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Samnium (Oscan: Safinim; Italian: Sannio) is a historical region of the south central Apennines
Apennine mountains

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains is a mountain range stretching 1000 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming the backbone of the country....
 in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, that was home to the Samnites, a group of Sabellic tribes that controlled the area from about 600 BC to about 290 BC. Samnium was delimited by Latium
Latium

Lazio, called Latium in English language, is a Regions of Italy of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche to the north, Abruzzo to the east, Campania to the south, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west....
 in the north, by Lucania
Lucania

Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium....
 in the south, by Campania
Campania

Campania is a Regions of Italy of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy, its total area of 13,595 km? makes it the most densely populated region in the country....
 in the west and by Apulia in the east. The principal cities of the region were Bovaiamom, renamed Bovianum by Latins
Latins

Latins can refer to several groups of people. Its meaning has changed throughout time, and can still refer to different things even today....
 (today: Bojano
Bojano

Bojano or Boiano is a town and comune in the province of Campobasso, Molise, south central Italy....
 or Boiano) and Malventum (Maloenton in Oscan), which was later renamed Beneventum by the Romans
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 (today: Benevento
Benevento

Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato....
).

For most of their history the Samnites were landlocked, but during a brief period they controlled parts of both coasts of the Italian peninsula.






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Samnium (Oscan: Safinim; Italian: Sannio) is a historical region of the south central Apennines
Apennine mountains

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains is a mountain range stretching 1000 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming the backbone of the country....
 in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, that was home to the Samnites, a group of Sabellic tribes that controlled the area from about 600 BC to about 290 BC. Samnium was delimited by Latium
Latium

Lazio, called Latium in English language, is a Regions of Italy of central Italy, bordered by Tuscany, Umbria, and Marche to the north, Abruzzo to the east, Campania to the south, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west....
 in the north, by Lucania
Lucania

Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium....
 in the south, by Campania
Campania

Campania is a Regions of Italy of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy, its total area of 13,595 km? makes it the most densely populated region in the country....
 in the west and by Apulia in the east. The principal cities of the region were Bovaiamom, renamed Bovianum by Latins
Latins

Latins can refer to several groups of people. Its meaning has changed throughout time, and can still refer to different things even today....
 (today: Bojano
Bojano

Bojano or Boiano is a town and comune in the province of Campobasso, Molise, south central Italy....
 or Boiano) and Malventum (Maloenton in Oscan), which was later renamed Beneventum by the Romans
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 (today: Benevento
Benevento

Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato....
).

For most of their history the Samnites were landlocked, but during a brief period they controlled parts of both coasts of the Italian peninsula. The Samnites were composed of at least four tribes: the Pentri
Pentri

The Pentri were a tribe of the Samnites, and apparently one of the most important of the subdivisions of that nation. Their capital city was Bovianum , in the very heart of the Samnite territory, and it is therefore probable that they occupied the whole of that rugged and mountainous district which extends from the frontiers of Latium, in th...
 (the most important tribe, capital: Bovianum), the Caraceni
Caraceni (tribe)

The Caraceni or Caricini or Carricini were a tribe of the Samnites. According to Ptolemy, they inhabited the most northern part of Samnium, bordering on the Peligni and the Frentani; but more especially the upper valley of the Sagrus ....
 (principal cities: Cluviae, the modern Casoli
Casoli

Casoli is a comune and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy: it is situated on a foothill of the Majella mountain, at the base of which runs the Aventino River, tributary of the Sangro....
, and Juvanum
Juvanum

Juvanum or Jovanum was one of the chief cities of the Caraceni, a tribe of Samnites, the ruins of which are located in the communes of Montenerodomo and Torricella Peligna, in province of Chieti, region of Abruzzo, Italy....
, the ruins of which are spread between Torricella Peligna
Torricella Peligna

Torricella Peligna is a comune and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of ItalyExternal links...
 and Montenerodomo
Montenerodomo

Montenerodomo is a comune and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy...
), the Caudini
Caudini

The Caudini were a Samnite tribe that lived among the mountains ringing Campania and in the valleys of the Isclero and Volturnus rivers. Their capital was at Caudium, but it seems certain that the appellation was not confined to the citizens of Caudium and its immediate territory....
 (capital: Caudium, today Montesarchio
Montesarchio

Montesarchio is a comune in the Province of Benevento, Campania, southern Italy. It is located 18 km south-east of Benevento in the Valle Caudina at the foot of Monte Taburno....
) and the Hirpini
Hirpini

The Hirpini , were an ancient people of central Italy, of Samnite race, and who were often regarded as constituting only a portion of the Samnite people, while at other times they are treated as a distinct and independent nation....
 (Oscan for wolf; capital Beneventum), and later may have been joined by the Frentani
Frentani

The Frentani were an ancient people of central Italy, occupying the tract on the east coast of the peninsula from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic, and from the frontiers of Apulia to those of the Marrucini....
 (capital Larinum, the modern Larino
Larino

Larino is a town and commune of approximately 8,200 inhabitants in Molise, province of Campobasso, southern Italy. It is located in the fertile valley of the Biferno River....
). The federal capital of the federal League they formed was Bovianum, except for a short period between the 4th
4th century BC

The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical antiquity era, epoch, or historical period....
 and 3rd centuries BC, in which it was Aquilonia
Aquilonia

Aquilonia is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, part of the Campania region of Italy. It is situated in mountainous terrain in the eastern part of Avellino, at an elevation of 750 m....
, destroyed by Romans in 293 BC, whose probable location today is modern Aquilonia, in Campania, province Avellino. The earliest written record of the people is a treaty with the Romans from 354 BC, which set their border at the Liris River. Shortly thereafter the Samnite Wars
Samnite Wars

The First, Second, and Third Samnite wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century, involving almost all the states of Italy, and ended in Roman domination of the Samnites....
 broke out; they won an important battle against the Roman army in 321 BC, and their empire reached its peak in 316 BC after further gains from the Romans. In 290 BC, the Romans finally broke the Samnites' power. The Samnites were the last group holding out against Rome in the Social War (91–88 BC). In 82 BC, the Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , or simply Sulla, was a Roman general and politician, holding the office of consul twice as well as the Roman dictator....
 slaughtered many of them and forced the rest to disperse. So great was the destruction that it was recorded that "the towns of Samnium have become villages, and many have vanished altogether."

Rulers of the Samnites

  • Gaius Pontius
    Gaius Pontius

    Gaius Pontius, sometimes called as Gavius Pontius or simply Pontius, was a Samnite commander during the Second Samnite War. He is most well known for his victory over the Roman legions at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BCE....
     ca. 320's BC
  • Gellius Egnatius
    Egnatius

    Gellius Egnatius was the leader of the Samnites during the Third Samnite War, which broke out in 298 BC. By the end of the second campaign the Samnites appeared completely defeated, however in the following year Gallius Egnatius marched into Etruria, and roused the Etruscans to a close co-operation against Rome....
     ca. 296 BC


Uprising against Sulla

  • Gaius Papius Mutilus
    Gaius Papius Mutilus

    Gaius Papius Mutilus was a Samnite noble who is best known for being the leader of the southern rebels who fought against the army of Rome in the Social War of 91-87 BC ....
     90-89 with:
  • Pontius Telesinus - Samnite commander to Papius


See also

  • Samnite Wars
    Samnite Wars

    The First, Second, and Third Samnite wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century, involving almost all the states of Italy, and ended in Roman domination of the Samnites....


External links