Table 7 :     Major Battles of the Roman Republic
 
 

People	Comment
Battle on the Allia         390 / 387	Date either 390 or 387. An army of invading Celts from the Po River plain, lead by   Brennus, defeated a Roman army and occupied Rome; they only withdrew after the  Romans had paid ransom.
Battle of Heraclea           280	First defeat inflicted on Romans by Pyrrhus, but not decisive.
Battle of Asculum           279	Second defeat inflicted on Romans by Pyrrhus, but not decisive.
Battle of Beneventum           275	Although Roman historiography claims a Roman victory over Pyrrhus in this battle, it is  assumed that this battle also ended in a defeat of the Romans by Pyrrhus
Battle of Mylae           260	Naval victory of the Romans over the Carthaginians in the 1st Punic War. This came as  a surprise, as Rome was a land power and Carthago hitherto enjoyed hegemony on the  seas in the western Mediterranean. The Roman strategy of using 'bridges' to enable   their soldiers to walk over to the enemies' ships was successful.
Battle of Tunis           255	A land battle in the 1st Punic War in which a Carthaginian army under the command   of a Spartan routed a Roman army.
Battle of Aegates Islands           241	Final naval battle of the 1st Punic War; a Roman victory; Carthago, exhausted by   24 years of war, surrendered.
Battle at the Trebbia           218	Battle early in the 2nd Punic War. Hannibal's Numidian cavalry succeeded in routting  the Roman cavalry and encircling the Roman infantry. However the Roman infantry  succeeded in breaking through the line formed by Hannibal's infantry (Spaniards, Celts).  Militarily a draw or a slight advantage for Hannibal, as he remained in possession of  the battlefield.
Battle on Lake Trasimene           217	During the 2nd Punic War. A Roman army under consul Flaminius, in pursuit of  Hannibal, was entrapped between the Lake Trasimene and the adjacent hills (where  Hannibal's forces laid  in hiding). The Roman army was annihilated.
Battle of Cannae           216	During the 2nd Punic War. A Roman force of 80,000 faced a Carthaginian force of  50,000 on the banks of the river Aufidus. Hannibal's Numidian cavalry routed the  Roman cavalry, encircled the Roman infantry. 50,000 Romans fell in battle, 20,000  were taken prisoner. Carthaginian losses 5,000.
Battle of Zama           202	Final battle in the 2nd Punic War. A recently recruited, untrained Carthaginian army  under command of Hannibal was routed by a Roman-Numidian army.
Battle of Cynoscephalae           197	Roman victory over Macedonia under Philip V. Macedonia deprived of its status as   great power.
Battle of Thermopylae           190	Seleucids under Antiochus III. the Great defeated by Romans.
Battle of Magnesia           190	Seleucids under Antiochus III. the Great defeated by Romans.
Battle of Pydna           168	Macedonians defeated by Romans; Macedonian king Perseus fled. Macedonia was  annexed by Rome.
Battle of Noreia            113	Defeat of a Roman force by the Cimbri, Teutones and Ambrones, Germanic resp.   Celtic tribes migrating southward in search of new, better lands to settle.
Battle of Arausio            105	Third successive defeat of a Roman force by the combined force of the Cimbri,   Teutones and Ambrones. The defeat caused a panic in Rome; Marius was appointed  commander. He reorganised the Roman army.
Battle of Aquae Sextiae             102	The Teutones (they had split from the Cimbri) marched by Marius' camp and offered  battle, which Marius refused - the Teutones regarded him a coward. They continued  their march. Marius follwed them and attacked while they were on the march,   unprepared for battle. A Roman victory; the surviving Teutones were sold into slavery.
Battle of Vercellae            101	Marius accepted the Cimbri offer of battle and selected the battlefield so that the Cimbri  had to fight facing the descending sun. A Roman victory; the surviving Cimbri were  sold into slavery.
Battle of Pharsalus               48	Roman Civil war. Caesar's experienced legions defeated the legions Pompey recently  had raised in Greece. The battle was decisive; Pompey fled to Egypt, where he was  assassinated.
Battle of Thapsus                46	Caesar's legions defeated an army loyal to the Republic. Caesar's victory brought him  control over Africa.
Battle of Munda               45	The final battle in the civil war. Caesar defeated a republican army commanded by  Pompey's sons.
Twin Battle of Philippi               42	Actually it were three battles, fought within a period of two weeks. At first two   republican armies, one commanded by Brutus, the other by Cassius, faced two   Caesarian armies, one of them commanded by Mark Antony. M. Antony defeated  and eliminated Cassius, while Brutus was victorious - and both commanders unaware  of what had happened in the other battle fought simultaneously nearby. In the third  battle, Mark Antony and Brutus fought it out, M. Antony prevailing, Brutus committing  suicide.
Battle of Actium              31	A Roman-Egyptian fleet under Marc Antony and Cleopatra was defeated by a Roman  fleet under Octavianus and Agrippa. Alexandria fell in 30; Egypt was annexed by Rome.