Ausona (today
Ausonia) was a 4th-century
BC city in the central Italian region of
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...
. It was one of the three cities possessed by the tribe of the
Ausones and its name seems to imply that it was their chief city or metropolis (the others were
Cales and
Aurunca The ancient city of Aurunca was the capital or metropolis of the little mountain tribe of the Aurunci (in the more limited sense of that name (see Aurunci)), was situated on one of the summits of the volcanic group of mountains, which rise above th ...
). It is only once mentioned in history: 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 Lucanian tribe.
...
(326–304
BC), when—the Ausones having revolted against the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
—all three of their cities were betrayed into the hands of the Roman consuls, and their inhabitants put to the sword without mercy. No subsequent notice is found of Ausona; but it is supposed to have been situated on the banks of the little river still called
Ausente, which flows into the
Liris
The Liri (Latin Liris or Lyris, previously, Clanis; Greek: ) is one of the principal rivers of central Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturno under the name Garigliano.
Source and route
The Liri's source is in the Mon ...
near its mouth. The plain below the modern village of
Le Fratte, near the sources of this little stream, is still known as the ''Piano dell'Ausente''; and some remains of a Roman town have been discovered there.
[ cites Romanelli III, p. 438.]
Notes
References
*
{{coord, 41.355425, N, 13.748744, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:IT, display=title
Roman towns and cities in Italy
Archaeological sites in Campania