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Samnium

Coordinates: 41°10′10″N 14°14′10″E / 41.16944°N 14.23611°E / 41.16944; 14.23611
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Samnium (Italian: Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a historical region of Southern Italy that was inhabited in antiquity by the Samnites, an Italic people. The Samnites called their land Safinim and themselves the Safineis, terms attested in inscriptions and coin legends.[1] The population primarily spoke the Oscan language, though not all Samnites were Oscan speakers, and not all Oscan speakers lived within Samnium. The region played a central role in Italic resistance to Roman expansion before its incorporation into the Roman Republic in the early 3rd century BC.

Ancient geographers were unable to relay a precise definition of Samnium's borders, which varied throughout different historical periods.[2] Scholarly understanding continues to evolve based on archaeological discoveries, including recent lidar surveys that have identified previously unknown Samnite hillforts.[3] The historically significant borders are those during the peak of Oscan speakers' influence, from approximately 600 BC to 290 BC, when the region was absorbed by the Roman Republic.

The original territory of Samnium should not be confused with the later administrative region of the same name. When Rome's first Emperor, Augustus, divided Italy into 11 regions,[4] ancient Samnium was distributed across three different Augustan regions: II, IV, and I ("Latium et Campania"). Modern scholars often refer to Region IV as "Samnium", although this designation covers only part of the historical Samnite homeland.

Etymology

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The name Samnium is generally recognized as related to the Sabines, an Italic people of Umbrian stock.[5] The Samnites called themselves Safineis and their land Safinim, terms deriving from an Osco-Umbrian root *sabh-*, which appears as Sab- in Latino-Faliscan and Saf- in Osco-Umbrian dialects.

According to Salmon, a population speaking a common Italic language likely spread across both Samnium and Umbria around 600 BC, after which the dialects began to diverge.[6] This reflects broader patterns of Italic ethnolinguistic differentiation in the mid-first millennium BC.

More speculative etymologies have been proposed, such as that of Julius Pokorny, who traces the root to the Indo-European reflexive pronoun *se-* ("oneself"), suggesting a shared origin with other tribal names such as the Suebi, Sabini, and Semnones.[7] While linguistically intriguing, such reconstructions are hypothetical and remain debated within historical linguistics.

Historical geography

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Samnite soldiers, from a tomb frieze in Nola, Campania, 4th century BC.

The territorial extent and physical geography of ancient Samnium have been described in both ancient sources and modern archaeological studies. Ancient literary sources provide our earliest accounts of Samnium's extent and character. Livy describes the Samnites as mountain-dwelling people and recounts their territorial conflicts with Rome.[8] Strabo wrote that the Samnites descended from the Sabines and occupied the hills and mountains beyond Campania.[9] Other sources include Pliny the Elder[10] and Ptolemy.[11]

Modern scholarly interpretations of Samnium's boundaries have evolved. According to Salmon (1967), Samnium primarily encompassed the central Apennine mountains,[12] while more recent work by Tagliamonte (2017) proposes a broader region.[13]

Recent lidar-based research by Fontana (2022) has identified numerous previously undocumented hillforts in the Daunian mountains of Apulia, with at least seven likely attributable to Samnite occupation. This suggests a more extensive Samnite presence in eastern border regions than previously documented. These hillforts were strategically located to control mountain passes, river valleys (particularly the Fortore river), and transhumance routes, with evidence of Samnite presence as early as the 6th and 5th centuries BC.[14]

The principal cities of the region were Bovaiamom, renamed Bovianum by Latins (today: Bojano or Boiano), and Maleventum (Maloenton in Oscan), which was later renamed Beneventum by the Romans (today: Benevento).[15] For most of their history the Samnites were landlocked, though at their height they briefly held territory on both coasts of the Italian peninsula.

The Samnites were composed of at least four tribes: the Pentri (capital: Bovianum), the Caraceni (principal cities: Cluviae, modern Casoli, and Juvanum), the Caudini (capital: Caudium, today Montesarchio), and the Hirpini (main cities: Beneventum, Abellinum, Aquilonia). They may have later been joined by the Frentani (capital: Larinum, modern Larino).

History

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The earliest record of the Samnites appears in a treaty with Rome dated to 354 BC, setting their border at the Liris River. Over the next six decades, they fought a series of wars against Rome. Notably, they defeated the Romans at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC, and reached the height of their power by 316 BC. However, by 290 BC, Rome had subdued them after several campaigns.

The Samnites allied with Pyrrhus of Epirus during the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC). After Pyrrhus departed for Sicily, the Romans invaded Samnium but were temporarily repulsed at the Battle of the Cranita hills. Ultimately, the Samnites were unable to resist alone and submitted to Roman control.

Some Samnites supported Hannibal during the Second Punic War, though most remained loyal to Rome. In 91 BC, the Samnites and other Italic allies revolted in the Social War (91–87 BC) after being denied Roman citizenship. Although the Romans won militarily, citizenship was eventually granted to avoid further unrest.

During Sulla's civil war, the Samnites were prominent supporters of the Populares. Sulla implemented widespread reprisals against those who had opposed him, including the Samnites. Ancient sources report that some Samnite cities were severely depopulated or destroyed during this period.[16]

Following these events, the Samnites ceased to appear as a distinct political or ethnic group in historical sources, and their population became increasingly Latinized under Roman rule.[17]

Notable individuals

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Rulers of the Samnites

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Uprising against Sulla

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Catholic Popes

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Salmon 1967, p. 28.
  2. ^ Salmon 1967, p. 23. "The boundaries of Samnium, as of any other country, varied at different times in its history. No ancient writer has left a precise and accurate description of them."
  3. ^ Fontana, G. (2022). "Italy's Hidden Hillforts: A Large-Scale Lidar-Based Mapping of Samnium". Journal of Field Archaeology, 47(4): 245-261.
  4. ^ Listed in the Descriptio Italiae, lost to moderns, but serving as the basis of Pliny the Elder's description of Italy.
  5. ^ Salmon 1967, p. 29.
  6. ^ Salmon 1967, p. 30.
  7. ^ Pokorny 1959, pp. 882–884
  8. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Books 7–10.
  9. ^ Strabo, Geography, 5.4.11–12.
  10. ^ Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 3.17.
  11. ^ Ptolemy, Geography, 3.1.
  12. ^ Salmon, E.T. (1967). Samnium and the Samnites. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 25, pl. 1.
  13. ^ Tagliamonte, G. (2017). "The Samnites." In Farney, G.D. & Bradley, G. (Eds.), The Peoples of Ancient Italy (pp. 419–446). Berlin: De Gruyter, p. 425, fig. 2.
  14. ^ Fontana, G. (2022). "Italy's Hidden Hillforts: A Large-Scale Lidar-Based Mapping of Samnium". Journal of Field Archaeology, 47(4): 245–261.
  15. ^ Salmon 1967, p. 145.
  16. ^ Edward Togo Salmon (1967). Samnium and the Samnites. Cambridge University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-521-06185-8.
  17. ^ Strabo, Geography, Book V, Section 4.11.

Bibliography

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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Samnites".
  • Pokorny, Julius (2005) [1959]. Indogermanisches etymologisches Woerterbuch. Leiden: Leiden University Indo-European Etymological Dictionary (IEED) Project. Archived from the original on 2006-09-27.
  • Salmon, E.T. (1967). Samnium and the Samnites. London: Cambridge University Press.
  • Grossmann, Lukas, Roms Samnitenkriege: historische und historiographische Untersuchungen zu den Jahren 327–290 v. Chr. (Düsseldorf, Wellem Verlag, 2009) (Reihe Geschichte, 1).
  • Ross Cowan, Roman Conquests: Italy (Barnsley, 2009).

41°10′10″N 14°14′10″E / 41.16944°N 14.23611°E / 41.16944; 14.23611

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