The socii or foederati were confederates of Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (Italia) along with the core Roman citizens and the extended Latini. The Latini, who were simultaneously special confederates and semi-citizens, derived their name from the Italic people of which Rome was part but did not coincide with the region of Latium in central Italy as they were located in colonies throughout the peninsula. This tripartite organisation lasted from the Roman expansion in Italy to the Social War, when all peninsular inhabitants were awarded Roman citizenship.
Gate in the Servian Wall of Rome, on the Caelian Hill. The wall, made of massive tufa stone blocks, was built just after Rome was sacked by the Gauls in 390 BC
Site of a typical Etruscan hill town. Civita di Bagnoregio, Lazio, Italy
Silver nomos coin issued by the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy, c. 500 BC. The coin is incuse i.e. reverse side is mirror image of obverse. Obverse shows hero Phalanthos riding a dolphin, the traditional symbol of the city, with legend ΤΑΡΑΣ (TARAS), the Greek name for Tarentum
The Latins, sometimes known as the Latials or Latians, were an Italic tribe which included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome. From about 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small region known to the Romans as Old Latium, that is, the area between the river Tiber and the promontory of Mount Circeo 100 km (62 mi) southeast of Rome. Following the Roman expansion, the Latins spread into the Latium adiectum, inhabited by Osco-Umbrian peoples.
Villanovan culture cinerary hut-urn, showing the likely shape of Romulus' Hut in Rome: a simple mud-and-straw shelter
The "Rain Miracle": Jupiter the Rainmaker rescues the Romans during the Marcomannic Wars (AD 166–80). The soldiers of legion XII Fulminata, who were surrounded by the Quadi Germans and severely dehydrated, were saved by a thunderstorm, which reportedly materialised out of a clear sky. Note the god's wings. Detail from the Column of Marcus Aurelius, Rome
View of Albanus mons (Monte Cavo, 949m), the sacred mount of the Latins in the Alban Hills. The annual religious rites of the Latin Festival were held on its summit. In foreground, the Alban lake, filling the caldera of an extinct volcano