ANNALES REIPUBLICAE
Here the Pontifex Maximus and his scribes record the history of the Republic.
| 343 BC - The Consulate of Lanatus and Regulus |
The consuls being Agr. Menenius Licini f. T. n. Lanatus and L. Atilius Regulus, brothers by marriage; this being from the founding of the City the 410th year.
The year was opened by the matter of appointing a praetor to serve alongside A. Rupilius Silanus. Nominated by the consuls was C. Marius T. f. C. n. Aquila, whose candidacy the tribune Horatius Claudius Quintillus vetoed. The veto was upheld by Q. Aurelius L. f. Q. n. Orestes, whereupon division of the house named C. Asinius Naso praetor over T. Tullius Erastae f. Varro.
The Samnites, at year's start, visciously attacked the cities of the Campanian League, allies of Rome, who called upon the sons of Romulus for aid.
Consul Menenius was sent in command of two legions, one of Socii, to expel the Samnites in Campania, who had besieged Nola. Due to trickery and misfortune, the Samnites held their ground in the first engagement, in which the consul was captured and Tribune Aurelius was maimed in the arm. Praetor Asinius assumed imperium. The Samnites then abandoned the siege and retreated to the slopes of mighty Vesuvius, where a great battle was fought, and the Samnites fled north to their hills, but only at great cost to the legions.
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| 342 BC - The Consulate of Aquila and Naso |
The consuls being C. Marius T. f. C. n. Aquila and C. Asinius Naso; and the dictator being L. Atilius Regulus; this being from the founding of the City the 411th year.
L. Valerius Poplicola was named plebeian aedile by the Senate, the office having been left vacant after elections. Then Consul Marius forbade the magistrates from leaving Rome who had not left already on campaign, lest the whole of them be gone at war.
L. Atilius Regulus was named dictator for the purpose of defeating of the Samnites. He descended upon Campania with tens of thousands of men, laying siege to Neapolis, whose treacherous Greeks had dared to aid the Samnites. But while the legions, victorious, brought forth treasured spoils from Neapolis, the Samnites laid waste to Sora of the Volsci and threatened to strike at Roma herself. Emboldened by numbers and enraged by the loss of Sora, Dictator Atilius hurried north and forced battle in the valley of the Hernici, where he was defeated by the Samnite C. Pontius, though the enemy numbered but half the legions; whereafter but one in two Roman soldiers remained, and the tribune Q. Aurelius was held chained by the invaders. A final battle saw both forces exhausted, and Dictator Regulus saw fit to agree to peace with Samnium, the terms being a truce of five years, Samnite control of Neapolis, and that Rome end all treaties with the Campani. The army of Samnium thence withdrew to their homeland.
In Rome, Consul Marius was made Pontifex Maximus by decree of the Senate.
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Here begins the record as kept by C. Marius T. f. C. n. Aquila, Pontifex Maximus, who decreed that he would serve personally as scribe for these annals.
| 341 BC - The Consulate of Aquila and Regulus |
The consuls being C. Marius T. f. C. n. Aquila and L. Atilius Regulus, both for the second time; this being from the founding of the City the 412th year.
The year opened with conflict, as the returning dictator, now consul, was insulted in the Senate by one of his former subordinate officers for the failings of his subordinates in battle. Such disputes were abandoned none too quickly in favor of actual discussion. At hand were the matters of plebeian demands, Socii displeasure, and the continued lack of priests following the pestilentia sacerdotalis of 409 a.u.c.
Among the plebeians, many refused to pay their taxes or serve in the levy. Fortuantely, there were no plans to call the levy. However the plebeians also demanded the construction of temples, to be funded using the taxes they refused to pay.
The Socii, displeased that their pledge to serve Roman interests and provide Rome with soldiers in war had led to Rome using Socii soldiers in war to defend Roman interests, angrily made demands of Rome. To determine what those demands were, Ti. Honorius Lentulus was nominated to visit the Volsci, who of all the tribes had real reason to be upset following the rape of Sora.
The Pontifex Maximus welcomed nominations for those wishing to be Flamines Maiores, and requested Senatorial approval to appoint these priests. Saying that priests must be appointed with Senatorial approval, Plebeian Tribune L. Valerius Poplicola vetoed the proposal.
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Annals of the Republic
