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Arpi ( grc, Ἄρποι), Argyrippa ( grc, Ἀργύριππα), and Argos Hippium ( grc, Ἄργος Ἵππιον) was an ancient city of 
As a protection against the
Apulia
it, Pugliese
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, Italy, 20 mi. W. of the sea coast, and 5 mi. N. of the modern Foggia
Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...
. The first name was Argos Hippium then Argyrippa and later Arpi.
Legend attributes Arpi's foundation to Diomedes
Diomedes (Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary''. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.) or Diomede (; grc-gre, Διομήδης, Diomēdēs, "god-like cunning" or "advised by ...
, and the figure of a horse, which appears on its coins, shows the importance of horse-breeding in early times in the district. Its territory extended to the sea, and Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
says that from the extent of the city walls one could gather that it had once been one of the greatest cities of Italy.
As a protection against the Samnites
The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy.
An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...
, Arpi became an ally of Rome. In the war with Pyrrhus, the Arpani aided Rome with a contingent of 4000 foot and 400 horse. Arpi remained faithful to Rome until Rome's defeat at the battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...
, but the consul Quintus Fabius Maximus, son of the famous Roman dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, captured it in 213 B.C., and it never recovered its former importance. It lies along a by-road leading from Luceria to Sipontum. No Roman inscriptions have, indeed, been found here, and remains of antiquity are scanty. Foggia is its medieval representative.
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References
* * Cities and towns in Apulia {{Apulia-geo-stub