Battle of Aquilonia, 293 BC ⚔️ Roman Legion vs Linen Legion ⚔️ Third Samnite War (Part 3)

🚩 I'm happy to share with you the Battle of Aquilonia (293 BC), the final episode of the Third Samnite War series, which saw Rome emerge as the dominant power on the Italian peninsula and began its journey to becoming one of the major power of the ancient world. This video has been long in the making, I hope you enjoy it.
Third Samnite War Playlist:
PART 1 • Battle of Tifernum, 29...
PART 2 • Battle of Sentinum, 29...
PART 3 • Battle of Aquilonia, 2...
🚩 Big thanks to our Patrons for supporting what we do! For as little as $1 per video you can get ad-free early access to our videos: / historymarche
🚩 Big thanks to Srpske Bitke for their collaboration on this video: / @srpskebitke
🚩 Research and Writing by Dr.Byron Waldron of Sydney University, Australia. He recently published a book titled "Dynastic Politics in the Age of Diocletian, AD 284-311". It's an excellent read: edinburghuniversitypress.com/...
📢 Narrated by David McCallion
🎼 Music:
EpidemicSound.com
Filmstro
📚 Sources:
Le Mura Megalitiche: Il Lazio meridionale tra storia e mito - Viviana Fontana (2016)
Cassius Dio, Roman History
Diodorus Siculus, Library of History
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities
Frontinus, Stratagems
Livy, From the Founding of the City
Polybius, Histories
Zonaras, Epitome of Histories
Bradley, G. 2020: Early Rome to 290 BC: The Beginnings of the City and the Rise of the Republic, Edinburgh.
Cornell, T. 2017: ‘The “Samnite Wars,” 343-290 BC, in M. Whitby & H. Sidebottom (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles, Malden MA, Oxford & Chichester, West Sussex, 2.469-479.
Forsyth, G. 2006: A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War, Berkeley.
Oakley, S. P. 1997-2005: A Commentary on Livy, Books VI-X, Oxford.
#rome #history #historymarche

[@HistoryMarche]

🚩 Big thanks to our Patrons for supporting what we do! For as little as $1 per video you can get ad-free early access to our videos: www.patreon.com/historymarche 🚩 Third Samnite War Playlist: PART 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHW7iHtrZq59eLs PART 2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5KyiYd-oKmUgKM PART 3 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpLYea15eMplgJI 🚩 I'm happy to share with you the Battle of Aquilonia (293 BC), the final episode of the Third Samnite War series, which saw Rome emerge as the dominant power on the Italian peninsula and began its journey to becoming one of the major power of the ancient world. This video has been long in the making, I hope you enjoy it.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

You're among the Best history channels!😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@byronwaldron7933]

Hi all. I wrote the episode. If you have any questions, please ask me.

[@Anupamanandarts]

Hey bro your video is nice . I really like your video. Please make a video on Mugal invasion on Konkon .

[@Aelxi]

Wth are those 500,000 asses????

[@mattfrederick5129]

​65,000 captured or killed Samnites over a couple of years makes me wonder what kind of populations these kingdoms supported. Crazy numbers.

[@nikolausparczen8735]

Does this also account for hired hand? Or would that be a different count?

[@veterankasrkin7416]

Yeah. Any idea how large was pop of Rome or Etruscans?

[@roncatman6236]

@@veterankasrkin7416 Rome itself was over 100k at this time.

[@bosertheropode5443]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think these numbers are highly exeggarated.

[@VojislavMoranic]

@@bosertheropode5443 I agree. Because of the simple fact of how fucking complicated it is to equip men, feed them with no perservatives, organize a chain of command, provide tents, blankets etc etc. For 65k men they would need to have literal factories with assembly lines.

[@user-xj2ly7oj9x]

450 years after Rome was founded, the Romans still controlled less that 50% of the Italian peninsula. It makes the speed in which they captured the rest of the land around the Mediterranean Sea all that more impressive.

[@flynnstone3133]

It also speaks to the determination of their early enemies. Rome was able to expand so quickly after unifying their home because they were forged by constant war in a peninsula full of mini Romes.

[@kakerake6018]

@@flynnstone3133 true

[@randomguy6152]

​@@flynnstone3133the Italian peninsula is just underrated compared to Greece the Italian city states were just as battle hardened as the Greek city states just more multi cultural

[@jasonchui111]

Like all things conquering or uniting your surroundings is the hardest step, once that's done the rest is easier with a well battle harden people both from previous allies and foes alike. Both the vikings and mongols started that way before their quickly expand in their own unique way.

[@RagingHeavens]

That's also the reason it didn't last after such an expansion. What the Rome did until Gaul was step by step expansion and adaptation of peoples conquered into their system.

[@Zaeyrus]

For the algorithm! Roma invicta!

[@Faris-bk6xu]

Roma aterna!!

[@historiasmundiais8972]

Legio victris

[@AIRRAID2]

Roma invicta!

[@willo7734]

That’s right. And even when Rome gets their ass kicked they take a licking and keep on ticking.

[@Jean_Jacques148]

@@willo7734corruption ruined that

[@RecoveringAhole]

More early Roman history PLEASE!!! I love learning about the early republic.

[@brokenbridge6316]

It's great hearing about early Roman history. It's not often explored enough.

[@chelsblue7370]

But it's exactly the Samnite wars and the Pyrrhic wars that turned Rome into such a power as to make it's victory over Carthage an inevitability.

[@tristancombes9658]

Probably only because compared to later history, it’s definitely the slow burn. They went about 500 years just playing to live

[@The_ZeroLine]

I’m always shocked so few military leaders were creative enough to try to set up tricks and ambushes like Hannibal did. I know large scale ones can be insanely hard ton pull off, but many small game changing things can be done with relative ease (like concealing a small force to hit the enemy at the right time and place). Seems an obvious thing to do even if only now and then. The fog and sun camp attack + the mule cloud trick showed the efficacy of exploiting even marginal opportunities and deceptions requiring minimal resources.

[@grandfathernurgle2840]

I know if it apply to every situation but wasn't a notion amongst some military leaders it was not as glorious or honorable to win using surprise tactics? Furthermore, even if a general saw the practicality of using subterfuge would it not be acceptable to the soldiers they commanded? Maybe many took the straightforward approach to avoid hurting cohesion; or perhaps that kind of strategic thinking was very unique and highlights individuals able to orchestrate others almost as extensions of their own mind to allow for the traps and precise unit movements.

[@maximvsdread1610]

Pride is a deadly Sin for a reason.

[@rotciv1492]

That's mainly because, to actually use creativity as a weapon of war, you need 3 things that were extremely rare to see together in large armies back then: 1. A competent and experienced chain of command capable of following orders and get things done in time. 2. A gifted commander. 3. A very disciplined, flexible(and also experienced) army. If an army of thousands tried to pull a stunt or take a gamble without any of those conditions, it would probably backfire or end up being useless. Hannibal had spent tons of years fighting against Iberians with their guerilla tactics. And half of his army, which was probably the most flexible army of Antiquity, was comprised by those same Iberians plus southern Gauls, who also excelled at ambushes. That's why he could defeat the Romans the way he did. He had the talent, the experience and the men. Now that I'm writing this, it's quite interesting how every character whom we regard as a "Great Commander" has some unique trait that puts him above the "Good Commanders". Hannibal was an excellent *deceiver* He was an expert at making his enemies fight the battles he wanted them to fight and exploiting the weaknesses he himself created. However, that was also why the fabian tactics ended up being so effective against him. The moment the Romans stopped fighting head on and actively avoided his baits, Hannibal couldn't get anything done anymore. Caesar was an excellent gambler. Period. Alexander was a brutally capable tactician and had one of the best logistics ever seen in History. Al Walid was quick-witted and smelled blood like a shark. Napoleon was the most decisive and commited commander one can ever think of. However, because of that, he sometimes took rash decisions and was unable to recover from them. Agrippa was probably one of the most creative and gifted minds in military history. Frederick II was the luckiest commander to ever live. Genghis Khan and Philip II of Macedon were the best at surrounding themselves with the "right men". Etc...

[@TannerPitcher-qe5ff]

I believe most of the early European powers thought ambushes and trickery like Hannibal’s as barbaric and against the code of war or something like that. When Scorpio Africanus used just a little trickery to beat Hannibal, he lost a lot of reputation because of this.

[@linming5610]

Pride seems the right answer. The goal in roman warfare is to subjugate the enemy not to destroy them. They must do so justly to convince the conquered to pledge their allegiance to them. But the problem is, this will only work on weaker enemy. Against peer, they should just destroy them regardless of method. Also ambushes usually works for factions that are in the defensive and know the terrain. Rome is usually in the offensive even at the start of their rise so they have little opportunity to develop that way of thinking.

[@logycaa]

The dust tactic was genius. It's unrelated but I have read that Rommel used it in Africa many times against the British in WW2. Just to say it seems an evergreen tactic across thousands of years and that kind of amazes me

[@anilrai7010]

Thankyou

[@anilrai7010]

Thankyou

[@ellidominusser1138]

Thankyou

[@ellidominusser1138]

Thankyou

[@FlashPointHx]

It expanded and didn't stop. Anyone in their way, got their butts kicked. If Rome took a major loss - Tis a flesh wound!

[@KHK001]

lol and they took a lot of them flesh wounds! XD

[@nisarbo3781]

Ottomans, germanics, arabs enter the chat

[@FlashPointHx]

@@nisarbo3781 not till later - and by then internal strife had crippled the Empire, not to mention the 4th crusade

[@nisarbo3781]

@@FlashPointHx excuses, nobody is unstoppable. Every empire rises & falls.

[@bingingbinging8597]

@@nisarbo3781yes by then they were barely an empire.

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

The Samnites simply would not end their attempts to shake up the Roman yoke, while surrounding Latin, Sabine and Etruscan populations were defeated and eventually absorbed to the point in which they lost their own identity the Samnites resisted the Romans until the bitter end which would come surprisingly late; they participated in the Social War in the Late Republic and sided with the Popular faction in the first civil wars of that period and finally Sulla destroyed them just a few decades before the Roman Republic itself ceased to exist.

[@Jean_Jacques148]

Yeah the Samnites were very similar to the Roman’s in their stubborn mentality.

[@ianjankus8090]

To this day, it blows my mind how kingdoms in the classical era could sustain wars with such casualties representing real percentages of their populations. The losses in a single battle ecplise some entire modern conflicts spanning years.

[@mikerodrigues9822]

Just divide by 10 to make it realistic.

[@killercrusher3914]

Yeah the numbers are often exaggerated by the historians, and we also have no way of knowing the accurate number of troops in Battle

[@Jean_Jacques148]

There’s no way the Roman’s captured 65k from Samnium, at best it was probably around 20-35k captured or killed. 65k was probably 80% of Samnites total population.

[@doritofeesh]

@@Jean_Jacques148 65,000 is possible if you include women, children, the elderly, etc. Rome had kept censuses of their own population (of course, these were just very likely to be male landowners who could vote/citizens and excluded other parts of the populations) and these alone amounted to 260,000 in 293 BCE. If you take into account women, children, elderly, etc, you can probably get around 780,000 in population. Then, if you also account for non-citizen allies, it could potentially be over 1.5 million. Considering they controlled a sizeable portion of Italy at this time (a quarter, roughly?), it makes sense as historians and statisticians have estimated a population of 7 million in Italy by 14 CE. Of course, that is about three centuries after 293 BCE. However, population growth in this time period was very minuscule and did not see exponential growth until the turn of the postmodern era. So, supposing they did control 1/4 of Italy at this time period, 1.5 million is not far off the mark from 1/4 of 7 million. Indeed, the population of Italy as a whole back in the 3rd Century BCE, accounting for later migration, might actually have been some 5-6 million during this time. So, if you take into account that the Samnites were a notable rival to Rome during the 4th-3rd Century BCE, it would not be unreasonable for Samnium to have such a massive population, nor lose 65,000 people. Supposing after the Samnites were defeated, Rome had possessed 1/3 of Italy or so, it would not be unreasonable to say that the Samnites had as many as 500,000 or so people during this time. 65,000 would have been 13% of that and while a devastating loss, not wholly impossible. Note that a good portion of these casualties might very well be civilians and logistical elements of the armies as well (non-combatants). If we assume that half of the 13% were actual army personnel, we get 6.5%. It makes sense why the Samnites lost the war shortly after this, because that was not 80% of their population, but it might very well have been 80% or more of their army they could muster. For instance, according to Roman census data and Polybios' information regarding Roman forces put to the field during the period between the 1st and 2nd Punic Wars, the Roman Republic could maintain forces equal to 7.5% (roughly) of their entire population, with more capable of being mobilized.

[@mmneander1316]

@@doritofeesh Good comment. You make a good argument.

[@abdullahmansoor5718]

"Their fear of the gods yielding to their terror of the Romans" goes hard ngl.

[@intotheunknown21]

I just realized that Nautius Maximus may not be a farfetched name afterall.

[@davidhughes8357]

Another wonderful video about the rise of Rome! After over 40 years of the study of Roman military history this so much appreciated. Thank you for your hard work making it. Look forward to more coverage.

[@YesterYearsProductions]

The production quality of your videos is incredible - A great watch as always!

[@dayros2023]

The early years of Rome are so fascinating, keep up the good work!

[@RushlockMedia]

Thank you for these videos! A highlight of the week!

[@LakhtyariNabil]

Thank you 🎉 great content like always

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Great video as always! And it's just like you said! These were the first steps of Rome towards Empire!

[@Rrend1967]

Studied History at University of Findlay, OH. This is my favorite channel on KZbin.

[@michaelt.5672]

For those wondering if they heard that wrong, an "As" or "Assarius" was am ancient roman coin.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

I thought two as was a serstertie?

[@KHK001]

Great video as always HM!

[@pauldrysdale7936]

Brilliant research thanks 🤠 4 the vid.

[@damienbazin9940]

love and appreciate all your videos but i especially enjoy the ones about rome especially about the early days of rome and would love to see more of your content

[@TinaFivesten]

@HistoryMarche - Absolutely GREAT! What heavy work and perfectly presented 🙏👍

[@teaCupkk]

..and pronunciations thoroughly butchered! :)

[@Harrier_DuBois]

Great content as always.

[@Agrippa_22]

Great video as always!

[@user-gi1jo3vi1f]

Great channel....and a great video again... Thanks man.

[@bpaajcisna5595]

I don't know about other folks, but the Republic is profoundly more interesting to me than the Empire. It's so fascinating seeing this beautiful unique machine based on ambition and structured rules being used to conquer the Mediterranean from the beginning. The struggles. The moments of peril. The spread across their neighbors and the upheavel it caused. The Punic Wars or Rome's expansion across Italy is so much more fascinating than the Empire. And it all culminated in this amazing end phase where the ideals of the Republic led to such an unheaval. Republic > Empire.

[@marcinsikocinski4661]

Thanks for your work!

[@casadelosotte]

Always great to see your docus!

[@AudieHolland]

forcing an oath with immediate execution as the alternative is no oath in my book.

[@DRYFLY0]

Really great stuff. Thanks!

[@robbabcock_]

What a wonderful video!⚔🔥🙌

[@antoniplebanski1119]

Love the map. Thanks for content!

[@abdoahmed2038]

You are amazing keep going we support you ❤️

[@RubyMarkLindMilly]

Love this kind of history fantastic stuff

[@garethfire5853]

Thanks, guys, good one!

[@superdivemaster]

Very comprehensive video ... I give you an A+ ...

[@stevelebreton3489]

Thanks for the video

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

YES! Love Roman history! Specially this early! Youre the best man!❤❤❤😊😊😊

[@milabugtcher990]

another great one!

[@johnvga6239]

HistoryMarche Rome video? Instant banger

[@ralphierianda]

Always love the videos ❤

[@johndoe2769]

Good work again as usual.

[@AironSmieciowy-di3qy]

Great video!

[@MrBDB001]

Thanks , great addition to my studies.

[@louislowery2877]

Great stuff thanks

[@TrialByFire14]

I love this channel, especially the earlier Roman stuff

[@patrickblanc2769]

Excellent !

[@ZarnakTheTerrible]

Thanks a lot!

[@JCody-pt3th]

The logistics behind capturing, and transporting 4000 human beings just makes my head spin…

[@wiktormachura7121]

Thanks!

[@chrisdjernaes9658]

Great Stuff. 🙏

[@Nervii_Champion]

I would love to see more videos on "lesser" wars like this, battles no one talks about. There are MANY. Imagine what was taking place in Hispania and Gaul and Carthage during the same time period. Carthage was busy trying to exert and expand power through warfare during the time of this battle, trying to achieve victory over Greeks and Barbarians alike. Syracuse even managed to get an army onto Carthage's doorstep at one point around this time.

[@NickTheHip]

Great video guys! I love the rise of Rome videos.

[@adnanmambureh873]

Thanks 😊

[@ArmyVet82ndAbn]

Great video, a history of the Roman military I didnt know of. Thanks.

[@The_ZeroLine]

The Samnite wars are critical to understanding Roman history. Many of their military and administrative practices were based on Samnite practices.

[@SolidAvenger1290]

Another great video by HistoryMarche. Lucius Papirius Cursor was a celebrated politician and general of the early Roman Republic who was five times consul, three times magister equitum, and twice dictator. It has been reported that Cursor compared himself as the rival to Alexander the Great and even stated that he could have faced Alexander on the battlefield had the Macedon King decided to conquer Rome. (Source: The book of Ab Urbe Condita by Roman historian Titus Livius The patrician family of Consul Lucius Papirius Cursor, known today as Papiria Gens, was a major Roman house that held many public & military offices in the early first two centuries of the Roman Republic into the age of the Roman Empire.

[@louisxix3271]

Almost like reading a book, but much quicker and 0 effort required! Amazing work.

[@imperiosemguerra4728]

These histories are always amazing, the Roman Empire and its governament are great.

[@RagingHeavens]

Holy smokes man, the sheer numbers these folks threw at each other. Rome's history really is a near 1000 year streak of bigger or stronger enemies sending partial force at them repeatedly until depleted.

[@BedeLaplume]

Great documentary as usual.. It would be nice to see a picture of the armour and period gear used by the soldiers..

[@jaobidan2358]

The Italian natives were no easy opponents for the Romans to subdue...It is from these wars the Romans coined a saying, "Never underestimate an angry Italian with a spear." in reference to their Samnite brethren.

[@ironsoul941]

That must have been right after they coined the saying “Never go in against a Sicilian, when death is on the line!”

[@bigsarge2085]

Awesome.

[@johnburke964]

Gratias tibi magistri!

[@MichelPolfer-cx7mn]

Excellent an historically aqurate as always

[@travisvinson8562]

Great video

[@richardstone5552]

Thanks

[@1984Phalanx]

So the Samnite leaders told their warriors "take an oath to fight to the death for us, or we'll kill you" and we wonder why they lost?

[@ofallmyintention9496]

Wow. The efficiency and heartlessness of the Roman war machine and senate is crazy.

[@monadsingleton9324]

*Aquilonia. Well, I guess we know where Robert E. Howard got the name for the fantasy kingdom that Conan the Barbarian ruled during the Hyborian Age.*

[@MultiRedskull]

👍👍👍

[@samdumaquis2033]

Great vid

[@Enrawell]

Like the narration too

[@nicofolkersma2535]

Great video. I would like to see your take on the Batavian revolt in 69ad. It;s usually overshadowed by events in Britain.

[@fugu4163]

Here by i make my sacrifice to the algoritm. A very interesting part of roman history and the map really shows how divided between various tribes modern day Italy really was at this time.

[@iumrassenuzaawgen]

More early Roman history !!!

[@ore6015]

I put a "like" before watching the video❤👍🏻

[@damjanrebic]

kao i do sada odlicno

[@hiteshrabha1174]

This relics deserves to be Movie. Kind of "Alexander, Troy, Lord of Rings". Make it in series "Rome Rises". 1 2 3 .... It ll be super duper hit. Histort Marche 👍👍.

[@luigigagliardi3593]

This channel was a great discovery! I'm from Sulmona, near Corfinium, where the name Italia was born so I'm very glad to see republican period battles!

[@szymonbaranowski8184]

I love grasslands and cows too

[@TheHypnogog]

Republican Rome being tricky bad asses, old style. I love that you showed the whole progression of that battle. The Republic's government was an aggressive bunch, but I love their attempt at representative government. They were noble savages.

[@josephwurzer4366]

I enjoy this earlier Roman history.

[@caiyen9298]

Beautiful

[@sspiby]

I hope my sacrifice quenches the robots mind . Another informative and well made wormhole to the powers of the past 👣

[@graucanal]

Great. Thanks from Brazil and for subs in portuguese.

[@Jesse_Dawg]

I love your videos. I need more please

[@val4utube]

I am from Sorrento, south of Naples, about 265 km south of Rome and I am amazed to see that you guys are explaining those battles with such accuracy, names and last names as if they had just happened. Boy am I glad I was born more than 2000 years later. Thank you for your wonderful job. Your supporter. Lucius Valerius

[@larrylewis9861]

this is my sacrifice to the algorism.

[@lorddaquanofhouserastafari4177]

4:24 DAMN... Rome really said”I likes yah and I wonts yah...now we can do dis dah easy way or we can do dis dah hard way, the choice is yos” -Decimus bootybanditus 500 b.c

[@jordonhancock05]

💰

[@1xivix]

Thank you to all of the HM team. Your high quality content is appreciated.

[@robskinnershow]

Samnites were able to take a punch. The numbers aren't small!

[@MCorpReview]

I still remember the Samnite gladiators from total war Rome. They were so mighty 😮it was hard to believe Rome could ever conquer them. This is great stuff. 😅did Rome hv bigger armies?😅

[@Comrade_Connie]

They did have larger armies sometimes during the Empire Period but most of it was to defend the Borders or Persian Campaigns

[@maximeludaescher146]

By auxilaries, i assume you mean socii? Great vid, specially for those of us too lazy to drown in Livy's work ^^

[@daniell1483]

It is really interesting to see what "victory" looks like in different eras, in different cultures. Defeating an "ally" in battle to secure their loyalty? Wow. With friends like that... I wonder to what degree the Samnites considered this a real alliance or if everybody understood it was essentially conquest.

[@YeeeeGreg]

Yay more Roman videos!

[@chissstardestroyer]

I'd strongly believe that Rullianus the elder was strongly scolding his son for the youth's overeagerness to engage his state's enemies before checking things out, as he basically raced into an ambush.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Extremely wonderful introducing by respectful historical coverages channel ( history Marche) channel....Samnite territories ware inside Roman mouth remaining independent only timely issue....due to theirs Confederacy with original Roman cities beneath Italian 🇮🇹 peninsulas

[@jaredpajama8821]

Now I want you to try the hardest challenge you mentioned

[@hrk8670]

I sacrifice this comment. Long live this channel!