Timeline of Roman Wars and Battles

  • This timeline follows the Wars and Battles from the Roman Kings and the Roman Republic to the end of the Roman Empire.

Tactics of the Roman Legion

Roman Army adopts the Phalanx System (c.550 BCE onwards)

Roman-Etruscan Wars (8th century-264 BCE)

  • First War against the Fidenae and the Veii by Romulus
  • Second War against the Fidenae and the Veii by Tullus Hostilius
  • War with the Etruscans under Servius TulliusWar with the Veii and Tarquinii under the Republic (509 BCE)
  • War with Clusium (508 BCE)
  • War with the Sabines (505-504 BCE)
  • Fabian War with the Veii (483-476 BCE)
  • War against the Veii-Sabine Alliance (475-474 BCE)
  • Battles at Sutium, Nepete and Tarquinii (389-386 BCE)
  • War with the Tarquinii, Falerii and Caere (359-351 BCE)
  • Battles of Lake Vadimo (310, 283 BCE)
  • Vulcii defeated (280 BCE)
  • Volsinii defeated (264 BCE)

Brennus and the Gauls (390-387 BCE)

Latin Wars (498-338 BCE)

  • First Latin War (498-493 BCE)
  • Alliance with the Latin League (493-343 BCE)
  • Second Latin War (340-338 BCE)

Samnite Wars (343-290 BCE)

  • First Samnite War (343-341 BCE)
    • Rome rescued Capua from a Samnite attack.
  • Second Samnite War (326-304 BCE)
  • Third Samnite War (298-290 BCE)
    • Rome succeeded in gaining control over Central and Southern Italy.

Roman Army adopts the Maniple System (315 BCE onwards)

Pyrrhic War (280-275 BCE)

  • Battle of Heraclea (280 BCE)
  • Battle of Asculum (279 BCE)
  • Sicilian Campaign (278-275 BCE)
  • Battle of Beneventum (275 BCE)

First Punic War (264-246 BCE)

Illyrian Wars (229-167 BCE)

Second Punic War (218-202 BCE)

Macedonian Wars (214-148 BCE)

Celtiberian Wars (181-133 BCE)

  • First Celtiberian War (181-179 BCE)
    • First of Three Wars of Resistance to the Romans after the Second Punic War.
  • Second Celtiberian War (154-152 BCE)
  • Numantine War (143-133 BCE)

Lusitanian War (155-139 BCE)

  • War of Resistance in Portugal by Punicus, Caesarus and Viriathus.

Third Punic War (149-146 BCE)

  • Siege of Carthage (149-146 BCE)
  • Carthaginian Fireships destroy the Roman Fleet off Utica (149 BCE)

Numantine War (143-133 BCE)

  • War of Resistance in Spain by the city of Numantia.

Servile Wars (135-71 BCE)

Cimbrian War (113-101 BCE)

Jugurthine War (112-105 BCE)

  • Between the Roman Republic and Jugurtha, self styled King of Numidia.

Roman Army adopts the Cohort System (105 BCE onwards)

Social War (91-88 BCE)

  • Rome against the Socii, resulting in Rome granting all of its citizens in Italy full Roman Citizenship.

Sulla’s Civil Wars (88-81 BCE)

  • Sulla’s First Civil War (88-87 BCE)
  • Sulla’s Second Civil War (83-81 BCE)
  • Sertorian War (83-72 BCE) between Sulla and Gaius Marius‘ supporter, Sertorius, in Hispania.
  • Lepidus’ Rebellion against Sulla (77 BCE)

Mithridatic Wars (88-63 BCE)

Pompey and the Pirates (67 BCE)

  • Pompey, in a joint naval and land campaign, completely clears the Mediterranean of Pirates.

Pompey's Campaigns in the Middle East (65-63 BCE)

  • Pompey’s Caucasian Campaign (65 BCE) turns Armenia, Iberia and Albania into Roman Client Kingdoms.
  • Pompey annexes Syria into a Roman Province (64 BCE) and after his Siege of Jerusalem, Judea becomes a Roman client kingdom (63 BCE).

Catiline Conspiracy (63-62 BCE)

  • Catiline’s army of 10,000 soldiers in Etruria was defeated by 3 Roman Legions in 62 BCE.

Gallic Wars (58-51 BCE)

Invasion of Persia by Crassus (53 BCE)

Great Roman Civil War (49-45 BCE)

Second Triumvirate (43-33 BCE)

  • Assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BCE)
  • Parthia
    • Octavian appropriated the 700 million sesterces stored by Julius Caesar for the next War against Parthia, and headed for Rome to embark on the next stage of the Civil War.
    • This left Parthia in a strong position to challenge Rome for the next one hundred years until the Treaty of Rhandeia in 63 CE. Rome had to keep eight legions in the East to deter a Parthian Invasion.
  • Proscription against the Roman Senate.
    • Proscription. from the Latin ‘Proscriptio’, meant the publication of the Names of the Enemies of the State, leading to their execution.
    • Mark Anthony, Lepidus and Octavian Proscribed 2000 Equites and over 100 Senators, leading to mass executions, which included Cicero. Only a few with political connections managed to survive.
    • The revenue received was used to raise new Legions to conduct the Civil War.
  • The Liberators civil war: (44-42 BCE)
  • The Sicilian Revolt (44-36 BCE)
  • The Perusine War (41-40 BCE) between Octavian and Mark Anthony’s wife and younger brother.
  • The Final Civil War of the Republic (32-30 BCE)

 

End of the Roman Republic and Start of the Roman Empire

 

Cantabrian Wars (29-19 BCE)

  • Guerilla War starting with the Battle of Vellica in 25 BCE and ending in 19 BCE.

Meroitic War (27-22 BCE)

  • A war fought by the Roman Empire in Egypt against Queen Candace of Kush.

Invasion of Noricum, Raetia and Vindelicia (16-15 BCE)

Drusus’ Invasion of Germania (12-9 BCE)

  • Drusus the Elder invaded Germany with 7 Legions, after having first built a line of 50 defensive forts along the Rhine. He reached the Elbe in 9 BCE where he died.

Great Illyrian Revolt (6-9 CE)

  • In 6 CE, 100,000 men in 10 Legions and their Auxiliaries invaded Illyria, a 3 year guerilla war followed.

Varus’ Invasion of Germania (9 CE)

Invasion of Pannonia and Dalmatia (9 CE)

Revolt of Tacfarinas (14-24 CE)

  • Tacfarinus conducted a guerilla war using Numidian cavalry in hit and run tactics for ten years.

Roman Conquest of Britannia (43 CE)

  • 4 Legions invade Britain under Claudius, winning the Battle of the Medway.

War of Armenian Succession with Parthia (58-63 CE)

  • Second Roman war with Parthia, resulting in Armenia becoming a client kingdom of both Empires.

Boudicca's Revolt (60-61 CE)

First Jewish-Roman War (66-73 CE)

Year of the Four Emperors (69 CE)

Batavian Revolt (69-70 CE)

  • 8 Legions sent to supress the Batavians.

Invasion of Scotland by Agricola (79-83 CE)

Dacian Wars (85-106 CE)

  • First Dacian War (101-102 CE)
  • Second Dacian War (105-106 CE)

Trajan's Parthian War (113-116 CE)

  • Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria become Roman Provinces, Roman Empire reaches its greatest extent.

Kitos War (115-117 CE)

  • Rebellions in Judaea, Cyprus, Cyrenaica and Egypt.

Bar Kokhba's Revolt (132-135 CE)

  • 6 Legions and 6 part Legions sent by Hadrian.

Marcomannic Wars (168-180 CE)

  • First Marcomannic War (172-176 CE)
  • Second Marcomannic War (177-182 CE)

Year of the Five Emperors (193 CE)

Septimius Severus Parthian Campaign (195-197)

  • Ctesiphon sacked and Mesopotamia again became a Roman Province.

Clodius Albinus declares himself Emperor in Britannia (196 CE)

Septimius Severus' Caledonian Campaign (208-211 CE)

  • Based at York, he rebuilt and occupied the Antonine Wall. His Legions crossed the Firth of Forth using a bridge of 900 boats and the River Tay using a similar bridge of boats.

Caracalla repels an Invasion by the Alemanni (213-214 BCE)

Caracalla’s Parthian War (216-217 CE)

  • A series of Roman Raids east of the Tigris.

Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 CE)

Year of the Six Emperors (238 CE)

Gordian III War with Parthia (242-244 CE)

  • Roman Invasion resulting in defeat at the Battle of Misiche (244 CE).

Gothic Wars (249-261 CE)

Gothic Fleets (255-269 CE)

Roman Army adopts the Comitatenses (260 CE)

Valerian's War against the Sassanid Empire (257-260 CE)

  • Battle of Edessa (260 CE) After Valerian reconquered Syria (257 CE), both he and his 60,000 soldiers were defeated and captured at Edessa, making him the only Roman Emperor to be captured and held as a prisoner of war.

Aurelian reconquers the Palmyrene Empire and the Gallic Empire (270-275 CE)

  • The Alemanni were defeated and ejected from Italy (271 CE). The Aurelian Walls (271-275 CE) were built to protect Rome, and the Palmyrene Empire defeated (273 CE) and the Gallic Empire (274 CE) defeated.

Diocletian (285-305 CE) and the Tetrarchy

Constantine I (312-337 CE)

Roman Army adopts the Comitatus Praesentales (c.312 CE onwards) and reduces the size of the existing Legions.

Constantine II (337-340 CE)

Constantius II campaigns against Parthia (357-361 CE)

  • Roman Legions repel continuous Parthian attacks under King Shapur II.

Julian continues the War with Parthia (361-363 CE)

Valentinian I Campaigns against the Alemanni (365-374 CE)

  • Valentinian repels an Invasion of Gaul by the Alemanni (365-367 CE), followed by wars against them until 374 CE.

Valens Gothic Wars (37-378 CE)

The Great Conspiracy in Britannia (367-8 CE)

Gothic Wars (376-382 CE)

  • Battle of Adrianople (9 Aug 378 CE). Fritigern defeats the Roman Army. Historians date this battle as the beginning of the End of the Western Roman Empire.

Theodosius I Civil Wars (387-394 CE)

  • Civil War between Theodosius I and Magnus Maximus (387-388 CE)
  • Civil War against Eugenius (394 CE)
  • Civil War between Theodosius I and Arbogast (394 CE), the Magister Militum of the West.
  • Battle of Frigidus (5-6 Sep 394 CE) resulting in the defeat and Death of Arbogast.

Alaric the Visigoth invades Italy (401-402 CE)

  • Battle of Pollentia (6 Apr 402 CE)

Invasion of Gaul by the Ostrogoths, Vandals, Alans and Quaedi (405-6 CE)

Alaric the Visigoth invades Italy (408-10 CE)

Rise of Vandal Naval Power (428-477 CE)

  • Fall of Carthage (435 CE), followed by Sicily, Malta, Sardinia and Corsica lost by 439 CE.

Attila the Hun invades Gaul (451 CE)

Majorian campaigns to regain the West (457-461 CE)

  • Majorian regains Spain, Gaul, Sicily and Illyricum.

Anthemius (467-472 CE)

  • Battle of Cape Bon (468 CE) Campaign to retake North Africa but fails.
  • Another Campaign to retake Gaul but fails.

Third Sack of Rome (546 CE)

  • Totila, King of the Ostrogoths carries off the population of Rome.

Battle of the Masts (655 CE)

  • The Battle of the Masts was fought near Antalya in 655 CE, between a Fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire and an Arab Fleet.
  • The Fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire lost 500 ships to the Arab Fleet, ending the Naval domination of the Mediterranean by the Eastern Roman Empire.

Other Major Battles in the Ancient World

 

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