Really, what did you expect? That the little factions are all going to sit back and just calmly wait for you to mass troops on their border and attack them? Or that they should just assume that you're such a nice, peaceful guy that you wouldn't even dream of attacking them?

And when you're beating them in a war, should they say "Oh, yes, we'll make peace with you, because you've just become much stronger than us, and we'll trust in the fact that you'll never want to attack us again"?

I suppose those options would be fine if the game were called "Rome: Total Boredom". But the fact that the object of the game is completely wrapped around conquering means that not trying to conquer is pointless. I'd do the exact same thing they are doing, if I was in the AI shoes.

The diplomacy in this game works extremely well, and is quite versatile, as long as you understand the underlying premise - the other factions aren't going to trust you, and they are going to want to expand. I've made numerous long-term (50+ turns) alliances, signed numerous ceasefires, and made quite effective use of diplomacy.

A "for example": I was playing Carthage, and was taking over Sicily. I attacked the Scipii first, and took their city. This weakened me, so the Greeks declared war and attacked. I managed to fight them off, and take their city. After that, I didn't pursue the war with them, as the rest of the cities were too far away. About 10 turns later, I got a ceasefire with them. Why? Because they didn't have any cities near me, and I didn't have any cities near them. They knew that I wasn't in a position to attack them, and they realized that being at war was foolish, as they weren't in a position to attack me either. So ceasefire and trade agreement, and we were at peace for the rest of the game.

Second "for example": Same game as Carthage. Everyone claims that the Numidians will attack. However, I notice they are at war with Spain. I go to war with Spain. I make an alliance with Numidia. They drag me into a war with Egypt (I was supporting their ship), I drag them into a war with Gaul (again, ship support). Net result? We are both at war with the same 3 factions. Despite being neighbours, we have a solid alliance that lasts the entire game.

What's the point of these examples? They show that, just like in real life, if you want something, you have to give something. Making an alliance with another faction where you have no common interests or enemies is not going to make for a lasting alliance. If you are neighbours, they will attack you. However, collaberate on a war against a mutual third party, and the alliance will stand. The same goes for ceasefires, if your armies are all stationed near their cities, and your territory surrounds theirs, they aren't going to want to make a ceasefire with you. It just wouldn't make sense for them to do so.

Bh