The resumption of warfare in 362 B.C. opened a new phase in the history of Rome's external relations. By the middle of the fourth century, the scope of Rome's military and diplomatic activity had expanded greatly, and for the first time its power and influence were felt beyond the borders of Latium. The years of recovery and gradual expansion after the Gallic Sack witnessed dramatic changes in Roman social structure and political organization. The period is represented as one of profound crisis and continual strife. A fact of prime importance for understanding of the early Roman economy is the land hunger of the peasantry. References in the sources to the small size of peasant holdings are frequent. In the space of barely two generations, the social and economic structures of the Roman Republic had been radically transformed. This process coincided with a reform of the constitution and a profound alteration in the composition and character of the governing class.