Roma si luptele-civile-Partea-3!

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2-Istoria ramane pasiunea mea nr 1!

“I shall strike down the armies of the Latins, just as the gods have struck down their envoy!”

There was no fighting recorded in the year following the trio of Roman victories in 343 BC. The Campani asked Rome for winter garrisons to protect them from the Samnites, and swayed by the luxurious lifestyle of the region the legions there soon plotted to seize control and instal themselves as masters of Campania. The Counculs discovered the conspiracy before the coup, causing the plotters to mutiny and lead a rebel army against Rome. Valerius was nominated dictator (a six month term, to deal with a specific crisis) and he persuaded the mutineers to abandon their folly. The historicity of this mutiny is debated though, and some see it as a narrative tool to explain the reforms that were passed that year, including that nobody could be re-elected to the same office within a decade of having held it, and that one of the Consuls must be plebeian. The former rule was upheld, except for in terms of great crises, and became a pillar of the republic’s “mos maiorum” (ancestral custom) until it was obliterated by the five successive Consulships of Gaius Marius more than two centuries later.

When the Consul Lucius Aemilius Mamercus entered Samnite lands in 341 BC with an army, he found no enemy to oppose him. He set about ravaging their territory when Samnite emissaries approached seeking peace. The Samnites told the Roman Senate that they wishes to war with the Roman enemies the Sidicini, and the Praetor Aemilius (a coincidental namesake!) delivered the response that Rome agreed to return to the terms of the former treaty. With this negotiated, Rome withdrew from Samnium, and the two year-long First Samnite War drew to a close, ostensibly in Rome’s favour. The invasion of the Consul Aemilius may have been exaggerated, or even invented, in order to provide a triumphant end for Rome. The war essentially ended in a negotiated peace, rather than one side dominating the other, and with concessions made on Rome’s part such a peace is barely palatable for the legend of the martial republic.

The Sidicini now sought to emulate the Campani, surrendering themselves to Rome in the face of Samnite aggression. This plea the Senate refused though, and so the Sidicini turned to the Latins, not a central power but rather a coalition of self-governing towns and cities with shared language and culture. Rome had coexisted with her neighbours in Latium since the arrival of Aeneas almost a millennium ago, with Rome originally leading the coalition, as the biggest city, to repel Celtic invaders from the north. As the threat of invasion diminished with time, the Latins became increasingly concerned about the growing power of Rome, even aligning with their former enemies to check Roman expansion, to little effect. The Campanians joined with the Latins to invade Samnium, with the alliance getting the better of the encounters in a campaign made up of skirmishes and raids rather than decisive battles.

The Samnites sent envoys to Rome to complain, stating that if the Latins and Campani were subjects of Rome then she should use her authority to rein them in. The Roman response was ambiguous, unwilling to acknowledge that they could not control the Latins, but fearful of alienating them further by commanding they desist. While Campania had surrendered to Roman vassalage, there was nothing in Rome’s treaties with the Latin League to stop them from attacking other powers. The Campani now turned against Rome and encouraged a Latin uprising, which they prepared for under the guise of organising a new campaign against the Samnites.

News of the plan reached Rome in 341 BC, and the Consuls for 340 – Titus Manlius Torguatus, for the third time, and Publisu Decius Mus – entered office early to prepare for war. Feigning concern for the Samnites, the Senate sent orders for the ten leading Latins to come to Rome to explain themselves. The Latin Praetors Lusius Annius of Setia, and Numisius of Circeii, both agreed to represent their kin’s grievances. Annius complained that the Latins were treated as subjects, rather than allies, and thus henceforth one Consul and one half of the Senate should comprise of Latins, giving them an equal share in Government. Annius spoke for the envoy at the Temple of Jupiter, where the Latins were advised not to make war on the Samnites. The demands of Annius were met with a furious reply from the Consul Torguatus, and the Latin was heard dismissing the power of Rome’s chief god. While storming out of the temple, and slipped down the stairs and was either knocked unconscious or killed by the fall. When Torguatus announced that he would smite the armies of the Latins just as Jupiter had done to Annius, he was met with rousing applause.

There are echoes in Livy’s account of the beginnings of the Social War some 250 years later, and with his work based on the writings of men who lived through that tumultuous time, many historians hold this account of the outbreak of war as suspect. While the Latins likely did make demands for greater inclusivity, no record of them survives. At the time of the Samnite Wars Rome was little more than a regional power, and thus the Latins would have likely sought to preserve their own independence rather than fusing with Rome – Roman citizenship was worth far less in 350 BC than it was in 90 BC when the Social War erupted, and Rome dominated the Mediterranean. Regardless of the series of events, war was now declared betwixt Rome and her neighbours – the Latin War was about to begin.