The Battle of Pometia took place in 502 BC, a year after a revolt by two Latin towns, Pometia and Cora, against Rome. A

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

led by the consuls

Agrippa Menenius Lanatus Agrippa Menenius Lanatus (died 493 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC, with Publius Postumius Tubertus. He was victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April, 503 BC. According to Livy, he als ...

and

Publius Postumius Tubertus __NOTOC__ Publius Postumius Tubertus, the son of Quintus, was the first of the patrician '' gens Postumia'' to obtain the consulship, which he held in 505 BC, and again in 503. Ten years later, he was one of the envoys sent by the Roman Senate to ...

was eventually successful in forcing the Pometians to surrender.

Background

In 503 BC, two Latin towns, Pometia and Cora, said by Livy to be colonies of Rome, revolted against Rome. They had the assistance of the southern

Aurunci The Aurunci were an Italic tribe that lived in southern Italy from around the 1st millennium BC. They were eventually defeated by Rome and subsumed into the Roman Republic during the second half of the 4th century BC. Identity Aurunci is the n ...

tribe.

Battle

Livy says that a Roman army led by the consuls

and

met the enemy on the frontiers and was victorious, after which the war was confined to Pometia. Livy says many enemy prisoners were slaughtered by each side. Livy also says that the consuls celebrated a triumph, however the

Fasti Triumphales The ''Acta Triumphorum'' or ''Triumphalia'', better known as the ''Fasti Triumphales'', or Triumphal Fasti, is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a ''triumphus'', or triumph, in recognition of an impor ...

record that an

ovation The ovation ( la, ovatio from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, p ...

was celebrated by Postumius and a triumph by Menenius, both over the Sabines.

Aftermath

In the following year the consuls were Opiter Virginius and

Spurius Cassius Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first '' magister equitum'', and the author of the first ...

. Livy says that they attempted to take Pometia by storm, but then resorted to siege engines. However the Aurunci launched a successful sally, destroying the siege engines, wounding many, and nearly killing one of the consuls. The Romans retreated to Rome, recruited additional troops, and returned to Pometia. They rebuilt the siege engines and when they were about to take the town, the Pometians surrendered. The Aurunci leaders were beheaded, the Pometians sold into slavery, the town razed and the land sold. Livy says the consuls celebrated a triumph as a result of the victory.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, 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 traditiona ...

, ''

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

'', 2.17 The Fasti Triumphales record only one triumph, by Cassius (possibly over the Sabines although the inscription is unclear).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pometia 503 BC 6th-century BC conflicts 6th century BC in the Roman Republic Battles involving the Roman Republic