28 - Developments in the Republic (276 - 262)
During the short period from the First Punic War to the early Illyrian Wars, the Republic had gained the remaining mainland of southern Italy, colonized west Corsica, seized Sardinia, Sicily and a coastal stripe in southern Illyria. According to estimations, the total population of the Republic comprised up to 2.5 million people at that point of time.
The result of this rapid expansion was a clear demographic shift. The annexation of territories never exposed to Latin culture meant, that maybe just slightly more than half the population consisted of Latin people. And since not even all Latin speaking people had been granted citizenship, the citizens were now in the minority.
The still unifying factor in society was probably religion. It is assumed that, besides non-Greek population groups on Sardinia and Sicily, the overwhelming majority of inhabitants of the Republic were still followers of some variant of the Hellenic religion and pantheon.
Gnaeus Flavius` work "Legis Actiones", that was written during that time, does not only give insight into the Roman judiciary system, but also into the legislation of his time. Apparently, the Senate was not only more willing to accept variants of the Hellenic system as equal to the Roman one, one does also see, that the first attempts of Syncretism appear in order to incorporate rites of other religions into the own system. This was especially applied to the followers of the Phoenician religious system.
Another important part of legislation concerned slavery. According to estimations, between 30 and 40 percent of the population were slaves. Hence it was necessary to guarante them at least a basic legal status to protect them from "indecent" punishment. On the other hand, punishment for fugitive slaves that were captured again became more harsh.
Besides societal, the Republic also strived for teritorial unity. A good example for this is the Italiote city of Heraclea in southern Italy. In 294, shortly after the end of the Lucanian War, it became a tributary city to the Republic. In 274, the year when Metapontum and Ancona were integrated into the Republic, Heraclea became a vassal of Rome. Another eight years later, in late 262, it also lost its remaining independence and became a part of the Republic. With Sicily being annexed in 265 already, Heraclea had been the last remnant of the Greek influence in Italy and with it Magna Graecia slowly disappeared.
In the year 312, Appius Claudius Caecus, while being Censor of the Republic, ordered the construction of the Via Appia. A road from Rome to Capua, that was designed to improve logistics during the Samnite Wars. In 269, after becoming Consuls, Appius Claudius Caudex and Camillus Claudius ordered the extension of the Via Appia from Capua to Tarentum. Additionally another road was constructed from Rome northward to Pisae, that would later be known as Via Claudia. Further roads came into being on Sardinia and Sicily.
These roads did speed up troop movements within Italy, enhanced transport of supplies and thus helped the Republic to keep large armies in the field far away from Rome during long Campaigns. These roads, built across the whole Roman territory and being used for centuries after the end of the Empire, became one of the most important Roman legacies.