War and Civil Conflict 600 BCE to 600 CE - AP World History: Modern

The Warring States Period led to the Establishment of the Qin Dynasty.

The Gallic Wars, and the journal of the same name, refer to the series of conflicts with Gallic tribes that eventually brought Gaul (modern-day France) into the Roman fold. While his tactics were brilliant, Caesar's motives were more suspect, as he used wealth gathered from Gaul during his campaigns to fund his eventual bid for Emperor in Rome. Be that as it may, Commentaries on the Gallic Wars is still studied in military history classes today.

Vercingetorix, chieftain of the Arverni, was a prominent Gallic chieftain during the Gallic wars. Seeing that the divisions among Gallic tribes were being exploited by Caesar, he eventually became the king of a confederation of tribes, and even managing to defeat the Romans at Gergovia. However, he was defeated and captured during the Battle of Alesia, after which Caesar shipped him back to Rome to act as a trophy for the victorious Romans. After Caesar felt he had outlived his usefulness, he had him strangled in his prison cell.

Spartacus was a Thracian slave who, after beginning the Third Servile War, revealed himself to be a surprisingly able general in the field. He was able to move up and down the Italian countryside with impunity before being defeated by a Roman army under Crassus. In the modern era, Spartacus has come to envision the plight of the common man, most notably in the Stanley Kubrick film that bears his name.

Crassus, blinded by the riches of the Parthian Empire, led an army into Parthian territory with the intent of conquering Parthia and claiming its riches for himself. Crassus also wanted to prove himself as a capable military leader after being upstaged by Pompey during the Third Servile War. However, he made a number of blunders (outpacing his supply lines, going to far into Parthia without support, etc.) When the Parthians did attack, the Romans were exhausted and starved, leading to one of the most resounding defeats in the entire history of Rome.

The Battle of Actium, off the coast of Greece, finally decided the war between Octavian (later Augustus) and Marc Antony. With his naval power crushed, Antony could no longer mount a campaign against Octavian, who already held Italy. This led to his infamous joint suicide with Cleopatra. Octavian became sole emperor of Rome, as well as the first true emperor of Rome.

While Actium made Octavian Emperor of Rome, it was Agrippa who led the actual fighting. Octavian's friend from childhood, Agrippa was a fearsome naval strategist and powerful ally, so much so as to marry Julia, the emperor's only daughter. Later in life, he would fall out of favor with Augustus, only to be recalled when needed to quell rumblings of uprising in Rome.

The Persian empire was the preeminent power in what is now the Middle East for much of antiquity. After securing power in what is now Turkey, including a number of Ionian Greek cities on the coast, Greece became a natural place to expand. However, both expeditions ended in failure, and Persia was never able conquer the peninsula.

The phalanx was a rectangular mass of troops, normally with spears, pikes or other long melee weapons. They were almost impossible to attack head on, as troops would rush right into a mass of spears. The phalanx would meet its match in the more flexible Roman legion, falling out of style as the Romans ascended.

Hannibal Barca, one of the preeminent military minds of his age, nearly managed to destroy the Roman Empire. Using a daring traversal of the Alps with his War Elephants, Hannibal reached the gates of Rome before lack of supply and reinforcement made him retreat. After the fall of Carthage, he fled to modern-day Turkey, a guest of monarchs and a living symbol of Roman vulnerability.

The Revolt of the Ionian Greek cities (in modern day Turkey) was the perfect excuse for Darius to invade the Greek mainland. As cities such as Athens aided the rebel cities, Darius was able to construe this as an act of war and wage his campaign to expand his empire. Unfortunately for Darius, he did not count on the Greeks' resolve and knowledge of their own terrain, which resulted in his defeat at the Battle of Marathon.

Following the suicide of the Emperor Nero, the Roman Empire was thrown into flux. For the first time since Augustus, there was no clear successor to the throne and civil war ensued. Throughout 69 CE, Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian all holding power in areas of the empire. Vespasian would eventually win and start a dynasty of his own.

The Greeks collided the most with the Persians. These conflicts began when Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered a portion of Greece in 547 BCE. This incited a series of wars, which the Greeks ended up coming out victorious. The Greeks did not experience conflict with the Mauryans or the Qin dynasty because they were geographically separated by great distance. Furthermore, the Greeks and Romans actually engaged in a great deal of cross-cultural interactions.

Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE, specifically disobeying the Senate and practically declaring war on the Republic. Pompey was one of Julius's allies, although he himself did not cross the river along with Caesar. Augustus and Antony were allies, and then subsequently enemies, after the fall of Julius, however they too did not participate in the historic crossing. Ovid famously authored the Metamorphoses, but he was not a general, so he would not be a good choice.

The Persian Wars began in 499 BCE and lasted until 450 BCE. The conflict was fought between the Persian Empire and various Greek city-states and culminated in victory for the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon. The wars began when Ionian Greeks, living under Persian control, in modern-day Turkey, revolted against the Persian authorities. The Greek city-states offered their support and earned the ire of the Persian emperors who vowed to conquer all of Greece.

The Peloponnesian War was fought between the forces of Athens and Sparta from 431 BCE until 404 BCE The war began as the culmination of centuries of rivalry between Athens, Sparta, and the other Greek city-states for dominance in the Aegean. It ended in the annihilation of the Athenian army and fleet and the destruction of Athens.

Herodotus is one of the earliest and most famous western historians. He lived in the fifth century B.C.E. and wrote extensively on the wars between Persia and Greece.

The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BCE, part of the initial war between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire. The battle ended in an overwhelming defeat of the invading Persians by a combined force of Greek city-states led by Athens. It was a turning point in the war, as the Greeks managed to gain the upper hand for the first time since conflict had begun.

Lucius Sulla was a Roman military commander during the second and first centuries BCE. He led an armed march on the city of Rome during the Roman Civil Wars and had himself crowned dictator (a position which had been retired for more than a century). His actions permanently destabilized the Roman Republic and encouraged the rise of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.