Gaius Pontius (fl. 321 BC), sometimes called Gavius Pontius, was a Samnite commander during the

Second Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanians, Lucania ...

. He is most well known for his victory over the Roman legions at the Battle of the Caudine Forks in 321 BC. He was eventually captured and executed by Fabius Rullianus.

Early life

Gaius Pontius was born to the

Caudini The Caudini were a Samnite tribe that lived among the mountains ringing Campania and in the valleys of the Isclero and Volturnus rivers. Their capital was at Caudium, but it seems certain that the appellation was not confined to the citizens of ...

. Gaius Pontius was a Meddix, a Samnite position similar to a Roman

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Magistratus The Roman magistrates () were elected officials in ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate.Abbott, 8 His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgive ...

at the beginning of the Second Samnite War. He controlled a force of nearly 9,000, including nearly 1,000

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

men. With this force, he won a series of early victories, which included taking the towns of

Canusium Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa (), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the plateau of the Altopiano dell ...

and Gnaitha, and defeating the army under the command of Cornelius Lentulus. The Samnites failed to take advantage of these victories, however, and the Romans continued to press into Samnite territory.

Battle of the Caudine Forks

In 321 BC, the Romans were moving into

Samnium Samnium () is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The language of t ...

, and Pontius, who was encamped at

Caudium Caudium (modern Montesarchio) was the main city of the ancient Caudini tribe in Samnium situated on the Appian Way between Benevento, Beneventum (modern Benevento) and Capua, in what is now southern Italy. It was 21 Roman miles from Capua, and 11 f ...

, discovered that the army led by the Roman Consuls was near the town of Calatia. He devised a plan to trap the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

, and quickly sent ten shepherds to the Roman encampment. They told the Romans that the Samnite army was laying siege to the town of Luceria, in the region of

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

. The Romans fell for his trap, and found themselves cornered by the Samnite army in a narrow pass. They were forced to surrender to Pontius.

Aftermath

As recorded by

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 ...

, Pontius was confused as to what should become of the Roman army which had surrendered to him. He sent a letter to his father, the Samnite statesman Herennius Pontius, and the reply was that he should free them all, and therefore make Rome an ally. Pontius did not like this idea, and sent another letter to his father, saying so. Herennius, in a seemingly hypocritical manner, told his son to execute the entire army, saying that it would destroy the threat of Rome for a long time. Pontius knew that the number of Romans were simply too large to have them all executed, so he sent for his father in person, and asked him if there was a middle road. Herennius advised his son not to take that road, as it would not only humiliate the Romans, but leave them with the means to carry out revenge. Pontius ended up ignoring his father's advice and forcing the Romans to walk under a yoke composed of Roman spears. This was supreme humiliation, as it was seen as cowardly for a Roman soldier to lose his spear, and the army went back to Rome smarting but intact. Rome's revenge was swift, and ended up with the Samnites being soundly defeated, and Pontius being executed years after the battle.

Early life

Battle of the Caudine Forks

Aftermath

References

Sources

Primary

Secondary

Further reading