Mediterranean expansions

1st colonity

5 BCE

Rome defeated all the remaining peoples of the Italian Peninsula . Once they controlled it , the Romans began their conquest of the western Mediterranean . This led to conflict with Carthage , the other great Mediterranean power , in the Punic Wars .

2nd colonity

3 BCE

The Punic Wars ended with Carthage's defeat and the Roman conquest of Sicily , Corsica , North Africa and most of the Iberian Peninsula . Then Rome expanded into the eastern Mediterranean , defeating the Greeks and Macedonians .

3rd colonity

1 BCE

With the subsequent annexation of Syria and Egypt , the Mediterranean became the Roman Mare Nostrum . Finally , the Romans succeeded in occupying other parts of Europe : Gaul , Great Britain and part of Central Europe .