Page:A history and description of Roman political institutions (IA historyanddescri00abbo).pdf/53



42. The Period from 367 to 287. In the last chapter we traced the course of events from the founding of the republic down to the passage of the Licinio-Sextian laws in 367. The history of the period in question is primarily a history of the early efforts which the plebeians made to gain political equality with patricians. The passage of the Licinian laws marks their first great success. Their victory was made complete, and the struggle came to an end when the Hortensian law was passed in the year 287, making the assemblies independent legislative bodies. The last-mentioned year, therefore, marks a new dividing line in the development of Roman political institutions, so that it is convenient to treat the history of internal affairs during the years from 367 to 287 as a unit. It is in part a matter of chance only that this period also constitutes a natural epoch in the history of external politics. In 295, at the battle of Sentinum, the Romans were called on to face the combined forces of the Kelts and Samnites, the two peoples who had most fiercely and persistently disputed the supremacy of Rome in Italy. The victory of Rome in that battle, followed by the submission of the Samnites in 290, crushed the Kelts, broke the power of the Samnites forever, and made the Romans the chief people in Italy.

43. The Magistracies. The history of the period under consideration may be conveniently considered from the