Category
page 1Samnites

Samnites
thumb|Samnite soldiers depicted on a tomb frieze in [[Nola. From the 4th century BC|331x331px]]
The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who inhabited Samnium, a region located in the modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy.
thumb|Italy in 400 BC
An Oscan-speaking people, who originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they formed a confederation consisting of four tribes: the Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. Ancient Greek historians considered the Umbri as the ancestors of the Samnites. Their migration was in a southward direction, according to the rite of
Ver sacrum
Ancient Italian dedication practice for colonies
Battle of the Cranita hills
277 BCE battle
Pre-Samnite
language