Battle of Sentinum

The Battle of Sentinum was the decisive battle in the Third Samnitenkrieg. It took place in 295 BC in Sentinum, near the present town of Sassoferrato (southwest of Ancona) instead. The Romans defeated her in the opposing coalition of Samnites and Gauls senones.

Tradition

In his work Ab urbe condita Book X of the Roman historian Livy reported in detail about the events in the year 295 BC report also - but to a much lesser extent - the Greek Polybius in the 2nd century BC and the Byzantines in Zonaras 12th century AD by the battle.

Prehistory

The Roman troops were under the command of the consuls Publius Decius Mus and Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus and included two complete consular armies with a total of about 38,000 men: four Roman legions with the corresponding Roman cavalry divisions and a thousand strong Cavalry Unit from Campania, four allies legions, the va were composed of Latins, as well as a strong cavalry unit of the allies. According to Livy, the Romans brought also two armies under the command of Gnaeus Fulvius Maximus propraetors Centumalus and Lucius Postumius Megellus in the north of Rome in position to possibly ward off incident Etruscan or Gauls can. Furthermore, Livy reports that the Roman consuls an alliance of Umbrians, Etruscans, Gauls faced mercenaries and Samnites. As a diversion the propraetors be instructed to ravage the countryside of the Etruscan city Clusium. As a result, the Etruscans pull its troops from Sentinum from to secure their own territory. In the following, the Etruscans and the Umbrians in Livy are no longer mentioned.

Course

The two armies met in Sentinum, but waited two days before they fought a battle. Then the Romans attacked their opponents. Fabius was standing by the Samnites against Decius the Gauls. The Gauls succeeded with their chariots to beat inroads into the Roman ranks, the fortunes of war turned, according to tradition, because Decius Mus, as his eponymous father sacrificed in the year 340 BC, the gods ( devotio ) has. Fabius succeeded meanwhile to defeat the Samnites and kill their generals Gellius Egnatius to then attack the Gauls from the side, until these were defeated.

Follow

Ensure that the last Samnitenkrieg was held, in essence, even if the Samnites until 290 BC contributed delaying tactics.

Historicity

The fact that the battle took place is undisputed in the research due to the many references and sources. Nevertheless, the alliance of the Umbrians, Etruscans true Gallic mercenaries and Samnites - as delivered him Livy - as unhistorical. It is unlikely that the Etruscans pull all their troops in Umbrian territory and thus leave their own country unprotected.