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\nCarventum enters the annalistic narrative of Rome and raises some questions. But in order to get there, we need to consider what Rome faces in 411 BCE. And it seems that the Roman elite are having a run on consuls recently, which, if we follow Livy, means that the plebeians continue to be locked out of the highest magistracy...
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\nEpisode 144 - Where in the World is Carventum?
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\n411 BCE - A Year Better Forgotten?
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\nSadly there\u2019s not much to report about 411 BCE and what there is to know if the kind of thing the Romans would probably rather forget. Turns out that there\u2019s a pestilence on the loose! To compound problems, sick people can\u2019t farm and this has compromised the harvest. Rome faces challenges to its grain supply and they turn to their neighbours for aid.
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\nKeen to catch up on the action from the years leading up to this situation? Check out Episode 143 - Special Victims Unit.
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\nWhere in the world is Carventum?
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\n410 BCE gets off to a bad start when the Volsicans and Aequians decide to try to squeeze Rome\u2019s allies the Hernicians\u2026 how will Rome respond? First they\u2019ll have to find the citadel of Carventum (location unknown). And that\u2019s only after they resolve the challenge of pulling together a fighting force.
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\nWhenever there\u2019s a tribune of the plebs, we can assume there\u2019s going to be something going on between the elite families of Rome. The tribunes come into their own when there\u2019s a military affair in the off-ing because they can push for rights and recognition for the plebeians in potential exchange for military service. Will the patricians negotiate land rights in order to field a force against the Volscians and the Aequians?
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\nMap of central Italy including Rome and Praeneste, one of the theorised locations of Carventum to the east of Rome.
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\nAn ovatio with the a side of verbal abuse\u2026
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\nThe Roman populace may be under the pump of the patricians much of the time, so perhaps a protest action at the scene of an ovatio is a very legitimate form of criticism! While Valerius attempts to process through the city to celebrate a military win, things don\u2019t feel so much like a celebration as the people hurl abuse. Who will the crowd turn their support towards in the aftermath?
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\nThings to Listen Out For:
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\n* Disagreements about Livy
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\n* What\u2019s happening in the Mediterranean?
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\n* Who is Cassiodorus?
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\n* Samnites and Sicilians
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\n* A tribunician veto? In this economy?
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\n* What is the tribune of the plebs and how did this position really work in the early Republic?
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\n* Mercenaries????
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\n* What are the quaestors up to?
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\nOur Players 411 BCE
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\nConsuls
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\n* Marcus Papirius L. f. - n. Mugillanus (or Atratinus?) (Pat.)
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\n* Spurius (or Gaius) Nautius Sp. f. Sp. n. Rutilus (Pat.)
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\nOur Players 410 BCE
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\nConsuls
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\n* Manius Aemilius Mam. f. M. n. Mamercinus (Pat.)
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\n* Gaius Valerius (L. f. Vol. n.) Potitus Volusus (Pat.)
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\nTribune of the Plebs
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\n* Marcus Menenius
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\nOur Sources
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\n* Dr Rad reads Livy 4.52.2-4.53
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\n* Dr G reads Diodorus 13.68.