Who were the ancient Samnites?

When we envision ancient Italy, most of us go straight to images of the ancient Romans and their prowess in battle and architecture. However, the pathway to power was not an easy one for the Romans, as they had many thorns in their side on their journey. Most notably, their fiercest opposition came from their neighbour to the south: the fearsome Samnites. 

Who were the Samnites?

During the Iron Age, groups of tribes migrated by sea from Illyria into the Italian peninsula and made the coastal areas and much of central Italy their home. These groups of people became collectively known as the Italics.

One particular group of Italics who settled along the southern Apennines were the Samnites. It is widely thought that this tribe of people originated from the north of Europe and were likely Celtic or Indo-European in origin. 

The Samnites spoke the Oscan language, which is thought to be similar to the Umbrian and Volscian languages but also bears similarities to Latin. It is also believed that the Samnites were related to a number of other ancient tribes - such as the Pentri, the Carracini, the Hirpini, and the Caudini. One further group known as the Frentani were also possibly Samnite in origin, but they lived and governed themselves separately. 

Although nowadays we understand the relationship between the Romans and the Samnites to be combative, it clearly was not always so, as the Romans decided to name the southern and central regions of Italy Samnium after the people who occupied it.

In fact, it is thought that in the year 354 BC, an agreement was reached between these two powerful civilisations. This agreement stated that the Liris River would become the land divider that would determine the area that each group had influence over and the document is thought to be the first definite historical note of the Samnite’s existence. 

The Samnites garnered a fierce reputation for themselves, which likely originated with the hardy lifestyle that they had to grow accustomed to - the unrelenting terrain of Samnium was notoriously difficult to navigate.

However, the landscape also provided them with a means of survival, as much of the territory was very fertile and thus was ideal for agriculture. Animal rearing - such as cows, pigs, and sheep was central to the Samnite lifestyle, as they not only used them for food, but also for trading for other goods.

Furthermore, the Samnites also relied on growing crops for their economic development. Finally, due to their expanding population, the Samnites were able to expand by developing trade links with other Italian tribes and thus improving their agricultural and urban expansion. 

The Samnite Wars

Despite the agreement reached between the Samnites and Romans regarding who governed what territories, the period of peace between both tribes did not last for very long.

Due to the Samnite’s fearsome reputation, a neighbouring tribe called the Campanians worried about the possibility that the Samnites would attempt to take their land, and therefore approached the Romans to ask for protection. In response, the Romans supported the Campanian’s crusade and sent a mission to the Samnites to command that they abstain from any incursions on Campanian land.

The Samnites answered by spurning the Roman’s orders, and this led to the beginning of the First Samnite War. It took many battles for the Samnites to realise that they were out-forced, but they eventually reconstituted their old land borders at the Liris River. However, Rome retained ownership over Campania. 

Again, peace did not last long between the Samnites and Romans. Friction was created again - approximately seventeen later - and led to the Second Samnite War. This war was considerably more taxing in terms of time and resources than the first war, as it lasted for over twenty years and was more vicious - for this reason, it also became known as The Great Samnite War. 

The Great War was marked by many large battles, as well as many periods of inactivity - but it is mostly remembered for the Roman’s humiliation after surrendering to the Samnites at the Caudine Forks. This embarrassment did not sit well with the proud Romans, and thus they were set on getting even with the Samnites.

Battles between both great forces continued to rage, and other tribes such as the Etruscans became involved until peace was once again established at the Battle of Bovianum, where the Romans defeated the Samnites. The Romans went on to force the Samnites out of Bovianum, Fregellae, and Apulia.

Once again, harmony was not on the cards for long between the Samnites and Romans, as a mere six years later, war broke out once more. The Lucanians approached the Romans in search of support against the Samnites, and the Etruscans were rallying against Rome’s increasing power. These building tensions over land ownership led to the Battle of Sentium, and the Battle of Aquilonia - in which the Samnites were defeated. Comparatively, this Third Samnite War was considerably shorter than the others; however, it culminated with the assimilation of the Samnites into the Roman civilisation and Rome finally becoming the leading power in Italy. 

Further rebellions

Despite the Roman’s considerable power, this did not completely prevent the Samnites from continuing to rebel against their control. They continued to rally against Rome, for example, fifty years later when they confidently sided with Hannibal before his defeat in the Second Punic War. However, despite this further loss, the Samnites still refused to admit that they had been bested.  

The Social War consisted of the Samnites searching for support in the form of other major Italian tribes after the Romans refused to grant them Roman citizenship. Bovianum - the Samnites most prominent city - even briefly became a separate state until the Roman’s triumph once again in 88 BC. Therefore, in order to prevent further conflicts, the Romans granted the Samnites and other Italic tribes the citizenship that they wanted. 

Proving themselves as the ever-present pain to the Romans, the Samnites were still not quite ready to retire in their attempts to overthrow the superpower, and they joined forces with the Marians during the civil wars of Gaius Marius and Sulla. However, fate did not look kindly on the Samnites, and Sulla defeated the Marians and Samnites at the Battle of Colline Gate. The outcome for the Samnites was ruinous, as many were killed in battle. They never recovered from this assassination, and, eventually, they dissolved and were no longer considered a distinct population as they were slowly absorbed into Roman society.

Conclusion

If you would like to know whether your DNA could be linked to the fearsome and determined Samnites, upload your raw DNA data on our website - your results will be ready in less than 10 minutes!