The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire S01 E01 The Rise

In the 3rd century BCE Rome is a young, aggressive republic run by a powerful group of ambitious families intent on growing an empire. This aristocracy has conquered the rest of Italy, but real power lays in waging war against Carthage; the richest state in the western Mediterranean. Decades of battle against Carthaginian general Hannibal shape the fledgling Roman Empire and by 146 BCE, Rome is the undisputed master of southern Europe.