I was talking a time span of a few years here. I think Rome may come back, but i doubt it will be a major power.
That wasn't a gripe at you (and apologies if it came across like that) but more of a general complaint. Lots of people seem to think that if Rome got crushed decisively early on (eg by Hannibal) then it would have recovered and still emerged to dominate Italy and beyond. The fact is that Rome wasn't unique or special in any way strategically or economically and if dealt with early on many of its neighbours could easily copy the lessons that the Romans learnt over the course of their wars. In the late Roman era and the Middle Ages Rome decline in importance for good reasons. It was a mosquito infested and economically insignificant. The victory of Rome in this era was basically a real life wank. The chances to Rome overcoming these factors was extremely low.
Yay for über-balkanized ancient Italy... Epirotes, Magna Graeca, Carthaginians, Gauls, Samnites, Etruscans, etc.
Yay