Tag: Samnites
The Early Republic: The war with Pyrrhus of Epirus (part 3; 278-275 BCE)

Before King Pyrrhus of Epirus crossed over to Sicily he reportedly narrowly escaped an attempt on his life. According to his biographer Plutarchus the king’s personal physician had offered the Romans to poison his master in return for a royal reward. The new consul for 278 BCE, Gaius Fabricius Luscinus,…
The Early Republic: The war with Pyrrhus of Epirus (part 2; 280-279 BCE)
The Early Republic: The war with Pyrrhus of Epirus (part 1; 281-280 BCE)
The Early Republic: Prelude to the war with Pyrrhus of Epirus (289-281 BCE)
The Early Republic: the Second Samnite war (part 1; 327-312 BCE)
The Early Republic: Samnites, Latins and Campanians (343-327 BCE)

In 343 BCE a war broke out between the Romans and Samnites, an Oscan-speaking people that lived in the hills and mountains of southern Central Italy. Roman behaviour was exceptionally opportunistic, as little more than ten years ago they had made an alliance with the Samnites. Now, however, they decided…
The Early Republic: crisis, reconstruction and new expansion (part 2; ca. 386-342 BCE)
The Roman Age of Kings: the Etruscans and their influence on Rome (ca. 900-509 BCE)

Discussions about the origins of the Etruscans go all the way back to Antiquity. The Romans called their neighbours Tusci or Etrusci, while the Greeks called them Tyrrhenoi.[1] Most classical authors believed that the Etruscans were originally Lydians who, at some point in history, had migrated from Asia Minor to…
The First Punic War: The Years 259-257 BCE

Summary The First Punic War continues without any major land or sea battles; First engagements between the Romans and Carthaginians near Corsica and Sardinia (259 BCE); Failed Roman attack on Panormus on Sicily (258 BCE); The Romans and Carthaginians fight each other to a draw at the naval Battle of…