The Battle of Tifernum (297 BC) was an important battle of the

Third 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. ...

, fought in 297 BC near

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north of ...

(next to

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

, in what is now central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

), in which 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 letter ...

overcame a determined Samnite army. The result would lead to the decisive

Battle of Sentinum The Battle of Sentinum was the decisive battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 295 BC near Sentinum (next to the modern town of Sassoferrato, in the Marche region of Italy), in which the Romans overcame a formidable coalition of Samnites, ...

, which granted Rome the domination of central

Background

The Third Samnite War broke out over territory near

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 298 BC, as the last Samnite attempt to ward off Roman domination. Rome sent two armies against Samnium led by the experienced consuls

Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus (or Rullus), son of Marcus Fabius Ambustus, of the patrician Fabii of ancient Rome, was five times consul and a hero of the Samnite Wars. He was brother to Marcus Fabius Ambustus (magister equitum 322 BC). Hi ...

and

Publius Decius Mus The gens Decia was a plebeian family of high antiquity, which became illustrious in Roman history by the example of its members sacrificing themselves for the preservation of their country. The first of the family known to history was Marcus Deciu ...

, each with about 20,000 men. The Samnite army numbered 25,000. The Samnites hoped to defeat each Roman army in detail: therefore they set an ambush for Rullianus in a valley near Tifernum. Rullianus, with proper scouting, discovered the trap and would not enter the valley. Fearing the arrival of the other Roman army if they delayed, the Samnites came out of the valley and offered battle which Rullianus duly accepted. The battle lines clashed and the Samnites were getting the upper hand when suddenly in the Samnite rear there appeared a force of Roman ''

hastati ''Hastati'' (singular: ''hastatus'') were a class of infantry employed in the armies of the early Roman Republic, who originally fought as spearmen and later as swordsmen. These soldiers were the staple unit after Rome threw off Etruscan rule. ...

'', led by the Tribune

Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (c. 337 BC270 BC) was one of the two elected Roman consuls in 298 BC. He led the Roman army to victory against the Etruscans near Volterra. A member of the noble Roman family of Scipiones, he was the father of Lu ...

, that Rullianus had previously sent on a flanking march before the battle had begun. With both sides thinking this small detachment heralded the arrival of the army of Decius Mus, the Roman morale soared while that of the Samnites collapsed and they fled the battle. The badly shaken Romans were in no shape to pursue and so with Samnite casualties fairly low the Samnites were still in shape to continue the war.

Battle details

The newly elected consuls for 297 BC, Quintus Fabius Maximus and Decius Mus, led both armies against Samnium, Barbatus going as lieutenant general (legatus) under Maximus. As they advanced into Samnium laying waste to the country the Samnites were hoping to catch them in an ambush in a valley at Tifernum (Samniticum). Stationing a force there to entice the Romans they hid their main force in the hills behind. Fabius saw through the ruse and brought his army up in quadrangular formation before the "hiding place" of the Samnites, who then came down to fight a conventional battle, line-to-line. Unable to obtain a victory, Fabius withdrew the spearmen of the First Legion from the line and sent them under the command of Barbatus stealthily around the enemy flank into the hills behind, whence the latter had earlier descended. They were ordered to coordinate an attack from behind with an especially vigorous cavalry charge to the front of the Samnite line. The plan went entirely wrong: the charge came too soon and was repulsed. A counterattack was beginning to break the Roman line when Barbatus' men appeared on the hills and were mistaken for the second Roman army under Mus, a disaster for the Samnites if true. They abandoned the field posthaste leaving behind 23 standards and 3,400 slain, while 830 were taken prisoner. In fact Publius Decius Mus was far away in south Samnium.

References

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External links

Outlines of Roman History

Tifernum The Battle of Tifernum (297 BC) was an important battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 297 BC near Città di Castello (next to Perugia, in what is now central Italy), in which the Roman Republic, Romans overcame a determined Samnite army. T ...

297 BC

3rd century BC in the Roman Republic