Discussion Forum Unit 4
Briefly address why the treatment of the outlying Latium towns was so important to the Roman government.
The Roman government considered the treatment of Latium towns to be crucial due to their proximity. "In the 4th century BC, Rome began to assert itself among the sister cities of Latium, which were weakened by internal strife." [Edi18] Rome would eventually find common ground with the Latin Confederacy, which aspired to be equal to Rome. "However, in 358 BC, Rome and the Latin confederacy signed a treaty of alliance on an equal footing. They took turns nominating the league's dictator." [Edi18] The peace did not last, and in 340 BCE, war broke out between the Latins and the Romans. "It came to an end in 338 with the Latins' defeat and the dissolution of their league.
Political statutes were enacted in Latin cities that limited or abolished their autonomy." [Edi18] Rome's pacification policy would begin soon after the war. "The danger of dealing with a group of towns united in a league, or confederacy, had been demonstrated by the Latins' repeated revolts. The only way to be safe seemed to be to destroy the league and deal with each city separately. This was the isolationist policy of the Romans. The distinction between perfect and imperfect citizenship was based on the fact that not all cities were equally fit to exercise the right of Roman citizenship. Latium's and Campania's subject towns were thus treated in various ways." [Wil18]
This policy of integrating the Latins into Rome while still maintaining dominance over each city bound the Latins to Roman citizenship. The treatment of Latium towns was important because they had become part of the Roman Empire due to their proximity and Roman might.
References
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2018, Oct 1). Latium ANCIENT REGION, ITALY. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Britannica: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.britannica.com/place/Latium__;!!BZ50a36bapWJ!-
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William C. Morey, P. D. (2018, Oct 1). Outlines of Roman History. Retrieved from forumromanum.org: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.forumromanum.org/history/morey10.html__;!!
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