Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/583

 PELIGNI. of Ovid, that they were of Sabine descent. (Ovid, Fast. iii. 95.) T]ie authority of the poet, himself a native of the district, is strongly confirmed by the internal probabilities of the case, there being little doubt that all these upland valleys of the Central Apennines were peopled by the Sabines, who, radi- ating from Amiternum as a centre, spread themselves towards the S. and E. in the same manner as they descended towards the valley of the Tiber on the W. and SW. Henoe the Peligni were of kindred race with their neighbours, the Vestini, Marrucini, and Marsi, and this circumstance, coupled with their geographical proximity, sufficiently explains the close union which we find subsisting in historical times between the four nations. It is probable, indeed, that these four tribes formed a kind of league or confederacy among themselves (Liv. viii. 29), though its bonds must have been somewhat lax, as we find them occasionally engaging in war or concluding peace singly, though more frequently all four would adopt the same policy. The first mention of the Peligni in Roman history occurs in b. c. 343, when we are told that the Latins, who had been threatening war with Rome, turned their arms against the Peligni (Liv. vii. 38); but we have no account of the causes or result of the war. Soon after we find the Peligni, as well as their neighbours, the Marsi, on friendly terms with the Romans, so that they afforded a free passage to the Roman army which was proceeding through Samnium into Campania (Liv. viii. 6); and even when their neighbours the Vestini declared them- selves in favour of the Samnites, they seem to have refused to follow the example. (Id. viii. 29.) In B. c. 308, however, they joined the Marsi in their defection from Rome, and shared in their defeat by Fabius (Id. ix. 41); but a few years afterwards (b. c. 304) they were induced to sue for peace, and obtained a treaty, apparently on favourable terms. (76. 45; Diod. xx. lOL) From this period they became the faithful and steadfast allies of Rome, and gave a striking proof of their zeal in b. c. 295, by attacking the Samnite army on its retreat from the great battle of Sentinum, and cutting to pieces 1000 rfthe fugitives. (Id. x. 30.) After the subjection of Italy by the Romans, the Peligni are seldom mentioned in history; but it is certain that they continued to furnish regularly their contingents to the Roman armies, and, notwithstanding their small numbers, occupied a distinguished position among the auxiliary troops, the Pelignian cohorts being on (several occasions mentioned with distinction. (Dionys. XX. Fr. Didot; Ennius, Ann. viii. Fr. 6; Liv. xxv. 14, xliv. 40.) Their name is omitted by Polybius in his catalogue of the forces of the Italian allies in B. c. 225 (Pol. ii. 24), but this is probably by mere accident. During the Second Punic War they main- tained unshaken their fidelity to Rome, though their territory was repeatedly ravaged by Hannibal; and besides furnishing their usual quota to the Roman armies, they were still able in b. c. 205 to raise volunteers for the armament of Scipio. (Liv. sxii. 9, xxvi. 11, xxviii. 45.) At the outbreak of the Social War, the Peligni, in conjunction with their neigh- bours and confederates the Marsi, were among the first to declare themselves against Rome; and the choice of their chief city, Corfinium, to be the capital of the confederates, and therefore the destined capital of Italy, had their plans proved successful, at once assigned them a prominent place among the nations anayed against Rome. (Appian, B. C i. 39 ; Liv. PELIGNL 56'7 Epit. Ixxii; Oros. V. 18; Veil. Pat. ii. 16; Diod. xxxvii. 2.) The choice of Corfinium was probably determined by its strength as a fortress, as well as by its central position in regard to the northern cnii- federates; at a later period of the war it was aban- doned by the allies, who transferred their senate and capita] to Aesernia. (Diod. /. c.) The name of the Peligni is not often mentioned during the war, though it is certain that they continued to take an active part in it throughout, and it is probable that they were almost uniformly associated with the Marsi. But in e. c. 90 we are told that they sus- tained a severe defeat by Ser. Sulpicius Galba (Liv. E2nt. Ixxiii.); and before the close of the following year they were received to submission, together with the Marrucini and Vestini, by Cn. Pompeius Strabo, B. c. 88. (Liv. Epit. Ixxvi.) It is certain that the Peligni, as well as their neighbours, were at this time, or very soon after,, admitted to the Roman franchise, for the sake of which they had originally engaged in the war: they were enrolled in the Ser- gian tribe, together with the Marsi and Sabines. (Cic. in Vatin. 15; Schol. Bob. ad he) The Peligni again figure in the liistory of the Civil War between Caesar and Pompey, b. c. 49, when their chief town, Corfinium, was occupied by Doniitius Ahenobarbus with twenty cohorts, which he had raised for the most part among the Marsi and Peligni, and with which he at first checked the ad- vance of Caesar; but the rapid spread of disaffection among his own troops quickly compelled him to surrender. (Caes. B. C. i. 15 — 23.) Sulmo, which had been also garrisoned by Domitius, yielded without resistance to Caesar, (jb. 17.) The Peligni, in common with the other mountain tribes, seem to have retained to a considerable extent their national character and feeling, long after they had become merged in the condition of Roman citizens, and as late as the civil war between Vespasian and Vitel- lius (a. d. 69) they are mentioned as declarintr themselves, as a people, in favour of the former. (Tac. Hist. iii. 59.) This is the last notice of them which occurs in history; but they are described by all the geographers as a distinct people, retaining their separate nationality. (Strab. v. p. 241; Plin. iii. 12. .s. 17; Ptol. iii. 1. § 64.) For administrative purposes they were included in the Fourth Region of Augustus (Plin. l.c.') and in the later division of this part of Italy, their territory was comprised, together with that of the Marsi, in the province called Valeria. (Z,i6. Colon, p. 228). It now forms a part of the province of A bruzzo Ulteriore. The position of the Peligni, surroimded on all sides by the loftiest ranges of the Apennines, while the valley of the Gizio itself is at a considerable elevation above the sea, naturally rendered the climate one of the coldest in Italy. Horace u>es the ex- pression " Peligna frigora," as one almost proverbial for extreme cold; and Ovid, who was a native of Sulmo, repeatedly alludes to the cold and wintry climate of his native district. (Hor. Carm. iii. 19. 8; Ovid, Fast. iv. 81, 685, Trist. iv. 9.) On the other hand, it derived from the same cause the ad- vantage of being watered by numerous and perennial streams, fed by the snows of the neighbouring moun- tains, where they are said to linger throughout the sunmier. (Ovid, Amor. ii. 16, Fast. iv. 685.) The broad valley of the Gizio was, however, sufficiently fertile; it produced considerable quantities of corn, and wine in abundance, though not of superior quality, and a few sheltered spots would even admit o o 4