The Latin War was fought from 340 to 338 BC when the Roman Republic's Latin neighbors rose in revolt against Rome's hegemony in Latium. The war ended in the dissolution of the Latin League, the incorporation of Latium into the Roman Republic, and the granting of partial citizenship to the Latins.
Background[]
During the 5th century BC, the small Roman Republic and its neighboring fellow Latins formed an alliance against the invading Volsci and Aequi tribes; Rome soon became the dominant member of this alliance due to its size. By the early 4th century BC, when the threat of Italic invasions had abated, the Latins began to fear Rome's own expansion. During the first half of the 4th century BC, the Latins and Romans skirmished, with the Latins occasionally allying with their former enemies, the Volsci. In 381 BC, Rome annexed the Latin town of Tusculum, and the threat of Gallic invasion forced the Latins to realign with Rome in 358 BC (Tibur and Praeneste were subdued by force in 354 BC). In 349 BC, when the Gauls invaded, the Latins refused to contribute any troops to Rome's defense, and they briefly considered attacking Rome in 343 BC before ultimately attacking the Paeligni instead. From 343 to 341 BC, Rome went to war with the Samnites to defend the Latin Siducini and Campanians against Samnite expansion, and Rome and Samnium ultimately agreed that Campania would remain a Roman puppet, while the Siducini would become a Samnite puppet. When the Samnites moved in to subdue the Siducini, the Campanians and Latins intervened by attacking the Samnites, and they failed to convince Rome to honor its obligations by fighting alongside them. The Latins responded by plotting against Rome, and, when these plans were discovered, Rome elected 340 BC's consuls half a year earlier in preparation for a major war.
War[]
The Romans renewed their former alliance with the Samnites in order to fight back against the Latins, and, while the Latins invaded Samnium, the Roman-Samnite army moved to the Fucine Lake and invaded Campania. The Campanians were defeated at the Battle of Vesuvius, during which the Roman consul Publius Decius Mus self-sacrificed to claim himself and the enemy army for the underworld, and the other consul Titus Manlius Torquatus executed his own son to maintain discipline in the Roman Army. Three-fourths of the Latin army and a significant portion of the Roman army were lost, but, one year later, Manlius defeated the Latins at the Battle of Trifanum, and, in 338 BC, the Latins were dealt a final defeat at Antium. The Latins were forced to leave Campania for Latium, where they put up unsuccessful resistance against the Romans. The defeated Latins were forced to recognize Roman preeminence, and some of the Latin towns were Romanized, while others adopted Roman magistratures or became Roman colonies.