Battles of the ancient world

This, coupled with Scipio's strategy of opening up his lines to allow Carthaginian elephants through without harming his troops, led to a complete Roman victory.

The Romans built a wall to surround the city (a "circumvallation") and a second wall around that (a "contravallation") to protect themselves from the Gaulish relief army under Commius.

This battle (405 BC) on the Hellespont (Dardanelles) ended the Peloponnesian War and the Athenian Empire. After a setback at the Battle of Arginusae in 406 BC, the Spartans reinstated Lysander as the commander of their fleet.

When Commius launched a massive attack on the Romans, Caesar was able to defeat him and force the surrender of Vercingetorix.

Although the Romans were outnumbered by as much as four to one, they proved victorious in what was the turning point of the Gallic Wars.

Marcus Agrippa commanded Octavian's fleet, which consisted of small, nimble Liburnian ships. Antony's fleet consisted of massive Quinqueremes, which were less mobile.

Following his victory in the battle, Octavian titled himself Princeps, and later Augustus. To some, Actium signals the end of the Roman Republic.

The Parthian General Surena decisively defeated a numerically superior Roman invasion force under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Prior to the battle, Constantine supposedly had a vision of God promising victory to his forces if he painted his shields with the Chi-Rho, a Christian symbol.

Constantine was indeed victorious, and Maxentius drowned in the Tiber River during the battle. Eventually, Constantine was able to abolish the Tetrarchy, become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, and end persecution of the Christians.

Final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian and the forces of Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The Second Triumvirate declared this civil war to avenge Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC.

Eager for glory, Valens decided not to wait on reinforcements from the western emperor Gratian, and instead attacked the Goths. In the battle, over two-thirds of the Roman army was killed, including Valens.

The battle was chronicled by Ammianus Marcellinus, who thought it so important that he ended his history of the Roman Empire with the battle.

The Hunnic army was led by Attila, who was rampaging through Gaul. The battle ended with a victory for the Roman-Visigothic alliance, which stopped the Huns' advance into Gaul.

The next year, Attila invaded Italy, however, in 453, Attila died and his empire broke up shortly after.