Samnite

Samnite, a member of the ancient warlike tribes inhabiting the mountainous centre of southern Italy. These tribes, who spoke Oscan and were probably an offshoot of the Sabini, apparently referred to themselves not as Samnite but by the Oscan form of the word, which appears in Latin as Sabine (q.v.).

Four cantons formed a Samnite confederation: Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. The league probably had no federal assembly, but a war leader could be chosen to lead a campaign. Although allied with Rome against the Gauls in 354 bc, the Samnites were soon involved in a series of three wars (343–341, 327–304, and 298–290) against the Romans. Despite a spectacular victory over the Romans at the Battle of the Caudine Forks (321), where a Roman army was forced to march under the yoke, the Samnites were eventually subjugated. The Romans surrounded Samnite land with colonies and then split it with colonies at Beneventum (268) and Aesernia (263).

Although reduced and depopulated, the Samnites later helped Pyrrhus and Hannibal against Rome. They also fought from 90 bc in the Social War and later in the civil war against Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who defeated them at the Battle of the Colline Gate (82 bc).

The longest and most important inscription of the Samnite dialect is the small bronze Tabula Agnonensis, which is engraved in full Oscan alphabet. In June 2004, archaeologists in Pompeii discovered the remains of a wall from a temple built by Samnites.