294 BC Samnite Raids

In 294 BC the Samnites raided three Roman armies (one was meant to return to Etruria, one to defend the border and the third to raid Campania). The consul Marcus Atilius Regulus was sent to the front and met the Samnites in a position where neither force could raid enemy territory. The Samnites attacked the Roman camp under the cover of fog, taking part of the camp and killing many men and several officers. The RomansThe Roman Republic was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire, Rome's control rapidly expanded during this period - from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.Romans managed to repel them but did not pursue them because of the fog. The other consul, Lucius Postumius Megellus, who was recovering from illness, assembled an army of allies at Sora, where Roman foragers had been pushed back by the Samnites, and the Samnites retreated. Lucius Postumius went on to take Milionia and Feritrum, two unidentified Samnite towns.

Marcus Atilius marched on Luceria (in Apulia), which was being besieged, and was defeated. The next day there was another battle. The Roman infantry began to flee, but was forced back into battle by their cavalry. The Samnites did not press their advantage and were then defeated. On his way back, Marcus Atilius defeated a Samnite force which was trying to seize Interamna, a Roman colony on the River Liris. The other consul, Lucius Postumius, moved from Samnium to Etruria without consulting the senate. He ravaged the territory of Volsinii and defeated the townsfolk who had come out of the city to defend it. Volsinii, Perusia and Arretium sued for peace and obtained a forty-year truce. Livy mentioned that there were sources with different stories. In one, it was Marcus Atilius who went to Etruria and got a triumph. Lucius Postumius, instead, seized some cities in Samnium and then was defeated and wounded in Apulia and took refuge in Luceria. In another, both consuls fought in Samnium and at Luceria, with both sides suffering heavy losses.

• Outline of the Third Samnite War (298-290 BC)
  

  HISTORIC BATTLES

  Third Samnite War (298-290 BC)

  In 299 BC, the Etruscans, possibly due to the Roman colony set up at Narnia in next-door Umbria, prepared for war against Rome. However, the Gauls invaded their territory, so, the Etruscans offered them money to form an alliance. The Gauls agreed, but then objected to fighting against Rome, claiming that the agreement was only about them not devastating Etruscan territory. View Historic Battle »

  298 BC Conflicting Accounts: The Etruscans retreated during the night. Barbatus marched to the Faliscan district and laid Etruscan territory north of the River Tiber to waste.

  297 BC Rome turns to Samnium: The elections of the consuls for 297 BC took place amid rumours that the Etruscans and the Samnites were raising huge armies.

  296 BC Etruscan intervention: The Samnites pointed out that they could not defeat Rome by themselves, but an army of all the Etruscans, the richest nation in Italy, backed up by the Samnite army could.

  295 BC The Etrurian Campaign and the Battle of Sentinum: The Samnite raids in Campania created great alarm in Rome. In addition to this, there was news that, following the withdrawal of Lucius Volumnius' army from Etruria, the Etruscans were arming themselves.

  294 BC Samnite Raids: In 294 BC the Samnites raided three Roman armies (one was meant to return to Etruria, one to defend the border and the third to raid Campania).

  293 BC - 290 BC Defeat of Samnium: With the Samnite armies destroyed, the consuls decided to storm towns.

  Aftermath: When the Samnite War ended, the Romans moved to crush the Sabines who lived on the mountains to the east of Rome.

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Related Articles

First Samnite War (343-341 BC)

The Samnite Wars were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites. The first of these wars was the result of Rome's intervening to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from a Samnite attack. View First Samnite War (343-341 BC) »

Second Samnite War (326 to 304 BC)

The second one was the result of Rome's intervention in the politics of the city of Naples and developed into a contest over the control of much of central and southern Italy. The Samnites were one of early Rome's most formidable rivals. View Second Samnite War (326 to 304 BC) »

Third Samnite War (298 to 290 BC)

The wars extended over half a century and the peoples to the east, north and west of Samnium as well as the peoples of central Italy north of Rome and the Senone Gauls got involved to various degrees and at various points in time. View Third Samnite War (298 to 290 BC) »

 

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Samnite Wars", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.