The Oppression Of Rome's Italian Allies During The Social War

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There was one main cause of the social war and that was the oppression of the Roman allied states by Rome. The Social War was documented well but there is a lack of variety of primary sources as with most ancient material. The majority of our knowledge about the Social War comes from Appian, the first book of the civil war was not organized well so it is a debatable source. We lost books by the Roman historian Livy that would have been helpful.
The Social war was a civil war between Rome and its allies. The states who rebelled against Rome had less men in their army than Rome did but not by much. The first tribe that started to fight Rome with its army was Picentes of Asculum. No one jumped in with them right away. The war was not quickly organized as all the allies against Rome it was more of groups who had the same disagreement and would take up arms and others soon followed, but there were others that stayed loyal to Rome. ( Salmon,.159)The seven that did not and fought were the Vestini, Picentes, Marsi, Paeligni, Marrucini, Lucani, and Samnites, this is according to Livy. (Livy, Ex libro LXXII)
When the Romans did not give equality to allies, they moved their home front to Corfinium and renamed it Italia. There was a great deal of fighting, but after it was all over the Italians gradually won their rights as citizens. The allies fought for citizenship because if it was won it would symbolize complete equality between the states. First Rome gave citizenship to the Italians who remained loyal then it progressed into who was ultimately beneficial to Rome. When the allies proposed that they gain legal right to vote it was a shot in the dark and it was a long process but they did win their right to vote eventually. The legal pr...

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Published by: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/297433

The 'Italian Constitution' in the Social War: A Reassessment (91 to 88 BCE)
Christopher J. Dart
Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Bd. 58, H. 2 (2009), pp. 215-224
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25598463

Livius Drusus, t. p. 122, and His Anti-Gracchan Program
Henry C. Boren
The Classical Journal, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Oct., 1956), pp. 27-36
Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3293957

The Roman Citizenship.
Sherwin-White,
A. N. Oxford: Clarendon, 1973. Print.

Garland, Lynda, and Matthew Dillon. Ancient Rome: From the Early Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar. Milton Park, Abingdon: Routledge, 2005. Print.

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