Roman Republic until Julius Caesar

Reference

Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia

"The traditional date for the expulsion of Tanquin the Proud, based on Livy's account, is 509 BC, although Rome's breakaway from Etruscan rule has been assigned dates as late as 445 BC." [Bauer: Ancient World, p. 475] "The Second Samnite War broke out in 326 BC over Rome's attempts at colonizing Fregellae, which the Samnites considered their own. This quickly ended at the Battle of the Caudine Forks. The Romans gave up their colonies at Fregellae and Cales. The fighting resumed in 316 BC. For the next few years, Roman historians record Samnite invasions of Latium and Campania, but Rome's armies did recover and would then invade Samnium yearly until peace was made in 304 BC.
In addition to the gain of territory, some ancient sources suggest that the Romans adopted the manipular military formation of the Samnites as a result of their early successes. This formation later evolved into a military tactic that would allow the conquering of Europe." [Wikipedia] By the end of the Samnite Wars in 290 BC, Rome controlled more than half the peninsula through treaties or direct control. [Beard: SPQR, p. 159]