Introduction The Pyrrhic War (280-275 BC) was a war fought by Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus. Pyrrhus was asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war with the Roman Republic. A skilled commander, with a strong army fortified by war elephants (which the Romans… Read More
Introduction The battle or, more precisely, the battles of Croton in 204 and 203 BC were, as well as the raid in Cisalpine Gaul, the last larger scale engagements between the Romans and the Carthaginians in Italy during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC). After Hannibal’s retreat to Bruttium due to the Metaurus debacle, the… Read More
Introduction A Roman colonia (plural coloniae) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term colony. Characteristics The Roman Republic, having no standing army, used to plant bodies of… Read More
Introduction The Battle of the Trebia (or Trebbia) was the first major battle of the Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC), fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and a Roman army under Sempronius Longus on 22 or 23 December 218 BC. It took place on the flood plain of the west bank of… Read More
Introduction The Sack of Rome in 546 was carried out by the Gothic king Totila during the Gothic War of 535-554 between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantine Empire. Totila was based at Tivoli and, in pursuit of his quest to reconquer the region of Latium, he moved against Rome. The city endured a siege lasting… Read More
Introduction The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battles and frontal assaults are avoided in favour of wearing down an opponent through a war of attrition and indirection. While avoiding decisive battles, the side employing this strategy harasses its enemy through skirmishes to cause attrition, disrupt supply and affect morale. Employment of this… Read More
Introduction The Roman triumph (triumphus) was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the service of the state or, originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. On the day… Read More
Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute 