Latin wars
The Latin Wars were a series of clashes that took place in Antiquity on the Italian peninsula. The contenders were the city of Rome, constituted as a Republic, and the Italic peoples of Lazio (Latin and Faliscan) due to Rome's interest in subduing them. There were mainly two clashes between Latinos and Romans, very separated in time; both conflicts were very brief.
First Latin War
The first Latin war took place between 498 and 493 B.C. C. After previous campaigns against the Etruscans, the Romans tried to consolidate their dominance in Lazio. The Latin League, made up of thirty Latin peoples, militarily opposed Rome. It was led by the city of Tusculum, where Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome, had found asylum. The decisive battle was fought near Lake Regillus and marked a major Roman triumph based on the patrician cavalry. According to Roman legends, the Dioscuri would have fought alongside the Romans as two young knights.
In this way, the war concluded with the so-called foedus Cassianum (by the name of the consul Spurio Casio) through which Rome established itself as the main power in Lazio. However, it recognized the autonomy of the Latin cities, which would have to provide military aid in the event of an external threat, reserving Rome the military command of the alliance in that case. Mixed marriages and the establishment of stable commercial relations were also authorized.
Second Latin War
The Second Latin War took place between 340 and 338 B.C. C., a century and a half after the previous one. Alarmed by the expansionist policy of Rome, the Latin cities sent an embassy to the Roman Senate to propose the creation of a republic in parity between Rome and Latium, instead of the latter being subordinate to Rome, and to accept in the Senate Latin representatives. Rome refused the proposal, so the Latins rose up in arms.
After being rivals during the previous First Samnite War, Rome allied with the Samnites to put down the rebellion of the renewed Latin League, which had the support of the Volsci of Anzio (Antium), the Campanians and the Sidicines, betrayed by Rome by being handed over to the Samnites as one of the conditions of peace. Only the laurentes of Latium and the equites of Campania remained faithful to Rome, as well as the pelignos.
While the Latins penetrated Samnium, the Roman troops marched towards the country of the Volsci to subdue it and divide the territory with the Samnites, whose troops joined the Romans in Campania. Both armies jointly defeated the Latins and Campans in the Battle of Vesuvius, near the homonymous mount (339 BC). The Roman consuls were Publius Decius Mus, who sacrificed his life in battle to obtain the favor of the Roman gods, and Titus Manlius Imperious Torquatus, who restored discipline to the army by executing his own son after an act of disobedience. involuntary.
A year later, Manlius decisively defeated the Latins at the Battle of Triphanum (338 BC), so the Latins evacuated Campania and were cornered by the Romans in Latium. In this way, the conflict ended with the capitulation of Anzio before the Roman consul Cayo Menio and with the delivery of the Volscian fleet. From that moment on, the prows (rostra) of the captured ships adorned the stands for speakers in the Roman Forum.
The Latin League was dissolved and its cities were integrated into the Roman Republic through bilateral agreements and specific statutes for each one, preventing individual and legal relations between them. In return, the subject cities received greater rights for their citizens; some of them even received Roman citizenship, such as Lanuvio or Aricia; others were raised to the rank of colonies, such as Ostia, Anzio and Terracina.