Farming and plunder were the most popular ways of providing for one's family during the early period of Roman history. Not just for Rome, but her neighbors, as well. Rome formed treaties with neighboring villages and city-states to allow them to join forces either defensively or aggressively. As was true throughout most of ancient history, there was usually a respite from fighting over the winter. In time, the alliances began to favor Rome. Soon Rome became the dominant city-state in Italy.
At the beginning of the 5th century B.C., shortly after the expulsion of the Roman kings, the Romans won a battle at Lake Regillus that Livy describes in Book II of his history. The battle, which, like most events of the period, contains legendary elements, was part of a war between Rome and a coalition of Latin states, often called the Latin League.
The cities of Veii and Rome (in what is modern Italy) were centralized city-states by the fifth century B.C. For political as well as economic reasons, both wanted control of the routes along the valley of the Tiber. The Romans wanted Veii-controlled Fidenae, which was on the left bank, and the Fidenae wanted the Roman-controlled right bank. As a result, they went to war against each other three times during the fifth century B.C.
The Romans were badly defeated at the Battle of the Allia, although we don't know how many escaped by swimming across the Tiber and fleeing to Veii. The defeat at Allia ranked with Cannae as the worst disasters in Roman Republican military history.
Sparta's one colony, Tarentum, was a wealthy commercial center with a navy, but an inadequate army. When a Roman squadron of ships arrived at the coast of Tarentum, in violation of a treaty of 302 that denied Rome access to its harbor, they sank the ships and killed the admiral and added insult to injury by spurning Roman ambassadors. To retaliate, the Romans marched on Tarentum, which had hired soldiers from King Pyrrhus of Epirus.
The Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage spanned the years from 264 - 146 B.C. With both sides well-matched, the first two wars dragged on and on; eventual victory going not to the winner of a decisive battle, but to the side with the greatest stamina. The Third Punic War was something else entirely.
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