The Battle of Sentin is a decisive battle during the Third Samnite War , which occurred in 295 BC. e. near the city of Sentina , southwest of present Ancona in the Italian region of Marche . In it, Roman troops defeated the combined army of the Samnites and the Gallic tribe of the Sennons .
| Battle of Sentin |
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| Main Conflict: Third Samnite War |
| date | 295 BC e. |
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| A place | Sentin , Marche , Italy |
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| Total | victory of the Romans |
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Roman republic | Samnites , Gauls |
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Publius Decius Mus †, Quintus Fabius Maxim Rullian | Helly Egnatius † |
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OK. 40,000 cavalry and infantry | OK. 50,000 cavalry and infantry |
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8,000 killed | 25,000 killed
13,000 prisoners. |
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The Roman detachments were under the command of the consuls Publius Decius Musa and Quintus Fabius Maxim Rullian and made up two full consular armies with a total number of 38 thousand people. These were 4 Roman legions reinforced by cavalry, a detachment of 1 thousand horsemen from Campania, 4 legions from allies, primarily Latins , also reinforced by a strong cavalry detachment from the allied peoples. Against the Romans, an approximately equal in number army from the Samnites and Gauls came out. Umbras and Etruscans , connected in their areas by operations against other Roman units, did not render assistance to the Samnites. The attempt of the Samnites to unite with the Gauls was prevented by the Romans by their operation under Camerin, therefore, both troops hostile to the Romans at the beginning of the battle remained disconnected.
Enemies met at Sentin, but 2 days stood against each other, preparing for battle. Then the Romans attacked their opponents. The detachment of Fabius Maximus stood on the right flank against the Samnite army, the detachment of Decius Musa on the left against the Gauls. The Gauls managed to break wide gaps in the Roman ranks with the help of their war chariots. In this battle, the Roman consul fell, Publius Decius Mus (according to Roman tradition, in order to give the Romans victory, he called on the gods to accept his life as a sacrifice). At the same time, Fabius Maxim defeated the Samnites and hit the advancing Gauls from the flanks, which eventually led them to flight. In this battle, the leader of the Samnites Gellius Egnatius also died.
As a result of the victory of the Romans at Sentin, the outcome of the Third Samnite War, despite the fact that it lasted until 290 BC. e., was generally defined.