second commission of ten was appointed (450BC) and two more tables were added.
 * Table one if you don't come in front of the judge someone will come and get you and bring you to the judge. Once you are done with the judge you must come and meet each other and settle there disagreement.
 * Table two you can yell at the witness every three days if he doesn't appear in court.
 * Table three if you confess your debt to the person you have 30 days to pay it off. If he does not pay he has to give you at least 15 pounds of weight of your choose.
 * Table four if a child is deformed he shall be quickly killed. If a father sells his son three times, the son will become free. A child born after 10 months of his fathers death will not be admitted into legal inheritance.
 * Table five females should remain in guardianship even when they have attained their majority.
 * Table six if you are buying and selling land you have made formal declaration so let it be binding.
 * Table seven the road has to be paved if its not paved a man may go were he wants. If a tree is bent onto a neighbor's land he can take legal actions and cut it down. You may gather fruit that has fallen down into another man's farm.
 * Table eight if you have injured a person or broke a persons bone he have to pay the person a certain amount of money. If you kill well you are stealing in the night you shall be kill too. If you burn a persons crop you shall die and be burned on a stake. You can have no meetings at night.
 * Table nine if you are in the justice system and you take a bribe from someone you shall be punished. You cant kill someone who is unconvicted
 * Table ten you can not burn or bury a body in the city. The women should not cry during a funeral
 * Table eleven if you are a plebeians you can not marry a patricians
 * Table twelve what the people say is a law is a binding law