Could Rome Be Checked in the 1st Century B.C.

Only 3 of the wars have a serious chance at limiting Rome to an Italian only power.

Cimbrian War: 100,000+ warriors tromping all over Italy, causing the death of Marius, Sulla, and even more Roman nobles than killed in OTL, and possibly sacking Rome would be more than a little detrimental to Rome's future greatness.

Social War: The unallied status cities breaking Rome's hammer lock over the entire peninsula would cause a redistribution of power. Rome might or might not return to the top, but even if it did so, the power structure would be different with much, much less of a Rome-centric viewpoint. Also a successful Social War would likely see the deaths of Marius, Sulla, and a whole bunch of their cronies who later became powerful - Pompey, Lucullus, Sertorius, Crassus, etc.

Mithridatic Wars: Don't see the war really ever getting carried over to Italian peninsula itself. But stops Rome's eastward expansion. More important and future important Roman's are killed.


I don't see any of the Rome versus Rome civil wars being enough to check the Republic's advance. They continually add them IOTL and those didn't seem to slow them much.

Okay, all the Italians wanted in the Social War was citizenship. The whole war was fought to get it. Even though they lost, they still won in a way, because they achieved their goal.


Any chance Capua could get an opening and become the most powerful city in Italy, in the event of Rome being checked. I was thinking before or around the time of Hannibal, but i suppose it could be after. What does everyone think

Capua was destroyed by Rome in the Second Punic War and made basically into a resort town for Romans...
 
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