Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome, Episode 32, The Social War.

After his final consulship in 100 BC, Guyus Marius returned to a self-imposed exile, and

it appeared that the great general had left the public stage for good.

Ten years of relative peace followed, until, in 91 BC, Rome was once again threatened

by a hostile enemy, triggering Marius' return to the familiar territory of war and politics.

This time, however, he would not be fighting new medians or gals, rather he would be fighting

the very men who helped him to defeat the new medians and gals, some of them anyway.

The Roman led Italian Confederacy, which had endured now for hundreds of years and had

stood firm even against the clever might of Hannibal Baraka, whose entire strategy hinged

on bringing about its disillusion was finally breaking apart.

The second class status afforded the Italian allies, finally became intolerable, and rather

than making obviously just concessions.

The tone deaf Roman Senate took a hard line stance, initiating what was to become known

as the social war, when a collection of Italian allies would break away and form an independent

state.

After two years, the Italians would finally be granted their simple request to be treated

as equals, but of course, those were a bloody two years.

The war served no one's interests and should have never started, just another example of

unnecessary carnage brought about by short-sighted, pig-headedness.

Trouble had been brewing for years.

The fight for full Italian citizenship had picked up momentum during the tribunants of the

Grocai, but the Senate had always managed to block the extension of suffrage, more concerned

...