Essential Battles of Roman History
Early Republic
Lake Regillus – 496 BC
-Romans defeat Etruscans/Latins with help of Castor and Pollux
Mons Algidus – 458 BC
-Cincinnatus beats the Aequi during his 16-day dictatorship
Allia River – 390/387 BC
-Brennus and the Senones (Gallic tribe) defeat the Romans and sack Rome
Samnite Wars
Caudine Forks – 321 BC
-Samnites trap Romans in a mountain ridge
-Romans forced under the yoke
-2nd Samnite War
Lautulae – 315 BC
-Samnites defeat Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus
-2nd Samnite War
Sentinum – 295 BC
-Romans under Fabius Rullianus and Publius Decius Mus defeat Samnites, forcing a
peace.
-Decius Mus commits devotio by sacrificing himself to inspire the troops
-3rd Samnite War
Pyrrhic War
Heraclea – 280 BC
-Pyrrhus defeats the Romans in their first encounter, but at great cost (Pyrrhic victory)
Asculum – 279 BC
-Pyrrhus defeats the Romans again (Pyrrhic victory); another Decius Mus commits
devotio
Beneventum – 275 BC
-M. Curius Dentatus finally defeats Pyrrhus to end the war
-Area was known as Maleventum (bad wind) before the battle
1st Punic War
Agrigrentum – 261 BC
-Romans take most of Sicily from Carthage by defeating Hannibal Gisco and Hanno
Mylae – 260 BC
-Rome’s first naval victory, by Gaius Duilius
-corvus – “raven” – plank for boarding enemy ships
Cape Ecnomus – 256 BC
-Roman naval victory; one of largest sea battles ever
Bagradas – 255 BC
-Xanthippus (Spartan mercenary for Carthage) defeats and captures Regulus in Africa
Panormus – 251 BC
-Metellus fights off a Carthaginian siege; Carthage decides to send Regulus to ask for
peace
Lilybaeum – 250 BC
-Roman siege; eventually lifted after the loss at Drepana in 249
Drepana – 249 BC
-Publius Claudius Pulcher consults the sacred chickens; they don’t eat, so he “lets them
drink” and throws them overboard. The Romans suffer a disastrous defeat.
Aegates Islands – 242 BC
-G. Lutatius Catulus defeats Hanno the Great at sea, ending the 1st Punic War
2nd Punic War
Saguntum – 218 BC
-Hannibal besieges the Spanish city south of the Ebro, starting the 2nd Punic War
Ticinus – 218 BC
-Hannibal defeats P. Cornelius Scipio the Elder
-Scipio the future Africanus saves Scipio the Elder, his father
Trebia – 218 BC
-Hannibal lures Tib. Sempronius Longus into a trap and defeats him
Trasimene – 217 BC
-Hannibal defeats Gaius Flaminius in an ambush; Flaminius is killed
Cannae – 216 BC
-Hannibal destroys the Roman army under G. Terentius Varro and L. Aemilius Paullus
-L. Aemilius Paullus is killed; Varro escapes
-Double envelopment strategy successful
Baecula – 208 BC
-Scipio (future Africanus) defeats Hasdrubal in Spain
Metaurus – 207 BC
-Hasdrubal is killed in Italy; M. Livius Salinator is reinforced by G. Claudius Nero
Ilipa – 206 BC
-Scipio (future Africanus) defeats Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco with a “reverse Cannae”
tactic
Utica – 203 BC
-Scipio (future Africanus) defeats Hasdrubal Gisco in Africa, forcing the recall of
Hannibal
Zama – 202 BC
-Scipio defeats Hannibal in Africa to end the war, earning the title Africanus
-Numidians led by Masinissa ally with Rome
Macedonian Wars
Cynoscephalae – 197 BC
-T. Quinctius Flamininus defeats Phillip V of Macedon
-Legion proven superior to phalanx; 2nd Macedonian War
Pydna – 168 BC
-L. Aemilius Paullus defeats Perseus of Macedon (Paullus Pounded Perseus at Pydna)
-3rd Macedonian War
Seleucid War
Thermopylae – 191 BC
-Manius Acilius Glabrio prevents the Seleucids (Antiochus III) out of Greece
Magnesia – 190 BC
-Scipio Africanus and Scipio Asiaticus defeat Antiochus III
Third Punic War
Carthage – 146 BC
-Scipio Aemilianus destroys Carthage to end the short-lived Third Punic War
Late 2nd Century BC
Corinth – 146 BC
-Lucius Mummius defeats the Achaean League and begins the era of Roman Greece
Numantia – 133 BC
-Scipio Aemilianus besieges and captures Numantia in Spain
War with Cimbri and Teutones
Arausio – 105 BC
-Disastrous defeat of Servilius Caepio and Mallius Maximus by the Cimbri and Teutones
Aquae Sextiae – 102 BC
-Gaius Marius defeats the Teutones
Vercellae – 101 BC
-Marius and Quintus Lutatius Catulus defeat the Cimbri
Colline Gate – 82 BC
-Sulla’s march on Rome results in him defeating his rivals and gaining control of Rome
Caesar’s Gallic Wars
Arar – 58 BC
-Caesar defeats migrating Helvetians
Bibracte – 58 BC
-Caesar defeats Helvetians under Divico
Gergovia – 52 BC
-Vercingetorix defeats Caesar
Alesia – 52 BC
-Caesar’s successful siege against Vercingetorix swings the Gallic Wars in Rome’s favor
Carrhae – 53 BC
-Crassus dies fighting the Parthians, losing the standards; First Triumvirate crumbles and
Pompey/senate try to make Caesar lay down his command in 50 BC
Caesar’s Civil War vs. Pompey
Caesar crosses Rubicon into Italy Jan. 10, 49 BC, declaring war in doing so
“Alea iacta est” – “The die is cast”
Ilerda – 49 BC
-Caesarian victory against Pompey’s commanders in Spain
Utica – 49 BC
-Caesar’s general G. Scribonius Curio defeats Publius Attius Varus in North Africa
-Varus fights on behalf of the optimates using troops from King Juba I of Numidia
Bagradas – 49 BC
-Varus and Juba defeat and kill Curio in North Africa
Dyrrhachium – 48 BC
-Pompey’s successful siege in modern Albania leads Caesar to retreat
Pharsalus – 48 BC
-Caesar defeats Pompey in Greece, causing Pompey to flee to Egypt
-Ptolemy XIII assassinates Pompey, actually angering Caesar
Nile – 47 BC
-Caesar and Cleopatra defeat Ptolemy XIII for control of Egypt
Zela – 47 BC
-Caesar launches a successful 5-day campaign against Pharnaces II of Pontus
-Pharnaces had defeated Calvinus at Nicopolis in 48 BC
-Battle is in modern Turkey; afterwards Caesar says “Veni, vidi, vici”
-“I came, I saw, I conquered”
Ruspina – 46 BC
-Titus Labienus, Caesar’s lieutenant in Gaul who had defected to Pompey, almost defeats
Caesar but is forced to flee; battle is in north Africa
Thapsus – 46 BC
-Caesar defeats leftover optimates & Juba in north Africa
Munda – 45 BC
-Caesar defeats and kills Labienus and Varus in Spain, clearing way for him politically
Octavian’s Civil Wars
Forum Gallorum – 43 BC
-Antony marched against the assassin Decimus Junius Brutus, governor of Gallia
Cisalpina, on his own
-Antony defeats the consul Pansa, only to be defeated by the consul Hirtius, both sent to
support Decimus Brutus
Mutina – 43 BC
-Six days after Forum Gallorum, Octavian reinforces Hirtius and they defeat Antony
-Hirtius dies in the battle; Pansa dies soon after from wounds sustained at Forum
Gallorum
-Octavian’s coming of age in a way; truce signed with Antony
-Second Triumvirate formed between Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus
Philippi – 42 BC
-Two battles in Macedonia by Octavian and Antony against Caesar’s assassins M. Brutus
and Cassius
- 1st battle: Cassius hears incorrectly about Brutus’s defeat, commits suicide
-2nd battle: Brutus is defeated and commits suicide
Perusia – 41-40 BC
-Antony’s wife Fulvia and brother Lucius Antonius raise an army to support him as sole
ruler
-Octavian besieges the city, spares and exiles the two, and butchers the citizens
Naulochus – 36 BC
-M. Vipsanius Agrippa defeats Sextus Pompeius (son of Pompey) who was preventing
grain flow
Actium – 31 BC
-September 2 off the coast of Greece
-Agrippa defeats Cleopatra and Antony on behalf of Octavian
-Antony and Cleopatra flee to Alexandria and commit suicide by sword and snake bite,
respectively (snake was an asp)
Imperial Battles
Teutoberg Forest – 9 AD
-Arminius (Hermann the German) leads Cherusci against Quinctilius Varus
-Utter disaster for Romans; 3 legions lost
Wattling Street – 60/61 AD
-Revolt of Queen Boudicca of the Iceni put down by G. Suetonius Paulinus
Cremona/Bedriacum I – 69 AD
-Valens and Caecina defeat Otho on behalf of Vitellius
Cremona/Bedriacum II – 69 AD
-Antonius Primus defeats Vitellius on behalf of Vespasian
First Roman-Jewish War
Jerusalem – 70 AD
-Sacked by Titus, for which the Arch of Titus was built; end of most outright conflict, but
Jewish strongholds remained
Masada – 73 AD
-L. Flavius Silva besieges a mountain fortress of Jewish rebels in Israel
-Builds a giant ramp up to the fort
-Mass suicide by Jewish rebels inside
More Imperial Battles
Mons Graupius – 84 AD
-Gnaeus Julius Agricola, governor of Britain, defeats Calgacus in Caledonia (Scotland)
-Romans don’t follow up on victory and Caledonia remains unconquered
-Shaky peace and quiet with Caledonia follows
Tapae – 87 AD
-Domitian’s failed invasion of Dacia under Decebalus; peace treaty
Tapae – 101 AD
-Trajan’s successful invasion of Dacia under Decebalus
Sarmizegethusa – 106 AD
-Siege of the Dacian capital, won by Trajan
Septimius Severus’s Rise to Power
Severus was challenged by two contenders after an auction for the throne: Pescennius
Niger in Syria and Clodius Albinus in Britain. Remember where each is by their names:
niger means black while albus means white like albino. People in Syria will have darker
skin than those in Britain.
Cyzicus – 193 AD
-Severus defeats Pescennius Niger in northern Turkey
Nicaea – 193 AD
-Severus defeats Niger
Issus – 194 AD
-Severus defeats Niger for good
Lugdunum – 197 AD
-Severus defeats Clodius Albinus at modern London
Late Imperial Battles
Edessa - 260 AD
-Emperor Valerian is completely defeated and captured by King Shapur I of the
Sassanids
-Valerian is forced to drink molten gold, according to some sources
-also might have been used as Shapur’s stepstool
Milvian Bridge – 312 AD
-October 28; Constantine’s vision in the sky
-in hōc signō vincēs, “In this sign you will conquer”
-Constantine defeats Maxentius, who drowns in the Tiber
-End of Tetrachy system; paves way for Christianity in the Empire
Adrianople – 378 AD
-Also called Hadrianopolis
- Fritigern and the Goths defeat Eastern Emperor Valens and his western reinforcements
-Beginning of the end for Rome
Sack of Rome – 410 AD
-Alaric and the Visigoths
Chalons – 451 AD
-Flavius Aëtius and the Visigoth Theodoric I stop the advance of the Huns
-Theodoric dies
Sack of Rome – 455 AD
-Genseric and the Vandals
Ravenna – 476 AD
-September 2, eastern coast of Italy
-Odoacer/Odovacer leads German mercenaries formerly allied to Rome
-Ravenna currently the capital of the Western Empire
-the boy Romulus Augustulus, last emperor of the west, forced to abdicate
-Western Roman Empire comes to an end