How Rome Conquered Italy – and Rewrote Its Defeats

How did a city sacked by the Gauls end up as the master of Italy – and why did Romans later rewrite their worst defeats? History of Rome, Part 2 of 9: the early Roman Republic (509–264 BC), from Brutus and the geese of the Capitol to the Samnite Wars and Pyrrhus' elephants. Part 1 – The Birth of Rome (753–509 BC): Romulus Probably Never Existed. So Who Fou... Full series playlist: Entire History of Ancient Rome Part 3 – Rome vs. Carthage: the Punic Wars – coming next. Subscribe so you don't miss it. CHAPTERS 0:00 The night of the geese (c. 390 BC) 0:52 509 BC: The Republic on trial 2:08 Porsenna, Horatius – and a cover-up? 4:37 Two Romes: patricians vs. plebeians 5:19 The plebs walk out (494 BC) 6:56 Enemies on every side – and Cincinnatus 8:06 The Twelve Tables 9:19 The siege of Veii 10:25 The Gauls sack Rome (c. 390 BC) 12:05 Vae victis – and a rescue that probably never happened 13:02 What we really know – and a new wall 14:09 The Roman formula: citizens, allies, colonies 16:17 The Samnite Wars and the Caudine Forks 17:32 The Appian Way and Sentinum 18:29 Pyrrhus and his war elephants 19:50 The original Pyrrhic victory 20:51 264 BC: Master of Italy 21:27 What made Rome In this episode: Rome's first consuls and Brutus' impossible choice • Porsenna, Horatius at the bridge – and a possible cover-up • the first secession of the plebs and the tribunes' veto • Cincinnatus and his sixteen days of power • the Twelve Tables • the siege of Veii • the Gallic sack of Rome and "Vae victis" • the settlement of 338 BC that built Rome's alliance • the Samnite Wars and the Caudine Forks • the Via Appia • Pyrrhus of Epirus and the original "Pyrrhic victory". Legend or history? Most of what we know about early Rome was written down centuries later. We tell you where the ancient sources agree, where they disagree – and where a good story has probably replaced what happened. SOURCES Livy, History of Rome 2–10 and Periochae 11–15; Polybius, Histories 1–2, 6; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 5–6; Diodorus Siculus 14.113–117; Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus and On the Fortune of the Romans; Tacitus, Histories 3.72; Pliny the Elder, Natural History; Cicero, On the Laws 2.59; Varro, On the Latin Language 7.39; Strabo, Geography 6.3.4; Frontinus, On the Aqueducts 1.5; Eutropius 2.15. Modern: T. J. Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome (1995); G. Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome (2005); E. T. Salmon, Samnium and the Samnites (1967). Maps are based on Natural Earth public-domain data; ancient borders are approximate reconstructions. Narration voice, illustrations, short animated clips, music and sound effects were created with the help of AI tools. Script research, writing, fact-checking and editing by Dominions of History. #romanhistory #ancientrome #historyofrome