The Latin League ( – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001). ''The Encyclopedia of World History''. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

near the ancient city of Rome, organized for mutual defense. The term "Latin League" is one coined by modern historians with no precise

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

equivalent.

Creation

The Latin League was originally created for protection against enemies from surrounding areas (the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

) under the leadership of the city of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latins (Italic tribe), Latin city in Central Italy in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. The ancient Romans believed it to be the founder and head of the ...

. An incomplete fragment of an inscription recorded by

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (, ; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor (), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, Roman Senate, senator, and Roman historiography, historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He wa ...

claims that at one time the league included

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

, Aricia,

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive view ...

Lavinium Lavinium was a port city of Latium, to the south of Rome, midway between the Tiber river at Ostia Antica, Ostia and Antium. The coastline then, as now, was a long strip of beach. Lavinium was on a hill at the southernmost edge of the ''Silva La ...

, Cora, Tibur, Pometia and Ardea.

Roman leadership of the League

During the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, the Latins were persuaded to acknowledge the leadership of Rome. The treaty with Rome was renewed, and it was agreed that the troops of the Latins would attend on an appointed day to form a united military force with the troops of Rome. That was done, and Tarquin formed combined units of Roman and Latin troops.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

'', 1.50–52 The early

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

formed an alliance with the Latin League in 493 BC. According to Roman tradition, the treaty, the '' Foedus Cassianum'',Nelson, Eric. (2001) ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Roman Empire'', Alpha Books. pp. 76–77. . followed a Roman victory over the league in the Battle of Lake Regillus. It provided that both Rome and the Latin League would share loot from military conquests (which would later be one of the reasons for the Latin War 341–338 BC) and that any military campaigns between the two would be led by Roman generals. The alliance helped repel attacks from such peoples as the Aequi and the Volsci, tribes of the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

, who were prevented from invading Latium by the blending of armies. It is still unclear if the Latins had accepted Rome as a member of the League, or if the treaty had been signed as between Rome and the Latin League.

Wars with Rome

During the

Roman Kingdom The Roman Kingdom, also known as the Roman monarchy and the regal period of ancient Rome, was the earliest period of Ancient Rome, Roman history when the city and its territory were King of Rome, ruled by kings. According to tradition, the Roma ...

and the early-to-mid

there were numerous

disputes Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

between Rome and the Latins, which led to a number of wars between Rome and individual Latin cities and occasionally with the entire league. The increasing power of Rome gradually led to its domination of the league. The renewal of the original treaty in 358 BC formally established Roman leadership and eventually triggered the outbreak of the Latin War (343–338 BC). Following the Roman victory, the league was dissolved. After 338 BC, the end of the Latin league, Rome renamed the cities '' municipia'' and established '' coloniae'' inside them. This meant that the towns were now ruled by Rome (or the Roman Republic) and that the people living there were considered Roman colonists.

References

{{Authority control 1st-millennium BC disestablishments in Italy 338 BC 4th century BC in Italy 4th-century BC disestablishments 4th century BC in international relations 4th-century BC military history 5th century BC in international relations 5th-century BC military history 6th century BC in international relations 6th-century BC military history 7th-century BC establishments in Italy 7th century BC in international relations 7th-century BC military history Ancient military alliances Alba Longa Foederati Foreign relations of ancient Rome Former federations States and territories disestablished in the 4th century BC History of Lazio