A compelling account of how Rome became supreme power in Europe and the Mediterranean world.The book highlights the significance of Rome's success in the wars against Pyrrhys, Carhage, the Hellenistic kingdoms and in Spain that led to empire, and it shows how the Republic's success in conquering an empire changed the conquerors.It is unusual in focusing on a discrete, vital period in Roman history rather than attempting to cover all of it or even just the Republic.