We know that there were law codes at the time that did forbid women from being the actual ruler, like in France applying Salic Law. Victoria could not become Queen of Hannover, even though her uncle was the king of Hannover and the United Kingdom. If a country wanted to, they could ban it without...

I have counted legions and allied legions Rome conscripted during 16 years of Punic War. It's roughly 400k and could be even more. If all battles of Hannibal are counted, Roman casualties are about 200k. How in the world can a pre-industrial nation that doesn't even have control over entire Italy...