The others had been defeated by the military bulldozers that were the legions. In order of size these were the Seleucid Empire, which extended from modern-day Turkey to India, Carthage on the North African coast, which also controlled most of the Iberian peninsula, Ptolemaic Egypt, ruled by Greek-speaking descendants of one of Alexander’s generals, and Macedon, which dominated much of Greece.īy 168 BC, 50 years later, just two powers remained: Rome and a tottering Egypt. There were four other powers in the Mediterranean world, two of which were a great deal larger than Rome. Its only external territories were the islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. Before the outbreak of the second Punic war in 218 BC (the one with Hannibal and the passage of the Alps with elephants!), the Roman Republic controlled perhaps three-quarters of the Italian peninsula. Clash of Empires is the result, and the first in a two-part series. Researching the period, I was amazed that no one had written, recently at least, about one of the most seismic moments in European history. It’s odd then that the clash between the two powers is so little-known today. Two civilisations that impacted massively on world history, their effects are still evident today in language and legal structures, in sport, medicine and philosophy. These words conjure up powerful images: the Olympic Games and the siege of Troy for the former emperors, legions and gladiator fights for the latter.
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