At the beginning of the Punic Wars, Carthage was the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The Carthaginian Empire spanned much of North Africa, the Iberian peninsula, the coast of southern France, and many islands close to Rome. The Punic Wars were fought over a period of approximately one-hundred years and ended with the destruction of Carthage and the domination of Rome over the entire Mediterranean.

The Samnite War was one of the many wars fought by the Roman Republic in the fourth and third centuries BCE for control over the Italian peninsula. Like the Latin War and the Pyrrhic War, the Samnite War ended in victory for the Roman Republic and the growth of Roman territory on the Italian peninsula.

The Battle of Regillus was fought in 496 BCE between the Roman Republic and the forces of the Latin League led by the deposed Roman king Tarquinius Superbus. It ended in victory for the Roman Republic and the final defeat of Rome’s last monarch.

The Latin War was fought between the growing Roman Republic and the weakening Latin League in the mid-fourth century BCE. The Latin League was a loose confederation of towns and city-states who grouped their militaries together to provide mutual protection. In the years leading up to the war, Rome had taken effective control over the Latin League. In 340 BCE certain members of the League rebelled against what they saw as heavy-handed Roman government. The war was swiftly won by the Romans, who completely dissolved the Latin League and incorporated all of its territory into their growing dominion.

The Battle of Philippi was part of the Wars of the Second Triumvirate. It was fought between the army of Octavian and Mark Antony and the forces led by the tyrannicides (those who conspired to murder Julius Caesar). It ended in victory for the Second Triumvirate and consolidated their control over the territory of the Roman Republic. It also witnessed the suicide of Brutus and Cassius, the two main rivals to the political hegemony of the Second Triumvirate.

Gaius Marius was a Roman consul towards the end of the history of the Roman Republic. He was elected as consul an unprecedented number of times and was instrumental in the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. Specifically, Gaius Marius is notable for the successful reforms he made to the Roman military. He created professional standing armies and authorized the recruitment of landless peasants into the Roman army.

In the Final War of the Roman Republic, Octavian and Mark Antony fought against one another for sole control of the entire Roman territory. During the rule of the Second Triumvirate, Mark Antony had lived in Alexandria with the Egyptian ruler Cleopatra. The decisive battle of the Final War of the Roman Republic occurred in 31 BCE. The Battle of Actium was a naval engagement fought between the forces of Octavian and the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. It ended in complete victory for Octavian. Shortly thereafter, Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, thus ending the war and bringing to a close the history of the Roman Republic.

The Tarquin Monarchy ruled the city of Rome in the waning years of the Roman Kingdom. The rulers of the Tarquin Monarchy were in power before the rise of the Roman Republic in 507 BCE. Also, due to their great antiquity, they are somewhat legendary figures whose lives cannot be reliably confirmed.

The Battle of Gergovia was fought in 52 BCE between the Gallic forces of Vercingetorix and the forces of the Roman Republic led by Julius Caesar. It ended in victory for the Gauls and forced the temporary withdrawal of the Roman army.

The Roman province of Gaul, conquered by Julius Caesar in 50 BCE, included significant amounts of territory in modern-day France and Belgium.