In this task you will be given a text passage from a trivia quiz. You should choose the category this question belongs to from these categories: History, Science, Social Science, Fine Arts, Literature. You can only choose one category, so if in doubt, please choose the closest match.

This political entity was disastrously defeated by the Cimbri and the Teutoni at the Battle of Arausio. It fought against a group of cities including Marsi in a war sometimes called the Marsic, or Social, War. One defeat for this government came at a battle in which Varro was outsmarted by the use of a double envelopment tactic; that was the Battle of Cannae. However, this republic eventually defeated Carthage over the course of the Punic Wars. For 10 points, name this republic that later became an empire under the rule of Augustus.
History