012- The First Samnite War

The Romans fought a final war against their Latin neighbors from 340-338 BC. The Romans won a decisive victory and the Latin League was abolished once and for all. 

For hundreds of years the Roman Army used the Greek phalanx, but during the Samnite Wars they were forced to develop a new distinctly Roman system. 

In the third century BC, a clash which had been brewing for centuries finally erupted: Rome, the ruthless imperialist upstart dominating Italy, against Carthage, the ancient but sinister apex predator of the Mediterranean. The conflict sparked in Messina in 263 BC, and went on fo ...  Show more

Synopsis: With Rome encroaching from the north and south, the sons of Grypus battle Parthians, usurpers and local powers to keep their hold on Syria. “As he lingered on the banks of the Euphrates, (Sulla) received a visit from Orobazus, a Parthian, who came as an ambassador ...  Show more

Control of the Mediterranean Sea was not the motive of the young Roman Republic when she first joined the battle with the idol-worshiping empire of Carthage in 265 B.C. More than a century later, however, Carthage was dust and Rome was becoming the undisputed power of the known w ...  Show more

We continue with the story of Rome's rise to power in the third and second centuries BC, and ask two vital questions: first, did the Romans simply get lucky? Second, how did the Roman legions become the most feared fighting machine of the ancient world?Support the showFor a free ...  Show more