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64-617: The most comprehensive source on the Latin War is the Roman historian Livy (59 BC – AD 17), who narrates the war in the eighth book of his history of Rome, Ab urbe condita . Two other substantial narratives have also survived, a fragment from the Roman Antiquities of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (c. 60 BC–after 7 BC), a Greek contemporary of Livy, and a summary by the 12th century Byzantine chronicler Joannes Zonaras based on

128-400: A Scotsman involved in the first Jacobite uprising of 1715 was recaptured (and executed) because, having escaped, he yet lingered near the place of his captivity in "the hope of recovering his favourite Titus Livius ". The authority supplying information from which possible vital data on Livy can be deduced is Eusebius of Caesarea , a bishop of the early Christian Church . One of his works

192-418: A battle. His life was seen as a model for his descendants, who tried to emulate his heroic deeds, even centuries after his death. Titus's father Lucius was appointed dictator in 363 BC in order to fulfil religious duties, but instead undertook preparations for war. This resulted in strong opposition from the plebeian tribunes and he was brought to trial at the beginning of the next year, after he had resigned

256-620: A book on geography and a daughter married Lucius Magius, a rhetorician. Titus Livius died at his home city of Patavium in AD 17. The tombstone of Livy and his wife might have been found in Padua. Livy's only surviving work is commonly known as History of Rome (or Ab Urbe Condita , 'From the Founding of the City';). Together with Polybius it is considered one of the main accounts of

320-503: A century after Livy's time, described the Emperor Augustus as his friend. Describing the trial of Cremutius Cordus , Tacitus represents him as defending himself face-to-face with the frowning Tiberius as follows: I am said to have praised Brutus and Cassius , whose careers many have described and no one mentioned without eulogy. Titus Livius, pre-eminently famous for eloquence and truthfulness, extolled Cn. Pompeius in such

384-442: A common pastime. He was familiar with the emperor Augustus and the imperial family. Augustus was considered by later Romans to have been the greatest Roman emperor, benefiting Livy's reputation long after his death. Suetonius described how Livy encouraged the future emperor Claudius , who was born in 10 BC, to write historiographical works during his childhood. Livy's most famous work was his history of Rome . In it he narrates

448-502: A complete history of the city of Rome, from its foundation to the death of Augustus. Because he was writing under the reign of Augustus, Livy's history emphasizes the great triumphs of Rome. He wrote his history with embellished accounts of Roman heroism in order to promote the new type of government implemented by Augustus when he became emperor. In Livy's preface to his history, he said that he did not care whether his personal fame remained in darkness, as long as his work helped to "preserve

512-597: A complex formula (made so by the 0 reference point not falling on the border of an Olympiad), these codes correspond to 59 BC for the birth, 17 AD for the death. In another manuscript the birth is in 180.4, or 57 BC. Titus Manlius Torquatus (consul 347 BC) Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus was a famous politician and general of the Roman Republic , of the old gens Manlia . He had an outstanding career, being consul three times, in 347, 344, and 340 BC, and dictator three times, in 353, 349, and 320 BC. He

576-522: A consulship, but Manlius, appealing to Jupiter , refused them. Annius spoke contemptuously of the Roman Jupiter, then lost consciousness and fell down the steps of the public assembly. Interpreting the collapse as divine vengeance, Manlius declared that he would strike down Rome's enemies just as Jupiter had struck down Annius. The Latin embassy required a safe conduct and an escort of magistrates to leave Rome unmolested. Rome realigned itself with

640-473: A panegyric that Augustus called him Pompeianus, and yet this was no obstacle to their friendship. Livy's reasons for returning to Padua after the death of Augustus (if he did) are unclear, but the circumstances of Tiberius 's reign certainly allow for speculation. During the Middle Ages , due to the length of the work, the literate class was already reading summaries rather than the work itself, which

704-416: A result, standard information in a standard rendition is used, which gives the impression of a standard set of dates for Livy. There are no such dates. A typical presumption is of a birth in the 2nd year of the 180th Olympiad and a death in the first year of the 199th Olympiad, which are coded 180.2 and 199.1 respectively. All sources use the same first Olympiad , 776/775–773/772 BC by the modern calendar. By

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768-653: A search for the now missing books. Laurentius Valla published an amended text initiating the field of Livy scholarship. Dante speaks highly of him in his poetry, and Francis I of France commissioned extensive artwork treating Livian themes; Niccolò Machiavelli 's work on republics , the Discourses on Livy , is presented as a commentary on the History of Rome . Respect for Livy rose to lofty heights. Walter Scott reports in Waverley (1814) as an historical fact that

832-591: A tribal federation living in the central Apennines . In 354, they had formed a treaty of friendship with Rome, probably fixing the river Liris as the border between their respective spheres of influence, but despite this treaty, in 343 the First Samnite War broke out between Rome and the Samnites over the control of Campania . According to Livy, this war originated in Samnite attacks on a smaller tribe,

896-658: Is known to have used for Roman history during the 4th century lived through the Social War, and it would have been natural for them to see parallels between the Latin War and contemporary events. Like the Roman senate rejected an embassy from the Italian insurgents in 90 BC, so the Latin embassy of 340 BC is also rejected. Later, in his account of the Second Punic War , Livy mentions that some of his sources claimed that

960-656: The Chronographia , a summary of history in annalist form, and the Chronikoi Kanones , tables of years and events. St. Jerome translated the tables into Latin as the Chronicon , probably adding some information of his own from unknown sources. Livy's dates appear in Jerome's Chronicon. The main problem with the information given in the manuscripts is that, between them, they often give different dates for

1024-456: The Battle of Pedum on the river Astura, where Gaius Maenius commanded the Roman naval forces which defeated the combined Latin armies of Antium , Lanuvium , Aricia and Velitrae . The Latins, forced to leave Campania, moved to Latium, where they put up a long yet unsuccessful resistance against the Roman forces. The defeated Latin peoples were obliged to recognize Roman suzerainty. Some of

1088-543: The Battle of Vesuvius , the Romans, under consuls Decius Mus and T. Manlius Torquatus Imperiosus , defeated the Latins. According to Roman sources, Manlius reinstated army discipline by executing his son for his unintentional disobedience, while Decius sacrificed his own life to the gods for the Roman victory. One year later, Manlius defeated the Latins at the Battle of Trifanum . The Latins were finally defeated in 338 BC at

1152-558: The Battle of the Anio River . When a Gaul of enormous size and strength challenged the Romans to single combat, Manlius accepted the challenge with the approval of Poenus after the rest of the army had held back from responding for a long period of time. Despite being physically inferior, he killed the Gaul with blows to the belly and groin, after which he stripped the corpse of a torc and placed it around his own neck. From this, he gained

1216-478: The Roman army . However, he was educated in philosophy and rhetoric. It seems that Livy had the financial resources and means to live an independent life, though the origin of that wealth is unknown. He devoted a large part of his life to his writings, which he was able to do because of his financial freedom. Livy was known to give recitations to small audiences, but he was not heard of to engage in declamation , then

1280-457: The Roman history of Cassius Dio (AD 150 – 235). Modern historians consider the ancient accounts of the Latin War to be a mixture of fact and fiction. All the surviving authors lived long after the Latin War and relied on the works of earlier writers. Several of the historians used by Livy experienced the Social War (91–88 BC) between Rome and its Italian allies and seem to have interpreted

1344-463: The Samnites against the Latins. During the conduct of the war, Manlius and his co-consul, Publius Decius Mus , decided that the old military discipline would be reinstated, and no man was allowed to leave his post, under penalty of death. Manlius's son, seeing an opportunity for glory, forgot this stricture, left his post with his friends, and defeated several Latin skirmishers in battle. He brought

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1408-544: The Second Punic War . When he began this work he was already past his youth, probably 33; presumably, events in his life prior to that time had led to his intense activity as a historian. He continued working on it until he left Rome for Padua in his old age, probably in the reign of Tiberius after the death of Augustus. Seneca the Younger says he was an orator and philosopher and had written some historical treatises in those fields. History of Rome also served as

1472-661: The Sidicini . Unable to resist, the Sidicini appealed to the Campanians, who were led by the famously wealthy city-state of Capua , but these were also defeated and the Samnites invaded Campania. At this point the Campanians decided to surrender themselves unconditionally into the power of Rome, following which the Romans felt compelled to intervene to protect their new subjects against Samnite attacks. Modern historians are in some dispute whether this surrender really took place or

1536-519: The agnomen Torquatus , a title that was passed down also to his descendants. In 353 BC, he was named dictator and prepared to attack Caere , but they responded by sending envoys and were granted peace. The campaign was then directed towards the Falisci , but the Roman army found on arrival that the Falisci had disappeared. They ravaged the land but spared the cities before returning to Rome. He

1600-422: The 40s BC, a period of civil wars throughout the Roman world . The governor of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, Asinius Pollio , tried to sway Patavium into supporting Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) , the leader of one of the warring factions during Caesar's Civil War (49-45 BC). The wealthy citizens of Patavium refused to contribute money and arms to Asinius Pollio, and went into hiding. Pollio then attempted to bribe

1664-533: The 4th century. In 340, Rome was still only a local power in Latium, but whose aggressiveness and recent expansion into Campania was an increasing threat to the independence of the smaller Latin communities who risked becoming entirely surrounded by Roman territory. Rather than being caused by the Roman refusal to share their government with the other Latins, the Latin War was a final bid by the Latins to preserve their own independence. In this endeavour they were joined by

1728-558: The Capuans, after the Battle of Cannae , had similarly sent an embassy and demanded to receive an equal share in the government of the Roman Republic. He, however, rejected this as a duplication of the demands made by the Latins at the outbreak of the Latin War. Modern historians do not believe that the Latins made any demand for a consul and half the senate in 340. It is possible that Capua really did so in 216, but most likely Livy

1792-702: The Founding of the City'', covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own lifetime. He was on good terms with members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and was a friend of Augustus , whose young grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius , he encouraged to take up the writing of history. Livy was born in Patavium in northern Italy , now modern Padua , probably in 59 BC. At

1856-500: The Latin War in the terms of that war, which may have introduced anachronistic elements into the historical record. The Latins did not have any central government, but were divided into a number of self-governing towns and cities with a shared language, culture and some legal and religious institutions. In the 5th century BC, these city-states had formed a mutual military alliance, the Foedus Cassianum , primarily to resist

1920-482: The Latin towns were Romanized, others became partially Roman, adopting Roman magistratures , while some others became Roman colonies . Livy Titus Livius ( Latin: [ˈtɪtʊs ˈliːwiʊs] ; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( / ˈ l ɪ v i / LIV -ee ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled Ab Urbe Condita , ''From

1984-510: The Latins and afraid of alienating them further by ordering them to stop their attacks on the Samnites. The Campani had surrendered to Rome and must obey her will, however there was nothing in Rome's treaty with the Latins preventing them from going to war against whomever they wanted. The result of this reply was to completely turn the Campani against Rome and encourage the Latins to take action. In

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2048-403: The Latins not to make war on the Samnites with whom the Romans had a treaty. In a speech to the senate, Annius presented the demands of the Latins to which he received a furious reply from the consul, T. Manlius Torquatus. Livy writes that, according to tradition, while the senators were invoking the gods as guardians of their treaties with the Latins, Annius was heard dismissing the divine power of

2112-466: The Latins should demand that henceforth one consul and half the senate should be elected from among the Latins, and so give Latins and Romans an equal share in the government. This measure was adopted and Annius was appointed spokesman for the Latins. The Roman senate received the Latin delegation in an audience in the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill , where they advised

2176-479: The Latins, who only made peace with Rome in 354 after a lengthy war. During the 340s, Roman-Latin relations seem to have worsened again. Livy records that, in 349, when again faced with a Gallic invasion, the Latins refused to supply their share of troops, and in 343 actually planned to attack Rome, but following news of Roman victories against the Samnites instead decided to attack the Paeligni . The Samnites were

2240-416: The Roman Jupiter. However, when storming out of the temple, Annius slipped on the stairs and was knocked unconscious in the fall, or, according to some, killed. When Torquatus saw Annius lying there, he vowed to strike down the armies of the Latins just as the gods had struck the Latin envoy. This speech was wildly cheered by the people of Rome and war was declared. Modern historians consider Livy's account of

2304-517: The Samnite War, the Samnites are once again at war with the Sidicini and a surrender offer is made to Rome, and this duplication is unlikely to be historical. This time the surrender is refused, showing the moral superiority of the Roman senate. The supposed secret plotting between the Latins and Campani are also likely to be inventions, inspired by similar secret talks held by the Italians before

2368-436: The Samnites attacked the Sidicini with the same forces they had deployed against Rome. Facing defeat, the Sidicini tried to surrender themselves to Rome, but their surrender was rejected by the senate as coming far too late. The Sidicini then turned to the Latins who had already taken up arms on their own account. The Campani joined the war as well, and led by the Latins a large army of these allied peoples invaded Samnium. Most of

2432-652: The Volsci, who were in much the same situation as the Latins, and the Campani, Sidicini and Aurunci , three peoples who all risked being squeezed between the growing powers of Central Italy, Rome and the Samnites. The Latins entered Samnium ; the Roman-Samnite army moved to the Fucine Lake , then, avoiding Latium, entered the Campanian territory and attacked the Latins and Campanians near Mount Vesuvius . In

2496-434: The colonies of Signia and Velitrae and also the Volsci were convinced to take up arms against Rome. As there could be no doubt what the real reasons for summoning these men to Rome were, the Latins held a council meeting to decide what their leaders should reply to the questions they expected the Romans to ask. At the meeting, Annius complained that Rome was treating the Latins as subjects rather than allies and proposed that

2560-565: The damage they dealt there to the Samnites was done by raiding rather than fighting, and although the Latins got the better in their various encounters with the Samnites, they were happy to retire from enemy territory and fight no further. The Samnites sent envoys to Rome to complain and demand that if the Latins and Campani really were subject peoples of Rome, Rome should use her authority over them to prevent further attacks on Samnite territory. The Roman senate gave an ambiguous reply, being both unwilling to acknowledge that they could no longer control

2624-448: The dictatorship. Amongst the charges against him was that he had banished Titus from Rome on account of his speaking difficulties and made him work as a labourer. Upon hearing of these accusations against his father, Titus went to the home of the tribune Marcus Pomponius, where he was expected by the latter to provide further charges and was thus promptly admitted. However, once they were alone, he drew his hidden knife and threatened to stab

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2688-534: The driving force behind the "northern theory" regarding the Etruscans' origins. This is because in the book Livy states, "The Greeks also call them the 'Tyrrhene' and the 'Adriatic ... The Alpine tribes are undoubtedly of the same kind, especially the Raetii, who had through the nature of their country become so uncivilized that they retained no trace of their original condition except their language, and even this

2752-591: The first half of the 4th century. In the end, the Latins and the Volsci could not prevent Rome from establishing control over the ager Pomptinus (the territory of the Pomptine Marshes and the Monti Lepini ) and in 381 annexing the Latin town of Tusculum . The threat of Gallic invasion seems to have convinced at least some Latin towns to resume their treaty with Rome in 358, but these did not include Tibur and Praeneste , Rome's chief opponents among

2816-409: The guise of preparing a Samnite war, the Latins plotted in secret with the Campani for war against Rome. However, news of their plans got out, and at Rome the sitting consuls for 341 were ordered to leave office before the expiry of their term, so that the new consuls could enter office early in preparation for the major war that was brewing. The consuls elected for 340 were Titus Manlius Torquatus , for

2880-508: The memory of the deeds of the world’s preeminent nation." Because Livy was mostly writing about events that had occurred hundreds of years earlier, the historical value of his work was questionable, although many Romans came to believe his account to be true. Livy was married and had at least one daughter and one son. He also produced other works, including an essay in the form of a letter to his son, and numerous dialogues, most likely modelled on similar works by Cicero . One of his sons wrote

2944-409: The outbreak of the Latin War unhistorical fiction, filled with invented speeches written, as was common practice among ancient historians, so as to present the arguments of both sides. There is a general resemblance between the rhetoric of the speeches Livy has written for L. Annius and the complaints and demands made by Rome's Italian allies in the years before the Social War. Several of the writers Livy

3008-445: The outbreak of the Social War, news of which were also leaked to the Romans. Livy writes that when the Romans learnt of the Latins' secret talks with the Campanians they sent for the ten leading men among the Latins to come to Rome and receive instructions, pretending to be concerned for the Samnites. At this time, the Latins had two praetors , Lucius Annius of Setia and L. Numisius of Circeii , both colonies. Through their efforts,

3072-528: The raids and invasions of two neighbouring peoples, the Aequi and the Volsci . As the largest Latin city, Rome naturally enjoyed a leading position in this alliance. By the early 4th century BC, the Latins were no longer threatened by invasions, but instead feared an increasingly powerful Rome. Several wars between Rome and other Latins, now often found fighting beside their former enemies the Volsci, are recorded for

3136-506: The reign of Augustus, who came to power after a civil war with generals and consuls claiming to be defending the Roman Republic , such as Pompey . Patavium had been pro-Pompey. To clarify his status, the victor of the civil war, Octavian Caesar , had wanted to take the title Romulus (the first king of Rome) but in the end accepted the senate proposal of Augustus . Rather than abolishing the republic, he adapted it and its institutions to imperial rule. The historian Tacitus , writing about

3200-475: The result of bad feelings he harboured toward the city of Patavium from his experiences there during the civil wars. Livy probably went to Rome in the 30s BC, and it is likely that he spent a large amount of time in the city after this, although it may not have been his primary home. During his time in Rome, he was never a senator nor held a government position. His writings contain elementary mistakes on military matters, indicating that he probably never served in

3264-590: The same events or different events, do not include the same material entirely, and reformat what they do include. A date may be in Ab Urbe Condita or in Olympiads or in some other form, such as age. These variations may have occurred through scribal error or scribal license. Some material has been inserted under the aegis of Eusebius . The topic of manuscript variants is a large and specialized one, on which authors of works on Livy seldom care to linger. As

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3328-613: The slaves of those wealthy citizens to expose the whereabouts of their masters; his bribery did not work, and the citizens instead pledged their allegiance to the Senate . It is therefore likely that the Roman civil wars prevented Livy from pursuing a higher education in Rome or going on a tour of Greece , which was common for adolescent males of the nobility at the time. Many years later, Asinius Pollio derisively commented on Livy's "patavinity", saying that Livy's Latin showed certain "provincialisms" frowned on at Rome. Pollio's dig may have been

3392-433: The spoils back to his father, who publicly berated him for disobedience and had him executed. "Manlian discipline" afterwards became an expression for merciless upholding of rules. After Decius Mus sacrificed himself to achieve victory at the battle of Vesuvius , Manlius was able to crush the Latin allies and pursue them into Campania. He defeated them again at Trifanum , bringing the war to an end, and returned to Rome. He

3456-497: The third time, and Publius Decius Mus . The annually elected consuls were the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and responsible for commanding Rome's armies in times of war. Modern historians have not put much credence in these events supposed to have taken place following the end of the First Samnite War, believing them to be largely invented. There are several similarities with the events supposed to have started

3520-552: The time of his birth, his home city of Patavium was the second wealthiest on the Italian peninsula, and the largest in the province of Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy). Cisalpine Gaul was merged in Italy proper during his lifetime and its inhabitants were given Roman citizenship by Julius Caesar . In his works, Livy often expressed his deep affection and pride for Patavium, and the city was well known for its conservative values in morality and politics. Livy's teenage years were during

3584-458: The tribune unless he made a public oath not to hold an assembly to accuse Lucius Manlius, which Pomponius agreed to and duly performed. Titus Manlius' reputation grew on account of his filially pious actions, which helped him to be elected as a military tribune later in the year. In 361 BC, Titus Manlius fought in the army of Titus Quinctius Poenus Capitolinus Crispinus against the Gauls during

3648-597: Was a summary of world history in ancient Greek , termed the Chronikon , dating from the early 4th century AD. This work was lost except for fragments (mainly excerpts), but not before it had been translated in whole and in part by various authors such as St. Jerome . The entire work survives in two separate manuscripts, Armenian and Greek (Christesen and Martirosova-Torlone 2006). St. Jerome wrote in Latin. Fragments in Syriac exist. Eusebius ' work consists of two books:

3712-465: Was appointed dictator again in 348 BC to oversee elections. A year later, he was elected to his first consulship. His second consulship came in 345 BC. In 340 BC, when Manlius was consul for the third time, Rome had leadership over the Latin League . It received a delegation from member states headed by Lucius Annius , demanding coequal status in Roman government, such as a place in the senate and

3776-529: Was correct to consider this a duplicate of accounts of the Latin War. Instead, they have proposed that historically these were political demands made by the Italians at the outbreak of the Social War. However, no ancient attestations of such demands exist today. By the early 1st century BC, Rome had risen to become the dominant power in the Mediterranean and Roman citizenship was a highly desired favour. However, such sentiments are considered anachronistic for

3840-405: Was invented to absolve Rome of treaty breaking, but generally agree that Rome formed some kind of alliance with Capua. The First Samnite War ended in 341 with a negotiated peace and renewal of the former treaty between Rome and the Samnites. Rome retained her Campanian alliance, but accepted that the Sidicini belonged to the Samnite sphere. According to Livy, once peace with Rome had been concluded,

3904-533: Was not free from corruption". Thus, many scholars, like Karl Otfried Müller, utilized this statement as evidence that the Etruscans or the Tyrrhenians migrated from the north and were descendants of an Alpine tribe known as the Raeti. Livy's History of Rome was in high demand from the time it was published and remained so during the early years of the empire. Pliny the Younger reported that Livy's celebrity

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3968-510: Was one of the early heroes of the Republic, alongside Cincinnatus , Cornelius Cossus , Furius Camillus , and Valerius Corvus . As a young military tribune, he defeated a huge Gaul in one of the most famous duels of the Republic, which earned him the epithet Torquatus after the torc he took from the Gaul's body. He was also known for his moral virtues, and his severity became famous after he had his own son executed for disobeying orders in

4032-503: Was so widespread, a man from Cádiz travelled to Rome and back for the sole purpose of meeting him. Livy's work was a source for the later works of Aurelius Victor , Cassiodorus , Eutropius , Festus , Florus , Granius Licinianus and Orosius . Julius Obsequens used Livy, or a source with access to Livy, to compose his De Prodigiis , an account of supernatural events in Rome from the consulship of Scipio and Laelius to that of Paulus Fabius and Quintus Aelius. Livy wrote during

4096-511: Was tedious to copy, expensive, and required a lot of storage space. It must have been during this period, if not before, that manuscripts began to be lost without replacement. The Renaissance was a time of intense revival; the population discovered that Livy's work was being lost and large amounts of money changed hands in the rush to collect Livian manuscripts. The poet Beccadelli sold a country home for funding to purchase one manuscript copied by Poggio . Petrarch and Pope Nicholas V launched

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