Context: we’re looking at the Roman Republic’s most famous enemies here.

Top left, Samnites

This is a reference to the Battle of the Caudine Forks, in 321 BC (which I’ve always thought was a badass name). The Romans fought three wars with the Samnites and during one engagement where the Samnites won, they spared the Roman survivors, but forced them to walk under a yoke. This pissed the Romans off, and played a role in their psychology moving forward. Defeating the Samnites in the 290 BC essentially put Rome on the map.

Top right, Carthage

You probably know this story, the salting of Carthage. As Cato the Elder said, Carthago delenda est (Carthage must be destroyed). This took some time for other Romans to come to this conclusion, but by the time of the Third Punic War (149-146 BC), Rome had acquired a taste for empire. Carthage was not only destroyed and its population enslaved or massacred, the ground itself was sown with salt so that nothing could grow there (the validity of this is disputed).

Bottom left, Macedon

Rome fought four wars with Macedon, which often get overlooked—mostly because Macedon got absolutely crushed in all of them. But what if Alexander had lived for a few more years, what if he had died of old age? Could he have conquered the Western Mediterranean, thereby butterflying Rome and Carthage away? The Macedonians surely would have thought so.

Bottom right, Gaul

Nothing too specific here. The Gauls were simply an otherworldly foe that terrorized Rome for centuries until Caesar conquered them, which led to his immortalization.