Rome in 1,000 bc was a small collection of neolithic mud huts on the Palatine Hill. Five centuries later they threw out the Etruscans ( but kept a lot of their technical knowledge ) and began to grow by absorbing ( not destroying ) other Latin communities in Central Italy. Any actual empire building begins with the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC where the Romans defeated Gauls in addition to various Italian tribes and came into contact with the Greeks of Tarentum and Crotona.
None of this has anything to do with Josephus, of course.
None of this has anything to do with Josephus, of course.
