Homo romanus natus in Latio. Les dissolution de la Ligue latine (IVe s. av. J.-C.): enjeux identitaires, sociaux et politiques
(2025) Les études classiques — Vol. 93, n° 1-4, p. 177-199 (2025)
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- (en) This article offers a reinterpretation of the dissolution of the Latin League in 338 BC, an event often presented as a conquest or submission of Latium by Rome. Rather than viewing it as a mere annexation, the study suggests a more nuanced process in which identity, social, and political issues played a decisive role. The analysis of Latin and Roman elites, structured in gentilicial networks that tran - scended civic boundaries, leads to the hypothesis of a more complex conflict dynamic than a strictly interstate confrontation. From this perspective, Latin claims would not so much reflect a desire for independence as an attempt to rebalance power relations within a system dominated by Rome. The political reorganization that followed the conflict, marked by the significant expansion of a fundamentally redefined Roman citizenship, could then be interpreted not as a mere imposition but as a form of partial integration of the former Latin cities. Roman identity would thus have begun its transformation, shifting from a purely civic reality to an encompassing entity. In this reading, the dissolution of the Latin League would pave the way for a model of expansion based on mechanisms of assimilation rather than solely on military domination.
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Meunier, N. (2025). Homo romanus natus in Latio. Les dissolution de la Ligue latine (IVe s. av. J.-C.): enjeux identitaires, sociaux et politiques. Les études classiques, 93(1-4), 177-199. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/273109 (Original work published 2025)