The Battle of Suessula was the third and last battle between 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 f ...

and the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

in 343 BC,Livy, as was customary in Rome, dated the battle by noting which consuls held office that year, it was the year in which M. Valerius Corvus, for the third time, and A. Cornelius Cossus were consuls. When converted to the western calendar using the traditional Varronian chronology, which Livy did not use, this becomes 343 BC. Modern historians have shown that the Varronian chronology dates the First Samnite War four years too early, due to inclusion of unhistorical "

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...

years". Despite this known inaccuracy, the Varronian chronology remains in use by convention also in current academic literature. Forsythe(2005), pp. 369-370 the first year of the

First 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. ...

. According to the Augustan historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a 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 traditional founding in ...

, the Samnites gathered their army at

Suessula Suessula (Greek: ) was an ancient city of Campania, southern Italy, situated in the interior of the peninsula, near the frontier with Samnium, between Capua and Nola, and about 7 km northeast of Acerrae, Suessula is now a vanished city an ...

, at the eastern edge of

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

. The

Roman consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

Marcus Valerius Corvus Marcus Valerius Corvus (c. 370–270 BC) was a military commander and politician from the early-to-middle period of the Roman Republic. During his career he was elected consul six times, first at the age of twenty-three. He was appointed dictat ...

took his army by forced marches to Suessula. When the Samnites had to scatter their army to forage for food, Valerius seized the opportunity to capture the Samnite camp and then rout the Samnite foragers. Modern historians believe that details of the battle were entirely invented by Livy and his annalistic sources, and the battle's

historicity Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity denot ...

has also been questioned.

Background

According to Livy the First Samnite War started because the Samnites attacked the

Sidicini The Sidicini (Ancient Greek Σιδικῖνοι) were one of the Italic peoples of ancient Italy. Their territory extended northward from their capital, Teanum Sidicinum (modern day Teano), along the valley of the Liri river up to Fregellae, cove ...

, a tribe living north of

. The Campani, led by the city-state of

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...

, sent an army to help the Sidicini, but were beaten in battle by the Samnites. The Samnites then invaded Campania and won a second battle on the plain near Capua. Facing defeat, the Campani appealed to Rome for aid. The Romans, despite having a treaty with the Samnites, agreed to help and declared war against the Samnites. The two Roman consuls for 343,

and Aulus Cornelius Cossus, marched each their armies against the Samnites. Valerius led his into Campania and Cornelius his into

Samnium Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the Th ...

. In Campania, Valerius won the first Roman victory against the Samnites in the

Battle of Mount Gaurus The Battle of Mount Gaurus, 343 BC,Livy, as was customary in Rome, dated the battle by noting which consuls held office that year, it was the year in which M. Valerius Corvus, for the third time, and A. Cornelius Cossus were consuls. When conver ...

near

Cumae Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...

, while Cornelius in the

Battle of Saticula The Battle of Saticula, 343 BC,Livy, as was customary in Rome, dated the battle by noting which consuls held office that year, it was the year in which M. Valerius Corvus, for the third time, and A. Cornelius Cossus were consuls. When converted ...

turned a near disaster into a second Roman victory thanks to the heroism of Publius Decius Mus.

The battle

Livy, who is the only source for this battle, writes that the Samnites, even after two defeats determined to achieve victory, brought their whole army to Suessula. When news of this reached Valerius from Capua, he detached a strong force to protect his camp and baggage, and proceeded by forced marches to Suessula. There he established camp close to the enemy, since he had not brought any baggage or camp followers, his camp was much smaller than normal. The Samnites formed battle lines and marched towards the Roman camp, believing there would soon be a battle. When the Samnites learnt from their scouts of the small size of the Roman camp, they believed only a small Roman force were opposing them. The Samnite soldiers wanted to assault the Roman camp at once, but were restrained from by their generals. Owing to their large numbers and long stay outside Suessula, the Samnites were now running out of supplies. Believing the Romans to be too weak to venture outside their camp and short on food as well, the Samnites decided to send foragers into the fields. Seeing the Samnites scattered and their camp weakly held, Valerius led his men in an attack on the Samnite camp, which was captured in the first assault. Leaving two legions to hold the Samnite camp, Valerius ordered his men forward to round up the Samnite foragers. The scattered Samnites were slaughtered or fled in fear. The Roman spoils included 40 000 shields, due to the Samnite flight a far larger number than the enemy slain, and 170 standards.

Aftermath

Livy records that with the campaign season now at an end, both consuls were rewarded at Rome with a

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

. The

Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

, with whom the Romans had concluded a treaty of friendship in 348, congratulated Rome with her victories by sending a golden crown weighing twenty-five pounds for the

Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, also known as the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus ( la, Aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini; it, Tempio di Giove Ottimo Massimo; ) was the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline ...

. 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 imp ...

'' record that Valerius and Cornelius celebrated their triumphs over the Samnites on 21 September and 22 September respectively. Little fighting occurred over the two next years. The First Samnite War ended in 341 with Rome and the Samnites renewing their treaty and the Samnites accepting the Roman alliance with the Campani.

Modern views

Modern historians have doubted the historical accuracy of Livy's description of this battle. Livy's battle scenes for this time period are mostly free reconstructions by him and his sources, and there is no reason that this battle should be an exception. The amount of spoils taken and the Samnite losses imply a clear exaggeration.

Edward Togo Salmon Edward Togo Salmon (May 29, 1905, in London, England – 1988) was an ancient historian best known for his work on the Samnites and the Romanization of Italy. Life Salmon was born in London, England, and was given his middle name after Adm ...

suspected Valerius' victories in 343 could be doublets of Roman operations against

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

in the same area in 215. Since the testimony of the ''Fasti Triumphales'' require some degree of Roman success in 343, Salmon therefore proposed that there was only one battle in 343, fought on the outskirts of Capua near the shrine of Juno Gaura, which Livy or his source has then confused with Mount Gaurus. These proposed doublets are rejected by S.P. Oakley, who inclines towards believing the Romans and Samnites fought three battles in 343. The location of two of the battles at Mount Gaurus and Suessula could reflect a twin Samnite attack on Cumae and Capua.Oakley (1998), pp. 310-311

Note on date

References

Bibliography

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343 BC

4th century BC in the Roman Republic