Battle of Cannae search of him. After two days' march, they found him on the left bank of the river Aufidus, and encamped away. Varro, in command on the first day, is presented by contemporary sources as a man of reckless nature and hubris, who was determined to defeat Hannibal. While the Romans were approaching Cannae, some of Hannibal's light infantry and cavalry ambushed them. Varro repelled the attack and continued slowly on his way to Cannae. This victory, though essentially a mere skirmish with no lasting strategic value, greatly bolstered the confidence of the Roman army, perhaps leading to overconfidence on Varro's
Romans in Persia of the dynasties in control of their empires in different historical periods: first were the Medians (Media Atropatene), then Parthians and finally Sassanians. In 64 BC Pompey conquered the remaining Seleucid territories in Syria, extinguishing their state and advancing the Roman eastern frontier to the Euphrates, where Romans met for the first time the territory of the Parthians. Mark Antony, in his quest to avenge the battle of Carrhae defeat, conquered in 33 BC some areas of Atropatene (northern Iran) and Armenia but soon lost it: that was the first time that Romans occupied a Persian territory, even if temporarily.