The Italian cities were rapidly growing, and the countryside also changed.Slowly, the small farms were replaced by large plantations (often called latifundia), where the work was done by slaves, who could not be recruited for military service. Under these circumstances, there was only one solution: sell the farm and move from the country to the city. Often, the soldiers had to stay abroad for a long time, and it often happened that on their return, they found that their farms had gone bankrupt. The Romans had to fight their wars overseas: in Hispania, and, after 200, Greece and Macedonia. During the Second Punic war (218-202 against the Carthaginian general Hannibal), this started to change. For centuries, a Roman citizen was a peasant and a soldier. The Roman economy was based on agriculture and war. He was defeated by the Roman general Crassus. Spartacus: leader of an army of runaway slaves that shook Italy in 73-71 BCE.
