The Roman-Sardinian Wars (

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 ...

: ''Bellum Sardum'') were a series of conflicts in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD. These wars pitted the

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 ...

and later the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

against the major Sardinian

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s: the

Ilienses The Ilienses or Iolaes or Ilians or Iolai (); later known as Diagesbes (Διαγησβεῖς) or Diagebres (Διαγηβρεῖς)Strabo, Geographica V, 2,7. were an ancient Nuragic people who lived during the Bronze and Iron Ages in central-south ...

(later Ioles or Diagesbes), the

Balares The Balares were one of the three major groups among which the Nuragic Sardinians considered themselves divided (along with the Corsi and the Ilienses). History Pausanias in his work ''Periegesis'' speculated that the Balares were the descen ...

and the Corsi (located in today's

Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...

), in a struggle for control of the coastal cities. The island, especially the mountainous interior (also known as '' Barbaria'', "land of the Barbarians"), was never completely pacified by the Romans. In contrast, the coasts and the plains, known as ''Romania'' ("land of the Romans"), were significantly influenced by the Romans during their centuries of dominion. The Roman presence was eventually eroded by the arrival of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

; however, these new invaders were likewise unable to take control of the interior and consequently settled in the coastal cities for at least 80 years. The Byzantines then arrived in Sardinia, struggling with the peoples of ''Barbaria'' for a period, before finally signing a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

with Hospiton, chief of the Ilienses.Cod. Iust. de off. praef. Africae I 27, 2, 3: In Sardinia autem iubemus ducem ordinari et eum iuxta montes, ubi Barbaricini videntur sedere, habentem milites pro custodia locorum quantos et ubi tua magnitudo providerit.

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