Second latin war

The reason for the war was the dissatisfaction of the Latin Union communities with the aggressive policy of Rome and their position dependent on the latter.

In 358 BC e. for the first time in a long time, Latin tribes sent soldiers to help Rome, fulfilling the terms of the Cassius Treaty, concluded at the end of the First Latin War around 493 BC. e. ^[1] . However, already in 348 BC. e. At a meeting of representatives of the Latin tribes at the Ferentino grove, the Latins, according to Libya , declared:

“It’s enough to order those whose help you need: with arms in their hands, the Latins are handy to defend their freedom, and not alien dominion” ^[2]

The second half of the 340s passed in anticipation of a war with the Latin tribes. In 340 BC e. ten elders of the Latin tribes were invited to Rome ^[3] . After arriving in Rome, one of the ambassadors, Annius, took the floor and “spoke as if he were the winner, who seized the Capitol by force of arms, and not the ambassador, protected by the right of peoples” ^[4] . Annius, pointing to the military assistance regularly rendered to Rome, on behalf of the Latin tribes, demanded that the Latins be recognized as part of a single people and a single state in which one of the two consuls would be elected from the Latins. Consul Titus Manlius Imperioz Torquatus , fearing that the senators accepted the demands of the Latins, categorically rejected their claims and called Jupiter to be his witnesses ^[4] , after which Annius, according to Livius, ran out of the curia, stumbled, fell and lost consciousness ^[5] . This was interpreted as support for the gods, after which the Romans gathered an army, and the campaign began ^[5] .

According to the legend saved by Livy, shortly before the battle, the consuls had a prophetic dream, according to which the victory was to go to the army in which the commander “sentenced the enemy to ratification, and with them himself” ^[5] . After fortunetelling the Haruspeks, the consuls decided that for the sake of a common victory, one of them would commit suicide, whose first rows of wing (Gastats) would begin to recede to their second row (principles) ^[5] . A little later, the consul Torquatus, who was engaged in maintaining strict discipline in the Roman army, ordered the murder of his son, who disobeyed the order and killed one of the Latins before the battle, during reconnaissance ^[6] .

The left wing gastati under the command of Decius were the first to retreat ^[7] . Decius called the pontiff and under his leadership uttered sacrificial words, after which he rushed to the center of the battle. Some time later, when the outcome of the battle was still unclear, Torquatus ordered the fresh Triaries to join the battle, thanks to which the Romans won a complete victory ^[8] .