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Lucanians
The Lucanians () were an Italic tribe living in Lucania, in what is now southern Italy, who spoke the Oscan language, a member of the Italic languages. Today, the inhabitants of the Basilicata region are still called Lucani, and so is their dialect. Language and writing The Lucani spoke the Oscan language. There are a few inscriptions and coins in the area that survive from the 4th or 3rd century BC; they use the Greek alphabet. History Around the middle of the 5th century BC, the Lucani moved south into Oenotria, driving the indigenous tribes, known to the Greeks as Oenotrians, Chones, and Lauternoi, into the mountainous interior. The Lucanians were engaged in hostilities with the Greek colony of Taras/Tarentum and with Alexander, king of Epirus who was called in by the Tarentine people to their assistance in 334 BC. In 331, treacherous Lucanian exiles killed Alexander of Epirus. In 298 they made alliance with Rome, and Roman influence was extended by the colonies o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samnite Wars
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. * The first of these wars was the result of Rome's intervention to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from a Samnite attack. * The second one was the result of Rome's intervention in the politics of the city of Naples and developed into a contest over the control of central and southern Italy. * Similarly the third war also involved a struggle for control of this part of Italy. The wars extended over half a century, and also drew in the peoples to the east, north, and west of Samnium (land of the Samnites) as well as those of central Italy north of Rome (the Etruscans, Umbri, and Picentes) and the Senone Gauls, but at different times and levels of involvement. Background By the time of the First Samnite War (343 BC), the southward exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucania
Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy, corresponding to the modern-day region of Basilicata. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttium in the south-west, and was at the tip of the peninsula which is now called Calabria. It comprised almost all the modern region of Basilicata, the southern part of the Province of Salerno (the Cilento area), the western part of Province of Taranto and a northern portion of the Province of Cosenza. The precise limits were the river Silarus in the north-west, which separated it from Campania, and the Gravina (river) which flows into the Gulf of Taranto in the east. The lower tract of the river Laus, which flows from a ridge of the Apennine Mountains to the Tyrrhenian Sea in an east-west direction, marked part of the border with Bruttium. Geography Almost the whole area is occupied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paestum
Paestum ( , , ) was a major Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Magna Graecia. The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order dating from about 550 to 450 BCE that are in an excellent state of preservation. The city walls and amphitheatre are largely intact, and the bottom of the walls of many other structures remain, as well as paved roads. The site is open to the public, and there is a modern National Archaeological Museum of Paestum, national museum within it, which also contains the finds from the associated Greek site of Foce del Sele. Paestum was established around 600 BCE by settlers from Sybaris, a Greek colony in southern Italy, under the name of Poseidonia (). The city thrived as a Greek settlement for about two centuries, witnessing the development of democracy. In 400 BCE, the Lucani (ancient people), Lucanians seized the city. Ancient Rome, Romans took over in 273 BCE, renaming it Paestu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thurii
Thurii (; ; ), called also by some Latin writers Thūrium (compare , in Ptolemy), and later in Roman times also Cōpia and Cōpiae, was an ancient Greek city situated on the Gulf of Taranto, near or on the site of the great renowned city of Sybaris, whose place it may be considered as having taken. The ruins of the city can be found in the Sybaris archaeological park near Sibari in the Province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy. History Foundation Thurii was founded as a colony of Athens along with exiles from Sybaris in 443 BC. Justin writes that people say that the city of Thurii was built by Philoctetes and his monument is seen there even to his days, as well as the arrows of Hercules which laid up in the temple of Apollo. The site of that city had remained desolate for a period of 58 years after its destruction by the Crotoniats; when at length, in 452 BC, a number of the Sybarite exiles and their descendants made an attempt to establish themselves again on the spot, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Of Epirus
Alexander I of Epirus (; c. 370 BC – 331 BC), also known as Alexander Molossus (), was a king of Epirus (343/2–331 BC) of the Aeacid dynasty.Ellis, J. R., ''Philip II and Macedonian Imperialism'', Thames and Hudson, 1976, pp. 90–1, 156–7 As the son of Neoptolemus I and brother of Olympias, Alexander I was an uncle, and a brother-in-law, of Alexander the Great. He was also an uncle to Pyrrhus of Epirus. Biography Neoptolemus I ruled jointly with his brother Arybbas. When Neoptolemus died in c. 357 BC, his son Alexander was only a child and Arrybas became the sole king. In c. 350 BC, Alexander was brought to the court of Philip II of Macedon in order to protect him. In 343/2 in his late 20s, Philip made him king of Epirus, after dethroning his uncle Arybbas. When Olympias was repudiated by her husband in 337 BC, she went to her brother, and endeavoured to induce him to make war on Philip. Alexander, however, declined the contest, and formed a second alli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basilicata
Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometre stretch on the Gulf of Policastro (Tyrrhenian Sea) between Campania and Calabria, and a longer coastline along the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea) between Calabria and Apulia. The region can be thought of as "the arch" of "the boot" of Italy, with Calabria functioning as "the toe" and Apulia "the heel". The region covers about . In 2021, the population was slightly over 540,000. The regional capital is Potenza. The region comprises two provinces: Potenza and Matera. Its inhabitants are generally known as Lucanians (), and to a lesser extent as or by other very rare terms. In ancient times, part of its territory belonged to Magna Graecia, subject to coastal Greek colonies (including Sybaris). Later the region was conquered by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyrrhus Of Epirus
Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became king (John Malalas, Malalas also called him toparch) of Epirus (ancient state), Epirus. He was one of the strongest opponents of early Roman Republic, Rome, and had been regarded as one of the greatest generals of antiquity. Several of his victorious battles caused him unacceptably heavy losses, from which the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" was coined. Pyrrhus became king of Epirus in 306 BC at the age of 13, but was dethroned by Cassander four years later. He saw action during the Wars of the Diadochi and regained his throne in 297 BC with the support of Ptolemy I Soter. During the eponymous Pyrrhic War of 280–275 BC, Pyrrhus fought Rome at the behest of Taranto, Tarentum, scoring costly victories at Battle of Heraclea, Heraclea and Battle of A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Fabricius Luscinus
Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, son of Gaius, was said to have been the first of the Fabricii to move to ancient Rome, his family originating from Aletrium. In 284 BC he was one of the ambassadors to Tarentum, successfully keeping peace, and was elected consul in 282 BC where he saved the Greek city Thurii from the Lucanians. After the Romans were defeated by Pyrrhus at Heraclea, Fabricius negotiated peace terms with Pyrrhus and perhaps the ransom and exchange of prisoners; Plutarch reports that Pyrrhus was impressed by his inability to bribe Fabricius, and released the prisoners even without a ransom. Fabricius was consul a second time in 278 BC, and once again successful against the Samnites, Lucanians and Bruttians. He also defeated Tarentum's army after Pyrrhus' departure from Italy to Sicily. Fabricius was elected censor in 275 BC. The tales of Fabricius are the standard ones of austerity and incorruptibility, similar to those told of Curius Dentatus, and Cicero often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oenotria
The Oenotrians or Enotrians were an ancient Italic people who inhabited a territory in Southern Italy from Paestum to southern Calabria. By the sixth century BC, the Oenotrians had been absorbed into other Italic tribes. Etymology A likely derivation of the ethnonym ''Oenotrian'' is the Greek (), as the Oenotrians inhabited a territory rich in vineyards, with ''Oenotria'' or ''Enotria'' () being extended to refer to the entirety of Southern Italy. Hesychius mentions the word (), a kind of a vine stake. History It is thought that the Oenotrians represent the southern branch of a very old ethno-linguistic group, different from the proto-Latin one, which occupied the Tyrrhenian Sea area from Liguria to Sicily ( Ligurian/ Sicanian layer). They are generally depicted as belonging to the Pelasgians. According to Antoninus Liberalis and Hellanicus, their arrival triggered the migration of the Elymians to Sicily around 1260 BC. Ancient authors from the 1st century BC state that O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscan Language
Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian and South Picene. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including the Samnites, the Lucani, the Aurunci (Ausones), and the Sidicini. The latter two tribes were often grouped under the name " Osci". The Oscan group is part of the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic family, and includes the Oscan language and three variants ( Hernican, Marrucinian and Paelignian) known only from inscriptions left by the Hernici, Marrucini and Paeligni, minor tribes of eastern central Italy. Adapted from the Etruscan alphabet, the Central Oscan alphabet was used to write Oscan in Campania and surrounding territories from the 5th century BCE until at least the 1st century CE. Evidence Oscan is known from inscriptions dating as far back as the 5th century BCE. The most important O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samnites
The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they formed a confederation consisting of four tribes: the Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni (tribe), Caraceni, and Pentri. Ancient Greek historians considered the Umbri as the ancestors of the Samnites. Their migration was in a southward direction, according to the rite of ver sacrum. Although allied together against the Gauls in 354 BC, they later became enemies of the Roman Republic, Romans and fought them in a series of Samnite Wars, three wars. Despite an overwhelming victory at the Battle of the Caudine Forks (321 BC), the Samnites were subjugated in 290 BC. Although severely weakened, the Samnites would still side against the Romans, first in the Pyrrhic War and then with Hannibal in the Second Punic War. They also foug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oenotrians
The Oenotrians or Enotrians were an ancient Italic people who inhabited a territory in Southern Italy from Paestum to southern Calabria. By the sixth century BC, the Oenotrians had been absorbed into other Italic tribes. Etymology A likely derivation of the ethnonym ''Oenotrian'' is the Greek (), as the Oenotrians inhabited a territory rich in vineyards, with ''Oenotria'' or ''Enotria'' () being extended to refer to the entirety of Southern Italy. Hesychius mentions the word (), a kind of a vine stake. History It is thought that the Oenotrians represent the southern branch of a very old ethno-linguistic group, different from the proto-Latin one, which occupied the Tyrrhenian Sea area from Liguria to Sicily ( Ligurian/ Sicanian layer). They are generally depicted as belonging to the Pelasgians. According to Antoninus Liberalis and Hellanicus, their arrival triggered the migration of the Elymians to Sicily around 1260 BC. Ancient authors from the 1st century BC state tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
