Samnites
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The Samnites were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy.
Samnite soldiers depicted on a tomb frieze in Nola. From the 4th Century BC
![Oscan inscription. From right to left it reads: "V[ibius] Popidius, son of V[ibius], chief magistrate, was responsible for this work and approved it."](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/OsqueBritishMuseum.jpg/600px-OsqueBritishMuseum.jpg)
Oscan inscription. From right to left it reads: "V[ibius] Popidius, son of V[ibius], chief magistrate, was responsible for this work and approved it."
Lucanian depiction of the Battle of Caudine Forks
Social War coin depicting the Samnite soldiers taking an oath to fight the Romans
Italic peoples
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The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
Return of the warrior. Detail of fresco from the Lucanian tomb, 4th century BC.
Main Italian cultures of the Copper Age
Indo-European Migrations. Source David Anthony (2007). The Horse, The Wheel and Language.
Samnite theater in Pietrabbondante, Molise, Italy