Within its borders and across distant lands, Rome’s legions faced formidable foes in epic clashes, shaping the destiny of an empire. From the legendary Punic Wars against Carthage to the seismic shifts in power during the transition from Republic to Empire, there were conflicts that were the crucible in which Rome’s greatness was forged. A …
The Battle of Adrianople on 9 August AD 378 was the beginning of the end for the Roman empire. Was the Roman empire weakening, then the barbarians were on the rise. Rome was no longer in its prime, yet it still could muster a tremendous force. The western empire at the time was ruled by …
Had Roman involvement in Illyria and the Macedonian alliance with Carthage in the Second Punic War (right after Cannae!) not made Rome and Macedon the best of friends, then peace of 205 BC was destined not to last. Rome suspiciously watched its neighbour across the sea. Philip V of Macedon sought supremacy over the Greeks, …
The Battle of Ilipa in 206 BC was in my opinon Scipio’s masterpiece.If Rome had ten years earlier been terribly defeated at Cannae by Hannibal, then Scipio had spent his time training his forces in the wars in Spain. He had learned the lesson so brutally taught by Hannibal and drilled his forces to be …
The Battle of Cannae in the summer of 216 BC is a milestone in Roman history. It was Hannibal’s finest hour and it forced the Romans to learn a painful lesson. The Roman legions were perhaps the finest military units of their day. Their methods of fighting, their training, and their equipment were highly sophisticated …
Hoofbeats echo in your head, getting louder, and louder still. The going had seemed so easy on the way out, and now it seems like every bush and root is clawing at you, trying to hold you down. Suddenly, pain lances through your back and shoulder blade as you’re struck. You hit the ground just …