This is not Rome: Total War! It is so much more than that.
No, there are no tactical battles in this game. Instead there is a whole lot of strategical depth. Instead of commanding your armies personally to ensure victory, you have to assign the right commander and ensure optimal army composition.
Besides the military aspect, you also control the economic and political aspect of whichever ancient power you decide to control. This game has a lot of options, which I suppose can be daunting to a new player (I recommend reading the manual), and if you don't like this type of game, you should definitely stay clear of this one. If you like grand strategy games (and maybe even some of the other paradox games) however, and the time period appeals to you, you definitely have to play this game.