391.

dictator, M. Furius Camillus. The fall of Veii marks the beginning of the decline of the Etruscan power, which was hard pressed at the same time by the Latins in the south, Celts (Gauls) from beyond the Alps in the north, and from the sea by the Sicilian and Italian Greeks, especially the Syracusans, whose attacks had endured upward of a century.

Camillus went into exile in consequence of a complaint of injustice in the division of the booty from Veii.

Latium invaded by the Gauls in consequence of Roman ambassadors having taken part, in the war of the Etruscans of Clusium, against the Gauls. The Gauls demanded that the ambassadors (the three Fabii) should be delivered to them, to which the senate agreed. The proposal was, however, rejected by the citizens.

390 (July 18). Battle of the Allia,

a brook, which falls into the Tiber eleven miles north of Rome. Utter defeat and rout of the Romans on the right bank of the Tiber, whereby the city was left defenceless. Abandoned by the citizens (the Mons Capitolinus alone continued to be occupied), Rome was taken, plundered, and burnt by the Gauls under their Brennus, i. e. military ruler. Slaughter of the senators. Unsuccessful attempt to surprise the Capitol. The geese of Juno. M. Manlius Capitolinus. After a seven months' siege of the fortress, the withdrawal of the Gauls was purchased with gold. Legend (a later invention) of an expulsion of the enemy by a victory of Camillus, who surprised the haughty Brennus (Væ victis !) in the forum, while the gold was being weighed (!). Return of the inhabitants. The plan of emigrating to Vei broken up by Camillus. Hasty, but irregular, reconstruction of the city, which soon regained its old power, after the Equi, the Volscians, and the Etruscans, who had taken up arms again, had been defeated by Camillus. Equalization of the old orders. Origin of the new nobility. Recommencement of the civil contests against the patricians: 1, by the plebeian aristocracy to get admission to the consulate; 2, by the poor, indebted plebeians to obtain a reform of the laws of debtor and creditor, and a share of the public lands. The exertions of those tribunes who were friendly to the poorer classes were often neutralized by the opposition of their colleagues who represented the interests of the plebeian aristocracy. The patrician M. Manlius Capitolinus, who had released plebeian debtors at his own expense, was accused of aiming at royal power, declared guilty of high treason, and thrown from the Tarpeian rock (384). A compromise was finally agreed upon between the plebeian aristocracy and the plebeian commons, whose results were seen in the

376. Laws proposed by C. Licinius and Lucius Sextius, tribunes of the people (rogationes Licinia). The first two were designed to secure the poorer classes a material alleviation; the third to give the plebeian aristocracy the long-wished-for equality with the patricians.

I. Relief of the debtors by the deduction of interest already paid from the principal; the rest to be paid within three years in three installments (ut, deducto eo de capite quod usuris pernumeratum esset, id quod superesset triennio æquis portionibus persolveretur).

II. No one should possess more than 500 jugera of the public lands (ne quis plus quam quingenta jugera agri publici1 possideret).

III. Abolition of the tribuni militum consulari potestate. One, at least, of the two consuls must be chosen from the plebeians (ne tribunorum militum comitia fierent consulumque utique alter ex plebe crearetur).

After a long contest, and after the appointment of Camillus to the dictatorship had failed to accomplish anything,

367. The Licinian laws were passed.

366. L. Sextius Lateranus, colleague of the tribune Licinius, first plebeian consul. At the same time one of the three great colleges of priests (decemviri [formerly duoviri] sacris faciundis) was opened to the plebeians.

In order to retain at least the administration of the judicial department in the hands of their order, the patricians procured the establishment of a new patrician magistracy, the prætorship. The prætor (since 243, one prætor urbanus, and one prætor inter cives et peregrinos; since 227, four; since 197, six prætors) had the jurisdiction (dare sc. judicium, dicere, sc. sententiam, addicere, sc. rem), and was the vicegerent of the consuls during their absence. At the same time a new ædile was appointed, called, to distinguish him from the plebeian officer of that name, the curule ædile; this office was, however, soon (probably since 364; certainly since 304) made accessible to the plebeians, and patrician and plebeian curule ædiles were elected for alternate years. The duties of the two ædiles curules were: 1. to manage the ludi Romani; 2. to supervise the markets and the streetpolice, and to preside in the police courts connected therewith.

Although after the passage of the Licinian laws the patricians continued their opposition to the political equalization of the orders, and even succeeded several times in electing two patrician consuls in open violation of the third Licinian law, all public offices were, nevertheless, opened to all Roman citizens, in rapid succession: the dictatorship 356 (the office of magister equitum before the adoption of the Licinian laws 368), the censorship actually 351, legally 338, the prætorship 337, the colleges of pontifices and augures (the number of members in each being increased to nine) 300, by the lex Ogulnia. The patrician order thereupon ceased to exist as a legally privileged caste, and continued only as a social order or rank.

A new nobility (optimates, nobiles) was gradually developed in political life, composed of those patrician and plebeian families which had for the longest time retained possession of the chief public offices (summi honores). These families regarded every citizen who obtained office, but did not belong to their set, as an upstart (homo novus). The

1 The word publici is lacking in the text of Livius (VI. 35). But it is clear that the law could have referred to public land only. Cf. Niebuhr, Hist. of Rome III. 11; and Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, I. 304 foll.

new nobility could not, however, separate itself so sharply from the common people as the patrician order had done, but increased its ranks constantly from the most promising portion of the lower classes.

Through the equalization of the plebeian aristocracy with the patricians, the office of tribune, which was generally in the hands of the most distinguished plebeian families, lost, for a time at least, its revolutionary and anarchic character. The tribunes of the people soon obtained not only seats and votes in the senate, but also the right to convene it. Growing importance of the senate, which from this time on was the principal executive body governing the state. Since the establishment of the republic the senators had represented both orders (p. 94). They acquired their membership neither by the accident of birth, nor by the direct choice of the people. The censors (p. 99) filled vacancies in the senate principally from the numbers of those citizens which had occupied the office of quæstor (p. 99) or a higher office. Their age was at least 30 years; probably a property qualification was soon required. Being appointed for life, but subjected every four (5) years to a new lectio of the censors, who could expel unworthy members, the Roman senators were independent of a fickle public opinion. To the wise and energetic conduct of the senate Rome chiefly owed the great growth of her power which took place in the near future.

As formerly, the comitia exercised the rights of sovereignty proper, especially the comitia centuriata and the comitia tributa, in which all citizens, patricians and plebeians alike, were included (p. 96), while the right of approval vested in the patrician comitia curiata (or the narrower patrician senate, p. 94) became an empty form. Here belong two of the three laws of the plebeian dictator, Publilius Philo (leges Publiliæ), of the year 338: 1. A vote of the comitia tributa shall have the force of law without having been approved by the comitia curiata (ut plebiscita omnes Quirites tenerent). 2. Laws presented to the centuries shall be approved beforehand (ut legum, quæ comitiis centuriatis ferrentur, patres ante initum suffragium auctores fierent). 3. One censor must be a plebeian (ut alter ubique ex plebe censor crearetur). The same Publilius Philo became the first plebeian prætor in 337.

In the year 312 the censor Appius Claudius included the inhabitants of Rome who were not freeholders in the tribes which they preferred, and in the centuries according to their property. This farreaching and actually revolutionary change in the comitia centuriata and tributa was altered in a conservative sense by the censor Q. Fabius Rullianus (Maximus) in the year 304. As regards the comitia tributa, those freemen who were not freeholders, and those freedmen (libertini) whose property in land was valued at less than 30,000 sestertes (about $1500), were divided among the four city wards (tribus urbana), which now became the last in rank instead of the first. The country wards (tribus rustica), the number of which had by the year 241 risen from 17 to 31 (making the whole number of the tribes 35, p. 96), were reserved for freemen who were freeholders, and for freedmen having larger landed properties. In the comitia

centuriata, where the wealthy members had already acquired many privileges, equality of the freemen who were and those who were not freeholders was secured; but the freedmen, with exception of those of the first two classes, were entirely shut out from the centuries.1

The Licinian laws had naturally only ameliorated, not radically cured, the desperate condition of the poor and indebted plebeians. The law of the consul Poetelius (lex Patelia), passed in 326 or 313, secured to every insolvent debtor who should transfer his property to the creditor his personal freedom (ne quis æris alieni causa nectatur, utique bona tantummodo obnoxia sint. By these and other ameliorations, and by the ever-increasing foundation of colonies of citizens and division of public lands among the poor, in consequence of successful wars, the social question was for a short time forced into the background.

At this time occurred the alteration in the Servian constitution of the army.2 Division of the new legion into 30 maniples, each containing 3 centuries. Arrangement in order of battle in three lines (hastati, principes, triarii). The assignment of arms according to property classification was abolished. Long lances (hasta) were reserved for the third line, the first and second line receiving in their stead the pilum, a short spear, adapted both for thrusting and hurling. A short cut and thrust sword was used by all. 367-349. Four wars with the Gauls who had permanently settled

in upper Italy (henceforward known as Gallia Cisalpina), and thence made frequent inroads into central Italy. In the first war single combat between T. Manlius Torquatus and a gigantic Gaul; in the second, the first triumph of a plebeian consul. The fourth war was ended by a great defeat inflicted upon the Gauls in the Pomptine region by the consul M. Furius Camillus, the younger. Single combat of M. Valerius

Corvus with a Gaul.

362. Story of a chasm opened in the forum closed by the sacrifice of M. Curtius.

362-358.

War with the Hernici and the revolted Latin cities (especially Tibur), ending in the renewal of the old league between Rome on the one part and the Latins and Hernici on the other; whereby both people were more strictly subjected to the Romans than before.

358-351. Wars with the Etruscan cities Tarquinii, Cære, and Falerii (victory of C. Marcius Rutilius, the first plebeian dictator, 356), which led to the reduction of the whole of southern Etruria under Roman supremacy.

348. (First?) treaty of commerce between Rome and Carthage,3 the text of which has been preserved by Polybius (III. 22). 350-345. War with the Volscii, who were defeated in 346 at Satricum, and the Aurunci. The power of both peoples was completely broken. The Roman legions forced their way south

1 Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, Book II. chap. 3.

2 Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, Book II. chap. 8, and Peter, I.3 222 foll. 3 See p. 93, note 1.

ward without stay. This great development of Rome's power brought about the

343-266. wars with the Samnites, the other Italians, and the Greek cities of Italy.

Result: Subjugation of all Italy to the Rubicon and Macra, under the supremacy of Rome.

343-341. First war with the Samnites.

Cause: The Sidici in Teanum and the Campanians in Capua, both Samnite tribes who had emigrated from their home, asked aid of the Romans against their relatives, the Samnites of the mountains, who had formed a confederacy in Samnium proper, whence they continually ravaged the plain (Campania), with new swarms.

According to the Roman tradition,1 their armies gained three victories in Campania over the Samnites: victory of M. Valerius Corvus on Mount Gaurus (near Cuma); victory of A. Cornelius Cossus, after his army had been rescued by P. Decius Mus, a military tribune; finally, victory of both Roman armies at Suessula. The war was ended by a treaty, whereby Rome received Capua, the Samnites Teanum. The Samnites were induced to conclude this treaty by a war with Tarentum, the Romans by the

340-338. Great Latin War.

The Latins rebelled against the hegemony of Rome and demanded complete equality with the Romans. One consul and half the senate were to be Latins. Capua (in spite of the opposition of the optimates) and the Volscii were allied with the Latins.

Victory of the (Roman and Samnite?) armies over the Latins and Campanians in the neighborhood of Vesuvius under the consul T. Manlius Imperiosus. Execution of the young son of the consul, who against his father's command had fought with the Latin commander and defeated him. P. Decius Mus sacrificed his life for the safety of his army. Decisive battle at Trifanum (between Minturnæ and Suessa); victory of the consul Manlius over the Latins and Campa

nians.

Dissolution of the Latin League, which became a mere religious association for the celebration of festivals. Isolation of the Latin cities from one another. Commercium and connubium between them were prohibited. Most of the cities received Roman citizenship without suffrage, i. e. they became subjects. Several were obliged to cede land, which was divided among Roman citizens; others were converted into Roman colonies (p. 109), e. g. Antium. The orator's stand in the forum Romanum was ornamented with the bows of the old ships of this city (hence rostra). The Roman power in the territories of the Volscii and in Campania was strengthened by the settlement of colonies of Roman citizens. Capua and other cities became dependent Roman communities (p. 109).

1 Livius, VII. 29 foll. See this tradition criticised by Mommsen, Hist. of Rome, I. 365, note.