Latin War - Background

Background

The Latins did not have any central government, but where divided into a number of self-governing towns and cities with a shared language, culture and some legal and religious institutions. In the 5th century BC these city-states had formed a mutual military alliance, the foedus Cassianum primarily to resist the raids and invasions of two neighbouring peoples, the Aequi and the Volsci. As the largest Latin city, Rome naturally enjoyed a leading position in this alliance. By the early 4th century BC the Latins where no longer threatened by invasions, but instead feared an increasingly powerful Rome. Several wars between Rome and other Latins, now often found fighting besides their former enemies the Volsci, are recorded for the first half of the 4th century. In the end the Latins and the Volsci could not prevent Rome from establishing control over the ager Pomptinus (the territory Pomptine Marshes and the Monti Lepini) and in 381 annexing the Latin town of Tusculum. The threat of Gallic invasion seems to have convinced at least some Latin towns to resume their treaty with Rome in 358, but these did not include Tibur and Praeneste, Rome's chief opponents among the Latins, who only made peace with Rome in 354 after a lengthy war. During the 340s Roman-Latin relations seems again to have worsened. Livy records that in 349, when again faced with a Gallic invasion, the Latins refused to supply their share of troops, and in 343 actually planned to attack Rome, but following news of Roman victories against the Samnites instead decided to attack the Paeligni.

The Samnites were a tribal federation living in the central Apennines. In 354 they had formed a treaty of friendship with Rome, probably fixing the river Liris as the border between their respective spheres of influence, but despite this treaty, in 343 the First Samnite War broke out between Rome and the Samnites over the control of Campania. According to Livy this war originated in Samnite attacks on a smaller tribe, the Sidicini. Unable to resist, the Sidicini appealed to the Campanians, who were led by the famously wealthy city-state of Capua, but these were also defeated and the Samnites invaded Campania. At this point the Campanians decided to surrender themselves unconditionally into the power of Rome, following which the Romans felt compelled to intervene to protect their new subjects against Samnite attacks. Modern historians are in some dispute whether this surrender really took place or was invented to absolve Rome of treaty breaking, but generally agree that Rome formed some kind of alliance with Capua.

The First Samnite War ended in 341 with a negotiated peace and renewal of the former treaty between Rome and the Samnites. Rome retained her Campanian alliance, but accepted that the Sidicini belonged to the Samnite sphere. According to Livy, once peace with Rome had been concluded, the Samnites attacked the Sidicini with the same forces they had deployed against Rome. Facing defeat, the Sidicini tried to surrender themselves to Rome, but their surrender was rejected by the senate as coming far too late. The Sidicini then turned to the Latins who had already taken up arms on their own account. The Campani joined the war as well, and led by the Latins a large army of these allied peoples invaded Samnium. Most of the damage they dealt there to the Samnites was done by raiding rather than fighting, and although the Latins got the better in their various encounters with the Samnites, they were happy to retire from enemy territory and fight no further. The Samnites sent envoys to Rome to complain and demand that if the Latins and Campani really were subject peoples of Rome, Rome should use her authority over them to prevent further attacks on Samnite territory. The Roman senate gave an ambiguous reply, being both unwilling to acknowledge that they could no longer control the Latins and afraid of alienating them further by ordering them to stop their attacks on the Samnites. The Campani had surrendered to Rome and must obey her will, however there were nothing in Rome's treaty with the Latins preventing them from going to war against whoever they wanted. The result of this reply was to completely turn the Campani against Rome and encourage the Latins to take action. In the guise of preparing a Samnite war, the Latins plotted in secret with the Campani for war against Rome. However news of their plans got out, and at Rome the sitting consuls for 341 were ordered to leave office before the expiry of their term, so that the new consuls could enter office early in preparation for the major war that was brewing. The consuls elected for 340 were Titus Manlius Torquatus, for the third time, and Publius Decius Mus. The annually elected consuls were the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and responsible for commanding Rome's armies in times of war.

Modern historians have not put much credence in these events supposed to have taken place following the end of the First Samnite War, believing them to be largely invented. There are several similarities with the events supposed to have started the Samnite War, the Samnites are once again at war with the Sidicini and a surrender offer is made to Rome, and this duplication is unlikely to be historical. This time the surrender is refused, showing the moral superiority of the Roman senate. The supposed secret plotting between the Latins and Campani are also likely to be inventions, inspired by similar secret talks held by the Italians before the outbreak of the Social War, news of which were also leaked to the Romans.