Topic summary
Social War (91–87 BC)
- Roman Republic
- Italian allies
The Social War (from Latinbellum sociale, "war of the allies"), also known as the Italian War or the Marsic War, was fought between the Roman Republic and several of its autonomous allies (socii), largely from 91 to 88 BC in Italy, with some holdouts persisting until 87 BC.
The war started in late 91 BC with the rebellion of Asculum. Other Italian towns also rebelled and the Roman response was initially confused. By the new year, the Romans had levied armies to oppose the rebels but found initial headway difficult. By the end of the year they were able to cut the Italian rebels into two, isolating them into northern and southern sectors. The Italian rebels attempted to invade Etruria and Umbria at the start of 89 BC but were defeated. In the south, they were defeated by Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who for his victories would win a consulship the next year. The Romans retained the initiative, and by 88 BC the conflict was largely over, and Roman attention had been captured by the ongoing First Mithridatic War. The few Italian rebels on the field by 87 BC eventually reached a negotiated settlement during a short civil war that year. At various stages of the war, Romans brought legislation allowing Italian towns to elect Roman citizenship if they had not revolted or would otherwise put down arms, draining support from the rebels.
Views differ as to the causes of the war, primarily on whether Roman citizenship was already a coveted status and whether the extension of such citizenship was the main goal of the socii. The main ancient source for the period is the relatively late Appian, who wrote in the imperial period during the 2nd century AD, and whose narrative is largely one based on demands of the allies for Roman citizenship. Other historians, most especially Henrik Mouritsen, have focused instead on a perceived alternative tradition, which has the Italian allies rebelling against Roman hegemony and encroachment on allied lands.
The massive expansion of the citizenship that followed the Social War remained a politically-charged topic, especially in terms of how they would be allocated into the tribes that were the traditional units of Roman democratic processes. Disputes over enfranchisement played a role in Sulla's march on Rome in 88 BC to depose the plebeian tribune Publius Sulpicius Rufus. Fears of Sulla rolling back hard-won Italian rights contributed to resistance during Sulla's civil war. The conflict also blurred the distinction between Romans and their enemies; the presence of large armies in Italy during the war also provided opportunities for generals to seize power extralegally. For these reasons and others, some historians believe the conflict played an important role in setting up the collapse of the republic.