The Early Roman Expansion into Italy

Argues that Roman expansion in Italy was accomplished more by means of negotiation among local elites than through military conquest.

The book presents a radical new interpretation of Roman expansion in Italy. Argues that the process was achieved by means of a grand bargain among local elites rather than through military conquest. Using archaeological, epigraphic, and historical evidence, it reconstructs the family interactions that tied together Italian aristocrats to form a new state.This book presents a radical new interpretation of Roman expansion in Italy during the fourth and third centuries BCE. Nicola Terrenato argues that the process was accomplished by means of a grand bargain that was negotiated between the landed elites of central and southern Italy, while military conquest played a much smaller role than is usually envisaged. Deploying archaeological, epigraphic, and historical evidence, he paints a picture of the family interactions that tied together both Roman and non-Roman aristocrats and that resulted in their pooling power and resources for the creation of a new political entity. The book is written in accessible language, without technical terms or quotations in Latin, and is heavily illustrated.