On The Corn Supply Of Roman Army During The Second Punic War

Since the outbreak of the Punic War in 264 B.C.,Rome began to conquer the Mediterranean world,adequate army corn supply is the material basis for ensuring victory in war.During the Second Punic War（218 B.C.— 201 B.C.）,Rome faced many crises at home and abroad,and the pressure on its army supplies was accentuated by the war abroad.In order to overcome the adverse effects of the military food shortage on the war,Rome took a series of measures to solve the problem of the army corn supply,these measures provided an important guarantee for Rome’s eventual victory in the war.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the problem of Roman army supplies in the Second Punic War,discuss the historical background of Roman army corn supplies,consider the problems faced by the army supplies,investigate the channels and means to ensure the supply of Roman army in the war,and at the same time by examining the nature of the Republic of Rome using taxes to maintain the supply of the army.Try to analyze the influence of Roman army corn supply on the expansion of war and logistics system.This paper is divided into three chapters.The first chapter mainly discusses the historical background of Roman army corn supply,emphasizing the great pressure caused by Hannibal’s destruction and the extension of the battle line in the Second Punic War.The Romans attached great importance to the corn supply for the army.In the early days of the Roman Republic,the soldiers of the army could obtain sufficient corn supply by taxing Roman citizens,supplying by Allies and foraging in wartime.With the outbreak of the Second Punic War,the destruction caused by Hannibal’s invasion of Italy led to the betrayal of some Allies,crop failure and financial shortage,and Rome’s army corn supply pressure gradually increased.Therefore,Rome urgently needed to open up new channels of corn supply for the army.Chapter two respectively analyzes the problems that publicani begin to emerge in the transfer of tax revenue and other aspects,and talks about how Rome expands new supply channels in Sicily and Spain,lays emphasis on the development of its tax revenue in overseas territories.Rome’s attack on Carthaginian Spain was an important turning point of the Second Punic War,which not only cut off Hannibal’s supply line,but also opened up a new channel of money and corn supply for Rome.After wiping out the rebellion of Syragu Kingdom,Rome reestablished its dominant position in Sicily,and increased its grain collection through taxation,which laid a solid foundation for the corn supply of the Army in later times.Publicani began to make a figure during the Second Punic War.They provided Rome with much-needed army supplies through bidding contracts and assisted the provincial governor in collecting taxes,which to a certain extent solved the problem of corn shortage of the Roman army,but also foiled the corruption and extortion of provincial residents.The final chapter discusses its influence: firstly,it is based on the military and war aspects,and secondly,it is about the influence of Roman military provisions on the taxation system of the provinces in the future.The Second Punic War is undoubtedly an important link in the development of the Roman army’s corn supply system.The war prompted Rome to establish a regular army corn supply model,which both inherited the former and started the later.Based on the above research,the further formation of the Roman army corn supply system during the Second Punic War is the product of Rome to strengthen the military construction,which reflects the practical and flexible development trend of the Roman Republic in the munitions logistics management,and its supply mode reflects the political,military,social and economic dominance of the Roman Republic in the Mediterranean world in the middle and later periods.The historical process of the province becoming the main place of raising army corn was closely related to the actual need of Rome to transfer the cost of war after the 3rd century B.C.,and it was an important perspective to understand the operation of the state apparatus of the Roman Republic.