The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who inhabited Samnium, a region located in the modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy.
An Oscan-speaking people, who originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they formed a confederation consisting of four tribes: the Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. Ancient Greek historians considered the Umbri as the ancestors of the Samnites.Strabo, Geography, book 4, 7 BCE, p. 465, Alexandria, Their migration was in a southward direction, according to the rite of ver sacrum.
Although allied together against the Gauls in 354 BC, they later became enemies of the Romans and fought them in a series of three wars. Despite an overwhelming victory at the Battle of the Caudine Forks (321 BC), the Samnites were subjugated in 290 BC. Although severely weakened, the Samnites would still side against the Romans, first in the Pyrrhic War and then with Hannibal in the Second Punic War. They also fought in the Social War and later in Sulla's civil war as allies of the Roman consuls Papirius Carbo and Gaius Marius against Sulla, who defeated them and their leader Pontius Telesinus at the Battle of the Colline Gate (82 BC). Afterwards they were assimilated by the Romans and ceased to exist as a distinct people.
The Samnites had an economy focused upon livestock and agriculture. Samnite agriculture was highly advanced for its time, and they practiced transhumance. Aside from relying on agriculture, the Samnites exported goods such as ceramics, bronze, iron, olives, wool, pottery, and terracottas. Their trade networks extended across Campania, Latium, Apulia, and Magna Graecia.
Samnite society was stratified into cantons. Each city was a vicus. Many vici were grouped into a pagus, and many pagi were grouped into a touto. There were four Samnite touto, one for each of the Samnite tribes. Aside from this system of government, a few Samnite cities had political entities similar to a senate. It was rare, although possible, for the Samnites to unify under a coalition; normally the tribes and cities functioned independently from one another.
Samnite religion worshipped both spirits called numina and gods and goddesses. The Samnites honored their gods by sacrificing live animals and using votive offerings. Superstition was prominent in the Samnite religion. It was believed that magical chants could influence reality, that magical amulets could protect people, and that augurs could see the future. Samnite priests would manage religious festivals and they could bind people to oaths. Sanctuaries were a major part of the Samnite religion. These might have been used to benefit from trade networks, may have marked the border between territories, and may have been intertwined with government. Samnite sanctuaries may have also been used to reinforce group identity.
Etymology
The Indo-European root Saβeno or Sabh evolved into the word Safen, which later became Safin. The word Safin may have been the first term used to describe the Samnite people and the Samnite Kingdom.Edward Togo Salmon (1967). Samnium and the Samnites. Cambridge University Press. .Bakkum, Gabriël C. L. M. (2009). The Latin Dialect of the Ager Faliscus: 150 Years of Scholarship. Amsterdam University Press. p. 66 .Stuart-Smith, Jane (2004-06-17). Phonetics and Philology: Sound Change in Italic. OUP Oxford. pp. 28, 139 . Etymologically, this name is generally recognized to be a form of the name of the Sabines, who were Umbrians. From Safinim, Sabinus, Sabellus and Samnis, an Indo-European root can be extracted, *sabh-, which becomes Sab- in Latino-Faliscan and Saf- in Osco-Umbrian: Sabini and *Safineis. Some archaeologists believe Safin refers to all the people of the Italian peninsula, others say just the people of Molise.Evans, Jane DeRose (2013). A Companion to the Archaeology of the Roman Republic. John Wiley & Sons. .Scopacasa, Rafael (2015). Ancient Samnium: Settlement, Culture, and Identity between History and Archaeology. OUP Oxford. pp. 18–295 . It could also be an adjective used to describe a group of people. It appears on graves near Abruzzo from the 5th century, as well as Oscan inscriptions and slabs in Penna Sant'Andrea. The last known usage of the word is on a coin from the Social War.
Safin would go through a series of changes culminating in Safinim, the Oscan word for Samnium, meaning "cult place of the Safin people." This became the word for the Samnite people, Safineis.Sonnenschein, E. A. "Sabellus: Sabine or Samnite?" The Classical Review, vol. 11, no. 7, Cambridge University Press, 1897, pp. 339–340, . as well as other words in Greek such as Saini, Saineis, Samnītēs, Sabellī, and Saunìtai. These terms likely originated in the 5th century BC and derive from saunion, the Greek word for javelin.Farney, Gary D.; Bradley, Guy (2017-11-20). The Peoples of Ancient Italy. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 70–71, 420 .
At some point in prehistory, a population speaking a common language extended over both Samnium and Umbria. Salmon conjectures that it was common Italic and puts forward a date of 600 BC, after which the common language began to separate into dialects. This date does not necessarily correspond to any historical or archaeological evidence; developing a synthetic view of the ethnology of proto-historic Italy is an incomplete and ongoing task.
Linguist Julius Pokorny carries the etymology somewhat further back. Conjecturing that the -a- was altered from an -o- during some prehistoric residence in Illyria, he derives the names from an o-grade extension *swo-bho- of an extended e-grade *swe-bho- of the possessive adjective, *s(e)we-, of the reflexive pronoun, *se-, "oneself" (the source of English self). The result is a set of Indo-European tribal names (if not the endonym of the Indo-Europeans): Germanic Suebi and Semnones, Suiones as well as Swedes; Celtic Senones; Slavic Serbs and Sorbs; Italic Sabelli, Sabini, etc., as well as a large number of kinship terms.
History
Origins and early history
The Greek geographer Strabo wrote that the Samnite civilization originated from a group of Sabine exiles. According to this account, during either a famine, or as part of an attempt to end a war with the Umbrians, the Sabines vowed to hold a Ver Sacrum. As part of this ritual, all things produced that year were sacrificed, including babies. Once these babies had reached adulthood they were exiled, and then guided by a bull to their new homeland.Strabo, Geography, book 4, 7 BCE, p. 465 Upon reaching this land they sacrificed this bull to Mars. Other Samnite tribes claimed to have been guided by different animals. The Hirpini claimed they were guided by a wolf, and the Picentes claimed to have been guided by a woodpecker. Alternatively, the Samnites may have been connected to Sparta, though this legend is possibly apocryphal. It might have been created by the Greeks for an alliance with the Samnites, or to include the Italic peoples within their worldview, and possibly to highlight similarities between the Samnites and Spartans. Archaeological evidence shows that Samnite civilization likely developed from a preexisting Italian culture.
After the Etruscans abandoned Campania in the 5th century BC, the Samnites conquered the region. Cities like Pompeii and Herculaneum were conquered.Sparavigna, Amelia Carolina, "The Town Planning of Pompeii and Herculaneum Having Streets Aligned Along Sunrise on Summer Solstice" (June 30, 2016). p. 3. It is unclear what Samnite cities took part in the campaign, or why. They could have wanted its fertile soil, or to alleviate overpopulation. This theory relies on the Samnites having a poor agricultural industry, which is contradicted by other evidence. Alternatively, the Samnites could have wanted access to the Volturno River and other resources. Once Greek hegemony in Italy waned, the Samnites invaded and conquered much of their former land.Rotter, Timothy W. (1990). Roman Italy. University of California Press. pp. 34–38, 42–47, 50, 53, 68, 74, 76–77 .Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii & Herculaneum. Anonymous Prod. Sheppard Phil. Phil Sheppard Productions, 2008. "The Etruscans and Greeks dominated until the Samnites took possession of most of this area, uniting Campania. Pompeii became more Italic in character, relinquishing the last traces of Hellenistic influence. In 80 BC, after a war against Rome, the Samnites surrendered Pompeii, and from then on its history was linked to Rome." They conquered cities like Cumae, only failing to take Naples."Pompeii exhibition: a timeline of Pompeii and Herculaneum; A brief history of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which feature in a major new British Museum exhibition in London." Telegraph Online, 3 Mar. 2013. Gale In Context: Biography, "Samnites – a people from south-central Italy who spoke Oscan – invade the area." In the ensuing centuries, they would wage more war against the Campanians, Volscians, Epirot Greeks, and other Latin communities.Roselaar, Saskia T. (2012). Processes of Integration and Identity Formation in the Roman Republic. Brill. pp. 17, 189–196, 221–223, 242–244, 252 .
Samnite Wars The Samnites and Romans first came into contact after the Roman conquest of the Volscians. In 354 BC, they agreed to set their border at the Liris River.Oakley, SP (1998), A Commentary on Livy Books VI–X, Volume II: Books VII–VIII, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 24–646, Livy, a Roman historian who serves as a source on the Samnite Wars, states that when the Samnites attacked the Campanians, the latter civilization formed an alliance with the Romans, igniting war between them and the Samnites in 343 BC.Esposito, Gabriele (2021). Armies of Ancient Italy 753–218 BC: From the Foundation of Rome to the Start of the Second Punic War. Pen and Sword Military. pp. 23, 59–69, 74–81, 117, 128, 133–147, 151–153, 165, . This account of the war's cause is not universally accepted by modern historians.Forsythe, Gary (2006). A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War. University of California Press. pp. 287–365 . Livy may be writing propaganda or trying to compare this war to other conflicts. After three Samnite defeats and a Roman invasion, the Samnites agreed to sign a peace treaty.Cornell, Tim (2012). The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC). Routledge. 345–390, 458, 465, 507, .Polybius, The Histories. Vol. 1. pp. 4–5.Eutropius, Abridgment of Roman History Vol. 2. VIII–XIV
There are two accounts of the cause of the Second Samnite War. Possibly, Rome declared war due to a Samnite alliance with the Vestini and wars against Fregellae and Paleopolis. Additionally, the Romans wished to use the economic prosperity of the city of Venafrum for their own benefit. Conflict may have also emerged because the Samnites desired to solidify their hold over crucial economic positions. After the Roman defeat at the Battle of the Caudine Forks both sides agreed to an armistice. Fighting resumed in 326 BC. The war ended after a Roman campaign into Apulia and Samnium. Following the end of the war, the Romans annexed Bovianum and Fregellae, and forced the Samnites out of Apulia.
In 298 BC, the Third Samnite War broke out due to tension over the Lucanians, who had asked Rome for protection.Harris, William Vernon (1985). War and Imperialism in Republican Rome, 327–70 B.C. Clarendon Press. pp. 177–182, . On another front, treaties between the Romans and Picentes caused conflict with the Etruscans. This war came to end after the Samnite defeat at the Battle of Aquilonia. Afterwards, Samnium was conquered and the Samnites were assimilated into Roman society.
Later history