The correct answer is C, as the statement that best describes Rome's expansion into the Mediterranean region is that following its victories in the Punic Wars, Rome launched a series of wars. Rome's role in Mediterranean trade expanded significantly as a result of those military campaigns.
After defeating Carthage, Rome attacked other countries such as Syria and Macedon, beating both of them, and taking their Mediterranean territories. This was the way that Rome expanded across the Mediterranean sea.
C, as Rome won in the Second Punic War and Rome already established its influence in the Mediterranean before the Roman Empire and the Pax Romana was started by Augustus
