Editing Samnites (section)

=== Later history ===
[[File:Social War AR Syd 621.1.jpg|thumb|[[Social War (91–87 BC)|Social War]] coin depicting the Samnite soldiers taking an oath to fight the Romans]]
The Samnites were one of the Italian peoples that allied with King [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] during the [[Pyrrhic War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sabini. |url=http://mek.niif.hu/03400/03410/html/7286.html |access-date=2022-05-03 |website=mek.niif.hu |language=en}}</ref> After Pyrrhus left for [[Sicily]], the Romans invaded Samnium and were crushed at the [[Battle of the Cranita hills|Battle of the Cranita Hills]], but after the defeat of Pyrrhus, the Samnites could not resist on their own and surrendered to Rome. Some of them joined and aided [[Hannibal]] during the [[Second Punic War]], but most stayed loyal to Rome.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Sagarna |first=Iñaki |chapter=Cult Places and the Samnite Identity |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/36238910 |title=Σαυνῖται: The identity of Samnite through their cult places |series=Case Studies of Pietrabbondante and San Giovani di Galdo |language=en |pages=1–14 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref> After the Romans refused to grant the Samnites [[Roman citizenship|citizenship]], they, along with other Italic peoples, rebelled against the Romans. This war, known as the [[Social War (Italian)|Social War]], lasted almost four years and resulted in a Roman victory. After this bloody conflict, Samnites and other Italic tribes were granted citizenship to avoid the possibility of another war.

The Samnites supported the faction of [[Gaius Marius the Younger|Marius]] and [[Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (consul 85 BC)|Carbo]] in the [[Sulla's civil war|civil war]] against [[Sulla]]. The Samnites and their allies were led by [[Pontius Telesinus]] and a Lucanian named [[Lamponia gens|Marcus Lamponius]]. They gathered an army of 40,000 men and fought a battle against Sulla at the [[Battle of the Colline Gate|Colline Gates]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knoow.net |first=Equipa |title=Samnitas – Knoow |url=https://knoow.net/historia/historiaantiga/samnitas/ |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref> After their defeat in the battle, and subsequently the war, Pontius was executed.<ref>Crawford, Michael Hewson (1993). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PoTAz6MHlosC The Roman Republic]''. Harvard University Press. pp. 16–17, 21, 33–35, 43, 53, 75, 149–150, 189, 211, 221, 238
{{ISBN|978-0-674-77927-3}}.</ref><ref>Dart, Dr Christopher J. (2014). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=yRidBQAAQBAJ The Social War, 91 to 88&nbsp;BCE: A History of the Italian Insurgency against the Roman Republic]''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 206 {{ISBN|978-1-4724-1678-0}}.</ref><ref>"[[Appian]], [https://www.livius.org/sources/content/appian/appian-samnite-wars-1/#:~:text=Appian%2C%20Samnite%20Wars%201%20Appian%20of%20Alexandria%20%28c.95-c.165%29%3A,a%20Roman%20History%20in%20twenty-four%20books.%20The%20Author Samnite History], Fragments". Retrieved 2021-12-30. p. 9</ref>

As a consequence of Sulla's victory and his establishment as [[Roman dictator|dictator of Rome]] he ordered the punishment of those who had opposed him.<ref>Roller, Matthew B.. "[https://courses.knox.edu/latin211_311/MRoller_exemplarity.pdf Exemplarity in Roman Culture: The Cases of Horatius Cocles and Cloelia]." ''[[Classical Philology (journal)|Classical Philology]]'' 99 (2004): 1–57.</ref> Samnites, who were some of the most prominent supporters of the Marians, were punished so severely that it was recorded, "some of their cities have now dwindled into villages, some indeed being entirely deserted." The Samnites did not play any prominent role in history after this, and they were [[Romanization (cultural)|Latinized]] and assimilated into the Roman world.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":9">"Lacus Curtius, Vellius Paterculus, Book II, Chapters 1–28". ''penelope.uchicago.edu''. Retrieved 2021-12-30.</ref> Several of their [[gens|gentes]] would go on to achieve high distinction, including the [[Cassia gens|Cassii]], the [[Herennia gens|Herennii]], [[Pontia gens|Pontii]] and the [[Vibia gens|Vibii]].<ref name=":4" />