Cataclysm 90 BC: The Forgotten War that Almost Destroyed Rome

by Philip Matyszak

that the Italians had to be constantly on the alert lest the Romans sally out from their walls and attack Marsic towns, farms and supply chains. But even more annoyingly, the colonies had been situated with malice aforethought across the major lines of communication in central Italy. This meant that Roman armies could zip about with relative ease, getting supplies and a safe haven each time they stopped at a colony. The Italians on the other hand had to laboriously get around each of these municipal roadblocks either by extensive detours or by struggling through difficult terrain. Militarily the Italians could not operate freely until the colonies had been taken out of the war so the colonies had to go for that reason alone, but there was also a political aspect, in that the colonies represented Roman domination of the people and the lands around. If the Italians were fighting to be rid of Roman domination then the colonies – the aspect of Rome which most impinged on their daily lives – would have to go too. For the southern rebels too the Roman colonies were a huge inconvenience. However, the tactic of the Samnite commander Papius Mutilus was somewhat different. While the Marsi concentrated on breaking the ring of colonies that surrounded them,