The return of Pyrrhus from his Sicilian adventure found Rome in bad straits. It was war-weary (constant warfare can do that to you) and suffering from a plague. In spite of that, Rome was still Rome. In 275 B.C., it sent two consular armies southward. Pyrrhus marched to meet them. Read more…
The first battle in the Pyrrhic War was fought near Heraclea in 280. Heraclea was located southwest of Tarentum on the sole of Italian boot. The Romans camped on the other side of a river. When a scout was captured, the Romans knew Pyrrhus was nearby. Pyrrhus’ army consisted Read more…
In 282 B.C., the city of Thurii asked Tarentum to help it against the Lucanians. When the Tarentines turned them down, Thurii asked Rome. As you can imagine, the Romans were only too happy to rescue the damsel in distress. A Roman army defeated a Lucanian Read more…
294 B.C. was marked by raiding by both sides and several battles. One of the battles saw the Samnites taking advantage of a thick fog to assault a Roman camp. They captured the tent of the quaestor (the lowest elected official who supervised the treasury; they were sometimes assigned Read more…
On the Roman left, Decius was more aggressive. He charged with his infantry and also led his cavalry against the enemy cavalry. He and his men rode straight into the Samnite cavalry. As the horses rammed into each other, riders squeezed their thighs inwards to cushion the collision. Although stirrups Read more…
In 295 B.C., Rome was faced with the chilling prospect of four peoples combining against it. The situation was so dire that Rome had five men who were given imperium. (Imperium was the power to command an army.). In other words, the Romans had five armies deployed, led by five Read more…
Rome then went further into Samnium in 321 BC during the Second Samnite War. The Samnite general Gaius Pontius (Caius Ponius) was a “consummate warrior and commander.” High praise from Livy. He disguised some of his men as shepherds and had them tell the Romans that its ally Apulia Read more…
Here is a story from the Second Samnite War (sometimes called the Great Samnite War). The war was from 326 – 304 B.C.E. and is considered by most historians to be Rome’s greatest challenge during its conquest of central Italy. After Neapolis (Naples) was taken in 326, the Romans went Read more…
The Roman line was thin in order to prevent any flanking. A Roman reserve was stationed on a hill to the right. Brennus, seeing this, assumed it was an attempt to hit him in the rear during the battle. He allocated some of his force to attack the hill. The Read more…
In 404 B.C.E., a Celtic tribe called the Senones (the word meant “the ancient ones”) crossed the Alps and settled in northern Italy. They gradually conquered southward until they controlled the Po River Valley. They then came into conflict with the Etruscans. This benefited Rome because it distracted the Etruscans Read more…