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{{Short description|Ancient Italic people}}
{{Short description|Ancient Italic people}}
{{Redirect|Sabine}}
{{Redirect|Sabine}}
[[File:Amiternum.jpg|thumb|[[Amiternum]] ancient city founded by the Sabines]]
[[File:Latium -5th Century map-en.svg|right|thumb|Map showing the location of the Sabines. The border with Latium to the south was the [[Aniene]] river; however, it is possible that Sabines extended to Lake [[Regillus]] slightly to the south of it near [[Gabii]].]]

{{History of Italy}}
{{History of Italy}}
The '''Sabines''' ({{IPAc-en|us|ˈ|s|eɪ|b|aɪ|n|z}}, {{IPAc-en|uk|ˈ|s|æ|b|aɪ|n|z}};<ref>{{Cite LPD|3}}</ref> {{lang-lat|Sabini}}; {{lang-it|Sabini}}, all [[exonym]]s) were an [[Italic peoples|Italic people]] who lived in the central [[Apennine Mountains]] of the ancient [[Italian Peninsula]], also inhabiting [[Latium]] north of the [[Aniene|Anio]] before the [[founding of Rome]].
The '''Sabines''' ({{IPAc-en|us|ˈ|s|eɪ|b|aɪ|n|z}}, {{respell|SAY|bynes}}, {{IPAc-en|uk|ˈ|s|æ|b|aɪ|n|z}}, {{respell|SAB|eyens}};<ref>{{Cite LPD|3}}</ref> {{lang-lat|Sabini}}; {{lang-it|Sabini}}—all [[exonym]]s) were an [[Italic peoples|Italic people]] who lived in the central [[Apennine Mountains]] (see [[Sabina (region)|Sabina]]) of the ancient [[Italian Peninsula]], also inhabiting [[Latium]] north of the [[Aniene|Anio]] before the [[founding of Rome]].


The Sabines divided into two populations just after the founding of Rome, which is described by Roman legend. The division, however it came about, is not legendary. The population closer to Rome transplanted itself to the new city and united with the preexisting citizenry, beginning a new heritage that descended from the Sabines but was also [[Romanization (cultural)|Latinized]]. The second population remained a mountain tribal state, coming finally to war against Rome for its independence along with all the other Italic tribes. Afterwards, it became assimilated into the [[Roman Republic]].
The Sabines divided into two populations just after the founding of Rome, which is described by Roman legend. The division, however it came about, is not legendary. The population closer to Rome transplanted itself to the new city and united with the preexisting citizenry, beginning a new heritage that descended from the Sabines but was also [[Romanization (cultural)|Latinized]]. The second population remained a mountain tribal state, coming finally to war against Rome for its independence along with all the other Italic tribes. Afterwards, it became assimilated into the [[Roman Republic]].


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
The Sabines derived directly from the ancient [[Umbri|Umbrians]] and belonged to the same ethnic group as the [[Samnites]] and the [[Sabellians|Sabelli]], as attested by the common ethnonymous of ''Safineis'' (in ancient Greek {{Lang|grc-latn|σαφινείς}}) and by the toponyms ''safinim'' and ''safina'' (at the origin of the terms ''[[Samnium]]'' and [[Sabina (region)|''Sabinum'']]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ambrosoli |first=Solone |url=http://www.socnumit.org/doc/rin/RIN1966.pdf |title=Rivista Italiana di NVMISMATICA e scienze affini |publisher=Tipografia popolare |year=1966 |location=Pavia |pages=70 |language=Italian}}</ref> The [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''{{Lang|gem-x-proto|Saβeno}}'' or {{Lang|gem-x-proto|Sabh}} evolved into the word {{Lang|mis|Safen}}, which later became ''Safin''. From ''Safinim'', ''Sabinus'', ''Sabellus'' and ''Samnis'', an [[Indo-European language|Indo-European]] root can be extracted, {{Lang|gem-x-proto|sabh-}}, which becomes {{Lang|mis|Sab-}} in [[Latino-Faliscan]] and {{Lang|mis|Saf-}} in [[Osco-Umbrian]]: {{Lang|mis|Sabini}} and {{Lang|mis|*Safineis}}.{{sfn|Salmon|1967|p=30}}
The Sabines derived directly from the ancient [[Umbri|Umbrians]] and belonged to the same ethnic group as the [[Samnites]] and the [[Sabellians|Sabelli]], as attested by the common ethnonyms of ''Safineis'' (in ancient Greek {{Lang|grc-latn|σαφινείς}}) and by the toponyms ''safinim'' and ''safina'' (at the origin of the terms ''[[Samnium]]'' and [[Sabina (region)|''Sabinum'']]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ambrosoli|first=Solone|url=http://www.socnumit.org/doc/rin/RIN1966.pdf|title=Rivista Italiana di NVMISMATICA e scienze affini|publisher=Tipografia popolare|year=1966|location=Pavia|pages=70|language=Italian}}</ref> The [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''{{Lang|gem-x-proto|Saβeno}}'' or {{Lang|gem-x-proto|Sabh}} evolved into the word {{Lang|mis|Safen}}, which later became ''Safin''. From ''Safinim'', ''Sabinus'', ''Sabellus'' and ''Samnis'', an [[Indo-European language|Indo-European]] root can be extracted, {{Lang|gem-x-proto|sabh-}}, which becomes {{Lang|mis|Sab-}} in [[Latino-Faliscan]] and {{Lang|mis|Saf-}} in [[Osco-Umbrian]]: {{Lang|mis|Sabini}} and {{Lang|mis|*Safineis}}.{{sfn|Salmon|1967|p=30}}


At some point in prehistory, a population speaking a common language extended over both Samnium and [[Umbria]]. Salmon conjectures that it was common Italic and puts forward a date of 600 BC, after which the common language began to separate into dialects. This date does not necessarily correspond to any historical or archaeological evidence; developing a synthetic view of the ethnology of proto-historic Italy is an incomplete and ongoing task.{{sfn|Salmon|1967|pp=29-30}}
At some point in prehistory, a population speaking a common language extended over both Samnium and [[Umbria]]. Salmon conjectures that it was common Italic and puts forward a date of 600 BC, after which the common language began to separate into dialects. This date does not necessarily correspond to any historical or archaeological evidence; developing a synthetic view of the ethnology of proto-historic Italy is an incomplete and ongoing task.{{sfn|Salmon|1967|pp=29–30}}


Linguist [[Julius Pokorny]] carries the etymology somewhat further back. Conjecturing that the -a- was altered from an -o- during some prehistoric residence in [[Illyria]], he derives the names from an o-grade extension *''swo-bho-'' of an extended e-grade *''swe-bho-'' of the possessive adjective, *''s(e)we-'', of the reflexive pronoun, *''se-'', "oneself" (the source of English ''self''). The result is a set of Indo-European tribal names (if not the endonym of the Indo-Europeans): Germanic [[Suebi]] and [[Semnones]], [[Suiones]]; Celtic [[Senones]]; Slavic [[Serbs]] and [[Sorbs]]; Italic [[Sabelli]], [[Sabini]], etc., as well as a large number of kinship terms.{{sfn|Pokorny|1959|pp=882-884}}
Linguist [[Julius Pokorny]] carries the etymology somewhat further back. Conjecturing that the -a- was altered from an -o- during some prehistoric residence in [[Illyria]], he derives the names from an o-grade extension *''swo-bho-'' of an extended e-grade *''swe-bho-'' of the possessive adjective, *''s(e)we-'', of the reflexive pronoun, *''se-'', "oneself" (the source of English ''self''). The result is a set of Indo-European tribal names (if not the endonym of the Indo-Europeans): Germanic [[Suebi]] and [[Semnones]], [[Suiones]]; Celtic [[Senones]]; Slavic [[Serbs]] and [[Sorbs]]; Italic [[Sabelli]], [[Sabini]], etc., as well as a large number of kinship terms.{{sfn|Pokorny|1959|pp=882–884}}


==Language==
==Language==
{{Infobox language
{{Split section|Sabine language|date=August 2024}}{{Infobox language
| name = Sabine
| name = Sabine
| nativename = {{lang|sbv|lingua Sabina}}
| nativename = {{lang|sbv|lingua Sabina}}
| pronunciation = {{IPA-la|saˈbiːna|}}
| pronunciation = {{IPA|la|saˈbiːna|}}
| states = [[Sabina (region)|Sabina]] (''Sabinum'')
| states = [[Sabina (region)|Sabina]] (''Sabinum'')
| ethnicity = [[Sabines]]
| ethnicity = [[Sabines]]
| era = 1st millennium BC {{endash}} 1st millennium AD
| era = 1st millennium BC {{endash}} 1st millennium AD
| extinct = Only traces of vocabulary, mainly from [[Marcus Terentius Varro]], 1st century BC
| extinct =
| familycolor = Indo-European
| familycolor = Indo-European
| fam2 = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam2 = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3 = [[Osco-Umbrian languages|Osco-Umbrian]]
| fam3 = [[Osco-Umbrian languages|Osco-Umbrian]]
| fam4 = [[Umbrian language|Umbrian]]?
| script = [[Latin alphabet]]&nbsp;<!--&nbsp; needed to prevent default link to Latin script-->
| script = [[Latin alphabet]]&nbsp;<!--&nbsp; needed to prevent default link to Latin script-->
| iso3 = sbv
| iso3 = sbv
Line 30: Line 34:
| glotto = sabi1245
| glotto = sabi1245
| glottorefname = Sabine
| glottorefname = Sabine
| imagecaption = Statue of [[Semo Sancus]] from his shrine on the [[Quirinal]]
| image = Sancus.png
| imagescale = 0.4
| map = Linguistic_Landscape_of_Central_Italy.png
| map = Linguistic_Landscape_of_Central_Italy.png
| mapcaption = The linguistic landscape of Central Italy at the beginning of Roman expansion
| mapcaption = The linguistic landscape of Central Italy at the beginning of Roman expansion{{cn|date=August 2024}}
| map2 = Latium -5th Century map-en.svg
| notice =
| mapcaption2 = Map showing the location of the Sabines. The border with Latium to the south was the [[Aniene]] river; however, it is possible that Sabines extended to Lake [[Regillus]] slightly to the south of it near [[Gabii]].
| notice = IPA
| nation =
| nation =
| region = Central [[Italy]]
| region = Central [[Italy]]
}}
}}


There is little record of the Sabine language; however, there are some [[glosses]] by ancient commentators, and one or two inscriptions have been tentatively identified as Sabine. There are also personal names in use on Latin inscriptions from the Sabine country, but these are given in Latin form. [[Robert Seymour Conway]], in his ''Italic Dialects'', gives approximately 100 words which vary from being well-attested as Sabine to being possibly of Sabine origin. In addition to these he cites place names derived from the Sabine, sometimes giving attempts at reconstructions of the Sabine form.<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert Seymour |last=Conway |author-link=Robert Seymour Conway |title=The Italic Dialects Edited with a Grammar and Glossary |url=https://archive.org/details/italicdialectsed02conw |location=Cambridge |publisher=University Press |year=1897 |pages=351–369}}</ref> Based on all the evidence, the [[Linguist List]] tentatively classifies Sabine as a member of the [[Umbrian language|Umbrian]] group of [[Italic languages]] of the [[Indo-European family]].
There is little record of the Sabine language; however, there are some [[glosses]] by ancient commentators, and one or two inscriptions have been tentatively identified as Sabine. There are also personal names in use on Latin inscriptions from the Sabine country, but these are given in Latin form. [[Robert Seymour Conway]], in his ''Italic Dialects'', gives approximately 100 words which vary from being well-attested as Sabine to being possibly of Sabine origin. In addition to these he cites place names derived from the Sabine, sometimes giving attempts at reconstructions of the Sabine form.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert Seymour|last=Conway|author-link=Robert Seymour Conway|title=The Italic Dialects Edited with a Grammar and Glossary|url=https://archive.org/details/italicdialectsed02conw|location=Cambridge|publisher=University Press|year=1897|pages=351–369}}</ref> Based on all the evidence, the [[Linguist List]] tentatively classifies Sabine as a member of the [[Umbrian language|Umbrian]] group of [[Italic languages]] of the [[Indo-European family]], while [[Glottolog]] classifies it as an Old Sabellic dialect alongside [[South Picene language|South Picene]] and [[Pre-Samnite language|Pre-Samnite]].


==Historical geography==
==Historical geography==
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==History==
==History==
===Origin and early history===
===Origin and early history===
The Sabines settled in Sabinum, around the tenth century BC, founding the cities of [[Rieti|Reate]], [[Trebula Mutusca|Trebula Mutuesca]] and [[Cures, Sabinum|Cures Sabini.]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-20 |title=I Sabini e l'agricoltura: origine, storia, leggende, pastorizia, coltivazioni |url=https://antropocene.it/2021/02/20/i-sabini-e-lagricoltura/ |access-date=2021-12-10 |website=Un Mondo Ecosostenibile |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Riposati |first=Benedetto |title=Convegno di studio: Preistoria, storia e civiltà dei Sabini |publisher=Centro di studi varroniani |year=1985 |language=it}}</ref> [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] mentions the Sabines in relation to the [[Aborigines (mythology)|Aborigines]], from whom they allegedly stole their capital Lista, with a surprise war action starting from [[Amiternum]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Dionysius of Halicarnassus|title=Roman Antiquities|chapter=Book I.14|quote=Twenty-four stades from the afore-mentioned city stood Lista, the mother-city of the Aborigines, which at a still earlier time the Sabines had captured by a surprise attack, having set out against it from Amiternum by night.}}</ref> Ancient historians debated the specific origins of the Sabines. According to [[Strabo]] the Sabines, after a long war with the Umbrians, migrated to the land of the [[Opici]], following the ancient Italic rite of the [[Ver sacrum|Ver Sacrum]]. The Sabines then drove out the Opici and encamped in that region.<ref>[[Strabo]], ''Geography'', book 5, 7 BCE, p. 250, Alexandria,</ref> Zenodotus of Troezen claimed that the Sabines were originally Umbrians that changed their name after being driven from the Reatine territory by the [[Pelasgians]]. Porcius Cato argued that the Sabines were a populace named after [[Sabus]], the son of Sancus (a divinity of the area sometimes called Jupiter Fidius).<ref>{{cite book|author=Dionysius of Halicarnassus|title=Roman Antiquities|chapter=Book II.49|quote=But Zenodotus of Troezen, a...historian, relates that the Umbrians, a native race, first dwelt in the Reatine territory, as it is called, and that, being driven from there by the Pelasgians, they came into the country which they now inhabit and changing their name with their place of habitation, from Umbrians were called Sabines. But Porcius Cato says that the Sabine race received its name from Sabus, the son of Sancus, a divinity of that country, and that this Sancus was by some called Jupiter Fidius.}}</ref> In another account mentioned in Dionysius's work, a group of [[Lacedaemonians]] fled [[Sparta]] since they regarded the laws of [[Lycurgus (Sparta)|Lycurgus]] as too severe. In Italy, they founded the Spartan colony of ''Foronia'' (near the Pomentine plains) and some from that colony settled among the Sabines. According to the account, the Sabine habits of belligerence (aggressive or warlike behavior) and frugality (prudence in avoiding waste) were known to have derived from the Spartans.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dionysius of Halicarnassus|title=Roman Antiquities|chapter=Book II.49|quote=There is also another account given of the Sabines in the native histories, to the effect that a colony of Lacedaemonians settled among them at the time when Lycurgus, being guardian to his nephew Eunomus, gave his laws to Sparta. For the story goes that some of the Spartans, disliking the severity of his laws and separating from the rest, quit the city entirely, and after being borne through a vast stretch of sea, made a vow to the gods to settle in the first land they should reach; for a longing came upon them for any land whatsoever. At last they made that part of Italy which lies near the Pomentine plains and they called the place where they first landed Foronia, in memory of their being borne through the sea, and built a temple to the goddess Foronia, to whom they had addressed their vows; this goddess, by the alteration of one letter, they now call Feronia. And some of them, setting out from thence, settled among the Sabines. It is for this reason, they say, that many of the habits of the Sabines are Spartan, particularly their fondness for war and their frugality and a severity in all the actions of their lives. But this is enough about the Sabine race.}}</ref> Plutarch also mentions, in the Life of Numa Pompilius, "Sabines, who declare themselves to be a colony of the Lacedaemonians". Plutarch also wrote that the Pythagoras of Sparta, who was Olympic victor in the foot-race, helped Numa arrange the government of the city and many Spartan customs introduced by him to the Numa and the people.<ref>{{cite book|author=Plutarch|title=Numa|chapter=1|quote=Pythagoras, the Spartan, who was Olympic victor in the foot-race for the sixteenth Olympiad (in the third year of which Numa was made king), and that in his wanderings about Italy he made the acquaintance of Numa, and helped him arrange the government of the city, whence it came about that many Spartan customs were mingled with the Roman, as Pythagoras taught them to Numa. And at all events, Numa was of Sabine descent, and the Sabines will have it that they were colonists from Lacedaemon. Chronology, however, is hard to fix, and especially that which is based upon the names of victors in the Olympic games, the list of which is said to have been published at a late period by Hippias of Elis, who had no fully authoritative basis for his work. I shall therefore begin at a convenient point, and relate the noteworthy facts which I have found in the life of Numa.}}</ref>
The Sabines settled in Sabinum, around the tenth century BC, founding the cities of [[Rieti|Reate]], [[Trebula Mutusca|Trebula Mutuesca]] and [[Cures, Sabinum|Cures Sabini.]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-02-20|title=I Sabini e l'agricoltura: origine, storia, leggende, pastorizia, coltivazioni|url=https://antropocene.it/2021/02/20/i-sabini-e-lagricoltura/|access-date=2021-12-10|website=Un Mondo Ecosostenibile|language=it-IT|author1=Ecosostenibile}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Riposati|first=Benedetto|title=Convegno di studio: Preistoria, storia e civiltà dei Sabini|publisher=Centro di studi varroniani|year=1985|language=it}}</ref> [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] mentions the Sabines in relation to the [[Aborigines (mythology)|Aborigines]], from whom they allegedly stole their capital Lista, with a surprise war action starting from [[Amiternum]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Dionysius of Halicarnassus|title=Roman Antiquities|chapter=Book I.14|quote=Twenty-four stades from the afore-mentioned city stood Lista, the mother-city of the Aborigines, which at a still earlier time the Sabines had captured by a surprise attack, having set out against it from Amiternum by night.}}</ref> Ancient historians debated the specific origins of the Sabines. According to [[Strabo]] the Sabines, after a long war with the Umbrians, migrated to the land of the [[Opici]], following the ancient Italic rite of the [[Ver sacrum|Ver Sacrum]]. The Sabines then drove out the Opici and encamped in that region.<ref>[[Strabo]], ''Geography'', book 5, 7 BCE, p. 250, Alexandria,</ref> Zenodotus of Troezen claimed that the Sabines were originally Umbrians that changed their name after being driven from the Reatine territory by the [[Pelasgians]]. Porcius Cato argued that the Sabines were a populace named after [[Sabus]], the son of Sancus (a divinity of the area sometimes called Jupiter Fidius).<ref>{{cite book|author=Dionysius of Halicarnassus|title=Roman Antiquities|chapter=Book II.49|quote=But Zenodotus of Troezen, a...historian, relates that the Umbrians, a native race, first dwelt in the Reatine territory, as it is called, and that, being driven from there by the Pelasgians, they came into the country which they now inhabit and changing their name with their place of habitation, from Umbrians were called Sabines. But Porcius Cato says that the Sabine race received its name from Sabus, the son of Sancus, a divinity of that country, and that this Sancus was by some called Jupiter Fidius.}}</ref> In another account mentioned in Dionysius's work, a group of [[Lacedaemonians]] fled [[Sparta]] since they regarded the laws of [[Lycurgus (Sparta)|Lycurgus]] as too severe. In Italy, they founded the Spartan colony of ''Foronia'' (near the Pomentine plains) and some from that colony settled among the Sabines. According to the account, the Sabine habits of belligerence (aggressive or warlike behavior) and frugality (prudence in avoiding waste) were known to have derived from the Spartans.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dionysius of Halicarnassus|title=Roman Antiquities|chapter=Book II.49|quote=There is also another account given of the Sabines in the native histories, to the effect that a colony of Lacedaemonians settled among them at the time when Lycurgus, being guardian to his nephew Eunomus, gave his laws to Sparta. For the story goes that some of the Spartans, disliking the severity of his laws and separating from the rest, quit the city entirely, and after being borne through a vast stretch of sea, made a vow to the gods to settle in the first land they should reach; for a longing came upon them for any land whatsoever. At last they made that part of Italy which lies near the Pomentine plains and they called the place where they first landed Foronia, in memory of their being borne through the sea, and built a temple to the goddess Foronia, to whom they had addressed their vows; this goddess, by the alteration of one letter, they now call Feronia. And some of them, setting out from thence, settled among the Sabines. It is for this reason, they say, that many of the habits of the Sabines are Spartan, particularly their fondness for war and their frugality and a severity in all the actions of their lives. But this is enough about the Sabine race.}}</ref> Plutarch also mentions, in the Life of Numa Pompilius, "Sabines, who declare themselves to be a colony of the Lacedaemonians". Plutarch also wrote that the Pythagoras of Sparta, who was Olympic victor in the foot-race, helped Numa arrange the government of the city and many Spartan customs introduced by him to the Numa and the people.<ref>{{cite book|author=Plutarch|title=Numa|chapter=1|quote=Pythagoras, the Spartan, who was Olympic victor in the foot-race for the sixteenth Olympiad (in the third year of which Numa was made king), and that in his wanderings about Italy he made the acquaintance of Numa, and helped him arrange the government of the city, whence it came about that many Spartan customs were mingled with the Roman, as Pythagoras taught them to Numa. And at all events, Numa was of Sabine descent, and the Sabines will have it that they were colonists from Lacedaemon. Chronology, however, is hard to fix, and especially that which is based upon the names of victors in the Olympic games, the list of which is said to have been published at a late period by Hippias of Elis, who had no fully authoritative basis for his work. I shall therefore begin at a convenient point, and relate the noteworthy facts which I have found in the life of Numa.}}</ref>


==At Rome==
==At Rome==
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===Traditions===
===Traditions===
[[File:View of Collevecchio Sabine's hills throuth the fog.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Sabina (region)|Sabine hills]] in the middle of Sabina]]Tradition suggests that the population of the early [[Roman Kingdom|Roman kingdom]] was the result of a union of Sabines and others. Some of the [[gens|gentes]] of the [[Roman Republic|Roman republic]] were proud of their Sabine heritage, such as the [[Claudia gens]], assuming Sabinus as a [[cognomen]] or [[agnomen]]. Some specifically Sabine deities and [[cult]]s were known at Rome: [[Semo Sancus]] and [[Quirinus]], and at least one area of the town, the [[Quirinale]], where the temples to those latter deities were located, had once been a Sabine centre. The extravagant claims of [[Varro]] and [[Cicero]] that [[augury]], [[divination]] by dreams and the worship of [[Minerva]] and [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] originated with the Sabines are disputable, as they were general Italic and Latin customs, as well as [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]], even though they were espoused by [[Numa Pompilius]], second king of Rome and a Sabine.<ref name=smith_sabini>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Sabini|encyclopedia=Dictionary of Greek and Roman geography|year=1857|first=Edward Herbert|last=Bunbury|editor-first=William|editor-last=Smith|volume=II Iabadius—Zymethus|location=Boston|publisher=Little, Brown and Company}}</ref>
Tradition suggests that the population of the early [[Roman Kingdom|Roman kingdom]] was the result of a union of Sabines and others. Some of the [[gens|gentes]] of the [[Roman Republic|Roman republic]] were proud of their Sabine heritage, such as the [[Claudia gens]], assuming Sabinus as a [[cognomen]] or [[agnomen]]. Some specifically Sabine deities and [[cult]]s were known at Rome: [[Semo Sancus]] and [[Quirinus]], and at least one area of the town, the [[Quirinale]], where the temples to those latter deities were located, had once been a Sabine centre. The extravagant claims of [[Varro]] and [[Cicero]] that [[augury]], [[divination]] by dreams and the worship of [[Minerva]] and [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] originated with the Sabines are disputable, as they were general Italic and Latin customs, as well as [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]], even though they were espoused by [[Numa Pompilius]], second king of Rome and a Sabine.<ref name=smith_sabini>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Sabini|encyclopedia=Dictionary of Greek and Roman geography|year=1857|first=Edward Herbert|last=Bunbury|editor-first=William|editor-last=Smith|volume=II Iabadius – Zymethus|location=Boston|publisher=Little, Brown and Company}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>


===Religion===
===Religion===
{{See also|List of Roman deities#Sabine gods|Samnite religion}}
{{See also|Samnite religion}}
==== Sabine gods ====
==== Sabine gods ====
{{See also|List of Roman deities#Sabine gods|Samnite gods}}
[[File:Sancus.png|right|thumb|Statue of [[Semo Sancus]] from his shrine on the [[Quirinal]]]]
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Angitia]]
*[[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]
*[[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]{{efn|name=Roman|Later adopted into [[ancient Roman religion]].<ref name=Varro/>}}
*[[Feronia (mythology)|Feronia]]
*[[Feronia (mythology)|Feronia]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Fortuna]]
*[[Fortuna]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Fontus|Fons]]
*[[Fontus|Fons]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Fides (goddess)|Fides]]<ref>For [[Fides (goddess)|''Fides'']], see also [[Semo Sancus]] or [[Dius Fidius]].</ref><ref>Woodard, Roger D. ''Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman cult''. p 184.{{when|date=October 2021}}</ref>
*[[Fides (goddess)|Fides]]{{efn|For [[Fides (goddess)|''Fides'']], see also [[Semo Sancus]] or [[Dius Fidius]].}}{{efn|name=Roman}}<ref>Woodard, Roger D. ''Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman cult''. p 184.{{when|date=October 2021}}</ref>
*[[Flora (mythology)|Flora]]
*[[Flora (mythology)|Flora]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Lares]]
*[[Herentas]] {{small|(equivalent of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]])}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scheid|first=John|date=2016-03-07|title=Venus|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6730|journal=Oxford Classical Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-938113-5}}</ref>
*[[Larunda]]
*the [[Lares]] {{small|(guardian deities)}}{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Lucina (goddess)|Lucina]]
*[[Larunda]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Luna (mythology)|Luna]]
*[[Lucina (goddess)|Lucina]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Minerva]]
*[[Luna (mythology)|Luna]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*the [[Novensiles|Novensides]]<ref>Or [[Novensiles]]: the spelling ''-d-'' for ''-l-'' is characteristic of the [[Sabine language]]</ref>
*[[Mars (mythology)|Mamers]]{{efn|God of war, with thunder attributes.}}{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Ops]]
*[[Pales]]
*[[Mefitis]]
*[[Minerva]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Quirinus]]
*the [[Novensiles|Novensides]]<ref>Or [[Novensiles]]: the spelling ''-d-'' for ''-l-'' is characteristic of the [[Sabine language]]</ref>{{efn|name=Roman}} {{small|(council of thunder gods)}}
*[[Ops]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Pales]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Quirinus]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Sabus]]
*[[Sabus]]
*[[Salus]]
*[[Salus]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Sancus]]
*[[Sancus]]
*[[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]
*[[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]]
*[[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Soranus (mythology)|Soranus]]
*[[Soranus (mythology)|Soranus]]{{efn|name=Suri|God of underworld fire, with thunder attributes.}}
*[[Summanus]]
*[[Strenia]]
*[[Summanus]]{{efn|God of darkness, with thunder attributes.}}{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Terminus (god)|Terminus]]
*[[Terminus (god)|Terminus]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Vacuna]]
*[[Vacuna]]
*[[Vejovis|Vediovis]]
*[[Vejovis|Vediovis]]{{efn|name=Suri}}{{efn|name=Roman}}
*[[Vertumnus|Vortumnus]]
*[[Vertumnus|Vortumnus]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
*{{ill|Vitula (goddess)|lt=Vitula|it|Vitula}}
*[[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]]
*[[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]]{{efn|name=Roman}}
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


Many of these deities were shared with the [[Etruscan religion]], and were also adopted into the derivative [[Samnite religion|Samnite]] and [[ancient Roman religion]].
Many of these deities were shared with the [[Etruscan religion]], and were also adopted into the derivative [[Samnite religion|Samnite]] and [[ancient Roman religion]].
Roman author [[Varro]], who was himself of Sabine origin, gives a list of Sabine gods who were adopted by the Romans.<ref>Varro, [https://archive.org/details/onlatinlanguage01varruoft/page/70/mode/2up ''De Lingua Latina'' 5.74]</ref>
Roman author [[Varro]], who was himself of Sabine origin, gives a list of Sabine gods who were adopted by the Romans.<ref name=Varro>Varro, [https://archive.org/details/onlatinlanguage01varruoft/page/70/mode/2up ''De Lingua Latina'' 5.74]</ref>
Elsewhere, Varro claims [[Sol Indiges]] – who had a [[sacred grove]] at [[Lavinium]] – as Sabine but at the same time equates him with [[Apollo]].<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Varro]] |title=De lingua latina |at=5.68}}</ref><ref>Rehak, Paul (2006). ''Imperium and Cosmos: Augustus and the northern Campus Martius''. University of Wisconsin Press. p 94.</ref> Of those listed, he writes, "several names have their roots in both languages, as trees that grow on a property line creep into both fields. Saturn, for instance, can be said to have another origin here, and so too Diana."<ref>''e quis nonnulla nomina in utraque lingua habent radices, ut arbores quae in confinio natae in utroque agro serpunt: potest enim Saturnus hic de alia causa esse dictus atque in Sabinis, et sic Diana.''</ref>
Elsewhere, Varro claims [[Sol Indiges]] – who had a [[sacred grove]] at [[Lavinium]] – as Sabine but at the same time equates him with [[Apollo]].<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Varro]]|title=De lingua latina|at=5.68}}</ref><ref>Rehak, Paul (2006). ''Imperium and Cosmos: Augustus and the northern Campus Martius''. University of Wisconsin Press. p 94.</ref> Of those listed, he writes, "several names have their roots in both languages, as trees that grow on a property line creep into both fields. Saturn, for instance, can be said to have another origin here, and so too Diana."{{efn|{{lang-la|e quis nonnulla nomina in utraque lingua habent radices, ut arbores quae in confinio natae in utroque agro serpunt: potest enim Saturnus hic de alia causa esse dictus atque in Sabinis, et sic Diana.}}}}


Varro makes various claims for Sabine origins throughout his works, some more plausible than others, and his list should not be taken at face value.<ref>Clark, Anna. (2007). ''Divine Qualities: Cult and community in republican Rome''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp 37–38;<br />[[Emma Dench|Dench, Emma]]. (2005). ''Romulus' Asylum: Roman Identities from the Age of Alexander to the Age of Hadrian''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp 317–318.</ref> But the importance of the Sabines in the early cultural formation of Rome is evidenced, for instance, by the [[Rape of the Sabine Women|bride abduction of the Sabine women]] by [[Romulus]]'s men, and in the Sabine ethnicity of [[Numa Pompilius]], second [[king of Rome]], to whom are attributed many of Rome's religious and legal institutions.<ref>[[William Warde Fowler|Fowler, W.W.]] (1922). ''The Religious Experience of the Roman People''. London, UK. p 108.</ref> Varro, however, says that the altars to most of these gods were established at Rome by [[Titus Tatius|King Tatius]] as the result of a vow (''[[votum]]'').<ref>Tatius is said by Varro to have dedicated altars to "[[Ops]], [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]], [[Vejovis|Vediovis]], and [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]; to [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]], [[Luna (goddess)|Luna]], [[Vulcan (god)|Vulcan]], and [[Summanus]]; and likewise to [[Larunda]], [[Terminus (god)|Terminus]], [[Quirinus]], [[Vertumnus|Vortumnus]], the [[Lares]], [[Diana (goddess)|Diana]], and [[Lucina (goddess)|Lucina]]."</ref>
Varro makes various claims for Sabine origins throughout his works, some more plausible than others, and his list should not be taken at face value.<ref>Clark, Anna. (2007). ''Divine Qualities: Cult and community in republican Rome''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp 37–38;<br />[[Emma Dench|Dench, Emma]]. (2005). ''Romulus' Asylum: Roman Identities from the Age of Alexander to the Age of Hadrian''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp 317–318.</ref> But the importance of the Sabines in the early cultural formation of Rome is evidenced, for instance, by the [[Rape of the Sabine Women|bride abduction of the Sabine women]] by [[Romulus]]'s men, and in the Sabine ethnicity of [[Numa Pompilius]], second [[king of Rome]], to whom are attributed many of Rome's religious and legal institutions.<ref>[[William Warde Fowler|Fowler, W.W.]] (1922). ''The Religious Experience of the Roman People''. London, UK. p 108.</ref> Varro, however, says that the altars to most of these gods were established at Rome by [[Titus Tatius|King Tatius]] as the result of a vow (''[[votum]]'').{{efn|Tatius is said by Varro to have dedicated altars to "[[Ops]], [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]], [[Vejovis|Vediovis]], and [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]; to [[Sol (Roman mythology)|Sol]], [[Luna (goddess)|Luna]], [[Vulcan (god)|Vulcan]], and [[Summanus]]; and likewise to [[Larunda]], [[Terminus (god)|Terminus]], [[Quirinus]], [[Vertumnus|Vortumnus]], the [[Lares]], [[Diana (goddess)|Diana]], and [[Lucina (goddess)|Lucina]]."}}


==State==
==State==
Line 111: Line 118:


=== Gentes of Sabine origin ===
=== Gentes of Sabine origin ===
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|style=width: 600px; |
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|style=width: 600px;|
*[[Aemilia gens]] – [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|Patrician]]
*[[Aemilia gens]] – [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|Patrician]]
*[[Aurelia gens]]
*[[Aurelia gens]]
Line 151: Line 158:
*[[Ancus Marcius]], legendary King of Rome
*[[Ancus Marcius]], legendary King of Rome
*[[Quintus Sertorius]], republican general
*[[Quintus Sertorius]], republican general
*[[Sextus Vettulenus Cerialis]], Roman senator, military commander, and first legate of Judea
*[[Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis|Attius Clausus]], founder of the Roman [[Claudia gens]]
*[[Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis|Attius Clausus]], founder of the Roman [[Claudia gens]]
*[[Sallust|Gaius Sallustius Crispus]], Roman writer
*[[Sallust|Gaius Sallustius Crispus]], Roman writer
*[[Marcus Terentius Varro]], Roman scholar
*[[Marcus Terentius Varro]], Roman scholar
*[[Vespasian]], Roman emperor and founder of the [[Flavian dynasty]]
*[[Vespasian]], Roman emperor and founder of the [[Flavian dynasty]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Sabini adriatici, corredo dalla tomba femminile 119 di campovalano (campli), VII-VI secolo ac ca.jpg|Grave goods 7th-6th century BC
File:Sabini adriatici, ornamenti dalla tomba femminile 10 di case pecci (tortoreto), 810-700 ac ca., pettorale in bronzo e ambra.jpg|Bronze and amber jewellery, c. 800-700 BC
File:Sabini adriatici, ornamenti dalla tomba femminile 33 di case pecci (tortoreto), 810-700 ac ca., collana a 8 fili.jpg|Jewellery, c. 800-700 BC
File:Sabini adriatici, ornamenti dalla tomba femminile 33 di case pecci (tortoreto), 810-700 ac ca., collana con pendenti a occhiali e fibula.jpg|Ornaments, c. 800-700 BC
File:Sabini adriatici, ornamenti dalla tomba femminile 33 di case pecci (tortoreto), 810-700 ac ca., fibula a disco con arco foliato.jpg|Ornaments, c. 800-700 BC
File:Sabini adriatici, ornamenti dalla tomba femminile 33 di case pecci (tortoreto), 810-700 ac ca., pendagli a spirale in bronzo.jpg|Bronze ornaments, c. 800-700 BC
</gallery>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 160: Line 178:
{{Commons category|Sabini}}
{{Commons category|Sabini}}
{{Wiktionary category|type=Sabine language|category=Sabine language}}
{{Wiktionary category|type=Sabine language|category=Sabine language}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Sabines
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=yes|others=yes|about=yes|label=Sabines
|viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
|viaf=|lccn=|lcheading=|wikititle=}}
*[[Ancient peoples of Italy]]
*[[Ancient peoples of Italy]]
*[[Hostus Hostilius]]
*[[Hostus Hostilius]]
*[[Sabino dialect]]
{{-}}
{{-}}


== Notes and references ==
==References==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
=== References ===
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


Line 178: Line 200:
*[[Plutarch]], ''[[Parallel Lives]]'' (Romulus, 14–20)
*[[Plutarch]], ''[[Parallel Lives]]'' (Romulus, 14–20)
*[[Juvenal]], ''[[Satires]]'' (Book III, 81–85)
*[[Juvenal]], ''[[Satires]]'' (Book III, 81–85)
*{{cite book|last1=Maras|first1=Daniele F.|last2=Michetti|first2=Laura Maria|last3=Smith|first3=Christopher J.|last4=Tassi Scandone|first4=Elena|title=Fontes antiqui Sabinorum. I Sabini e la Sabina nelle fonti letteraie greche e latine|date=2023|publisher=L’Erma di Bretschneider|location=Rome|isbn=9788891327437}}


===Modern===
===Modern===
* {{cite book|title=Varronianus: a critical and historical introduction to the ethnography of ancient Italy and the philological study of the Latin language|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_NBaVDuRbX8kC|first=John William |last=Donaldson|chapter=Chapter IV: The Sabello-Oscan Language|location=London|publisher=John W. Parker and Son|year=1860}}
* {{cite book|title=Varronianus: a critical and historical introduction to the ethnography of ancient Italy and the philological study of the Latin language|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_NBaVDuRbX8kC|first=John William|last=Donaldson|chapter=Chapter IV: The Sabello-Oscan Language|location=London|publisher=John W. Parker and Son|year=1860}}
* {{cite book |first=ET |last=Salmon |title=Samnium and the Samnites |location=London |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1967 }}
* {{cite book|first=ET|last=Salmon|title=Samnium and the Samnites|location=London|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1967}}
* {{cite book |first=Julius |last=Pokorny |author-link=Julius Pokorny |title=Indogermanisches etymologisches Woerterbuch |year=2005 |orig-year=1959 |location=Leiden |publisher=Leiden University Indo-European Etymological Dictiopnary (IEED) Project |url=http://www.indoeuropean.nl/index2.html |ref=CITEREFPokorny1959 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927151807/http://www.indoeuropean.nl/index2.html |archive-date=2006-09-27 }}
* {{cite book|first=Julius|last=Pokorny|author-link=Julius Pokorny|title=Indogermanisches etymologisches Woerterbuch|year=2005|orig-year=1959|location=Leiden|publisher=Leiden University Indo-European Etymological Dictiopnary (IEED) Project|url=http://www.indoeuropean.nl/index2.html|ref=CITEREFPokorny1959|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927151807/http://www.indoeuropean.nl/index2.html|archive-date=2006-09-27}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*Brown, Robert. "Livy's Sabine Women and the Ideal of Concordia." ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 125 (1995): 291-319. {{doi|10.2307/284357}}.
* Brown, Robert. "Livy's Sabine Women and the Ideal of Concordia." ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 125 (1995): 291–319. {{doi|10.2307/284357}}.
*MacLachlan, Bonnie. ''Women In Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook''. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013.
* MacLachlan, Bonnie. ''Women In Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook''. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. {{ISBN?}}


{{Lazio}}
{{Lazio}}

Revision as of 18:40, 19 August 2024

Amiternum ancient city founded by the Sabines
Map showing the location of the Sabines. The border with Latium to the south was the Aniene river; however, it is possible that Sabines extended to Lake Regillus slightly to the south of it near Gabii.

The Sabines (US: /ˈsbnz/, SAY-bynes, UK: /ˈsæbnz/, SAB-eyens;[1] Template:Lang-lat; Italian: Sabini—all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome.

The Sabines divided into two populations just after the founding of Rome, which is described by Roman legend. The division, however it came about, is not legendary. The population closer to Rome transplanted itself to the new city and united with the preexisting citizenry, beginning a new heritage that descended from the Sabines but was also Latinized. The second population remained a mountain tribal state, coming finally to war against Rome for its independence along with all the other Italic tribes. Afterwards, it became assimilated into the Roman Republic.

Etymology

The Sabines derived directly from the ancient Umbrians and belonged to the same ethnic group as the Samnites and the Sabelli, as attested by the common ethnonyms of Safineis (in ancient Greek σαφινείς) and by the toponyms safinim and safina (at the origin of the terms Samnium and Sabinum).[2] The Indo-European root *Saβeno or *Sabh evolved into the word Safen, which later became Safin. From Safinim, Sabinus, Sabellus and Samnis, an Indo-European root can be extracted, *sabh-, which becomes Sab- in Latino-Faliscan and Saf- in Osco-Umbrian: Sabini and *Safineis.[3]

At some point in prehistory, a population speaking a common language extended over both Samnium and Umbria. Salmon conjectures that it was common Italic and puts forward a date of 600 BC, after which the common language began to separate into dialects. This date does not necessarily correspond to any historical or archaeological evidence; developing a synthetic view of the ethnology of proto-historic Italy is an incomplete and ongoing task.[4]

Linguist Julius Pokorny carries the etymology somewhat further back. Conjecturing that the -a- was altered from an -o- during some prehistoric residence in Illyria, he derives the names from an o-grade extension *swo-bho- of an extended e-grade *swe-bho- of the possessive adjective, *s(e)we-, of the reflexive pronoun, *se-, "oneself" (the source of English self). The result is a set of Indo-European tribal names (if not the endonym of the Indo-Europeans): Germanic Suebi and Semnones, Suiones; Celtic Senones; Slavic Serbs and Sorbs; Italic Sabelli, Sabini, etc., as well as a large number of kinship terms.[5]

Language

Sabine
lingua Sabina
Pronunciation[saˈbiːna]
Native toSabina (Sabinum)
RegionCentral Italy
EthnicitySabines
Era1st millennium BC – 1st millennium AD
Latin alphabet 
Language codes
ISO 639-3sbv
sbv
Glottologsabi1245
The linguistic landscape of Central Italy at the beginning of Roman expansion[citation needed]

There is little record of the Sabine language; however, there are some glosses by ancient commentators, and one or two inscriptions have been tentatively identified as Sabine. There are also personal names in use on Latin inscriptions from the Sabine country, but these are given in Latin form. Robert Seymour Conway, in his Italic Dialects, gives approximately 100 words which vary from being well-attested as Sabine to being possibly of Sabine origin. In addition to these he cites place names derived from the Sabine, sometimes giving attempts at reconstructions of the Sabine form.[6] Based on all the evidence, the Linguist List tentatively classifies Sabine as a member of the Umbrian group of Italic languages of the Indo-European family, while Glottolog classifies it as an Old Sabellic dialect alongside South Picene and Pre-Samnite.

Historical geography

Latin-speakers called the Sabines' original territory, straddling the modern regions of Lazio, Umbria, and Abruzzo, Sabinum. To this day, it bears the ancient tribe's name in the Italian form of Sabina. Within the modern region of Lazio (or Latium), Sabina constitutes a sub-region, situated north-east of Rome, around Rieti.

History

Origin and early history

The Sabines settled in Sabinum, around the tenth century BC, founding the cities of Reate, Trebula Mutuesca and Cures Sabini.[7][8] Dionysius of Halicarnassus mentions the Sabines in relation to the Aborigines, from whom they allegedly stole their capital Lista, with a surprise war action starting from Amiternum.[9] Ancient historians debated the specific origins of the Sabines. According to Strabo the Sabines, after a long war with the Umbrians, migrated to the land of the Opici, following the ancient Italic rite of the Ver Sacrum. The Sabines then drove out the Opici and encamped in that region.[10] Zenodotus of Troezen claimed that the Sabines were originally Umbrians that changed their name after being driven from the Reatine territory by the Pelasgians. Porcius Cato argued that the Sabines were a populace named after Sabus, the son of Sancus (a divinity of the area sometimes called Jupiter Fidius).[11] In another account mentioned in Dionysius's work, a group of Lacedaemonians fled Sparta since they regarded the laws of Lycurgus as too severe. In Italy, they founded the Spartan colony of Foronia (near the Pomentine plains) and some from that colony settled among the Sabines. According to the account, the Sabine habits of belligerence (aggressive or warlike behavior) and frugality (prudence in avoiding waste) were known to have derived from the Spartans.[12] Plutarch also mentions, in the Life of Numa Pompilius, "Sabines, who declare themselves to be a colony of the Lacedaemonians". Plutarch also wrote that the Pythagoras of Sparta, who was Olympic victor in the foot-race, helped Numa arrange the government of the city and many Spartan customs introduced by him to the Numa and the people.[13]

At Rome

Legend of the Sabine women

Legend says that the Romans abducted Sabine women to populate the newly built Rome. The resultant war ended only by the women throwing themselves and their children between the armies of their fathers and their husbands. The Rape of the Sabine Women became a common motif in art; the women ending the war is a less frequent but still reappearing motif.

According to Livy, after the conflict, the Sabine and Roman states merged, and the Sabine king Titus Tatius jointly ruled Rome with Romulus until Tatius' death five years later. Three new centuries of Equites were introduced at Rome, including one named Tatienses, after the Sabine king.

A variation of the story is recounted in the pseudepigraphal Sefer haYashar (see Jasher 17:1–15).

Traditions

Tradition suggests that the population of the early Roman kingdom was the result of a union of Sabines and others. Some of the gentes of the Roman republic were proud of their Sabine heritage, such as the Claudia gens, assuming Sabinus as a cognomen or agnomen. Some specifically Sabine deities and cults were known at Rome: Semo Sancus and Quirinus, and at least one area of the town, the Quirinale, where the temples to those latter deities were located, had once been a Sabine centre. The extravagant claims of Varro and Cicero that augury, divination by dreams and the worship of Minerva and Mars originated with the Sabines are disputable, as they were general Italic and Latin customs, as well as Etruscan, even though they were espoused by Numa Pompilius, second king of Rome and a Sabine.[14]

Religion

Sabine gods

Statue of Semo Sancus from his shrine on the Quirinal

Many of these deities were shared with the Etruscan religion, and were also adopted into the derivative Samnite and ancient Roman religion. Roman author Varro, who was himself of Sabine origin, gives a list of Sabine gods who were adopted by the Romans.[15] Elsewhere, Varro claims Sol Indiges – who had a sacred grove at Lavinium – as Sabine but at the same time equates him with Apollo.[19][20] Of those listed, he writes, "several names have their roots in both languages, as trees that grow on a property line creep into both fields. Saturn, for instance, can be said to have another origin here, and so too Diana."[f]

Varro makes various claims for Sabine origins throughout his works, some more plausible than others, and his list should not be taken at face value.[21] But the importance of the Sabines in the early cultural formation of Rome is evidenced, for instance, by the bride abduction of the Sabine women by Romulus's men, and in the Sabine ethnicity of Numa Pompilius, second king of Rome, to whom are attributed many of Rome's religious and legal institutions.[22] Varro, however, says that the altars to most of these gods were established at Rome by King Tatius as the result of a vow (votum).[g]

State

During the expansion of ancient Rome, there were a series of conflicts with the Sabines. Manius Curius Dentatus conquered the Sabines in 290 BC. The citizenship without the right of suffrage was given to the Sabines in the same year.[23] The right of suffrage was granted to the Sabines in 268 BC.[24]

Prominent Sabines

Gentes of Sabine origin

Romans of Sabine ancestry

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Later adopted into ancient Roman religion.[15]
  2. ^ For Fides, see also Semo Sancus or Dius Fidius.
  3. ^ God of war, with thunder attributes.
  4. ^ a b God of underworld fire, with thunder attributes.
  5. ^ God of darkness, with thunder attributes.
  6. ^ Template:Lang-la
  7. ^ Tatius is said by Varro to have dedicated altars to "Ops, Flora, Vediovis, and Saturn; to Sol, Luna, Vulcan, and Summanus; and likewise to Larunda, Terminus, Quirinus, Vortumnus, the Lares, Diana, and Lucina."

References

  1. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  2. ^ Ambrosoli, Solone (1966). Rivista Italiana di NVMISMATICA e scienze affini (PDF) (in Italian). Pavia: Tipografia popolare. p. 70.
  3. ^ Salmon 1967, p. 30.
  4. ^ Salmon 1967, pp. 29–30.
  5. ^ Pokorny 1959, pp. 882–884.
  6. ^ Conway, Robert Seymour (1897). The Italic Dialects Edited with a Grammar and Glossary. Cambridge: University Press. pp. 351–369.
  7. ^ Ecosostenibile (2021-02-20). "I Sabini e l'agricoltura: origine, storia, leggende, pastorizia, coltivazioni". Un Mondo Ecosostenibile (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  8. ^ Riposati, Benedetto (1985). Convegno di studio: Preistoria, storia e civiltà dei Sabini (in Italian). Centro di studi varroniani.
  9. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus. "Book I.14". Roman Antiquities. Twenty-four stades from the afore-mentioned city stood Lista, the mother-city of the Aborigines, which at a still earlier time the Sabines had captured by a surprise attack, having set out against it from Amiternum by night.
  10. ^ Strabo, Geography, book 5, 7 BCE, p. 250, Alexandria,
  11. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus. "Book II.49". Roman Antiquities. But Zenodotus of Troezen, a...historian, relates that the Umbrians, a native race, first dwelt in the Reatine territory, as it is called, and that, being driven from there by the Pelasgians, they came into the country which they now inhabit and changing their name with their place of habitation, from Umbrians were called Sabines. But Porcius Cato says that the Sabine race received its name from Sabus, the son of Sancus, a divinity of that country, and that this Sancus was by some called Jupiter Fidius.
  12. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus. "Book II.49". Roman Antiquities. There is also another account given of the Sabines in the native histories, to the effect that a colony of Lacedaemonians settled among them at the time when Lycurgus, being guardian to his nephew Eunomus, gave his laws to Sparta. For the story goes that some of the Spartans, disliking the severity of his laws and separating from the rest, quit the city entirely, and after being borne through a vast stretch of sea, made a vow to the gods to settle in the first land they should reach; for a longing came upon them for any land whatsoever. At last they made that part of Italy which lies near the Pomentine plains and they called the place where they first landed Foronia, in memory of their being borne through the sea, and built a temple to the goddess Foronia, to whom they had addressed their vows; this goddess, by the alteration of one letter, they now call Feronia. And some of them, setting out from thence, settled among the Sabines. It is for this reason, they say, that many of the habits of the Sabines are Spartan, particularly their fondness for war and their frugality and a severity in all the actions of their lives. But this is enough about the Sabine race.
  13. ^ Plutarch. "1". Numa. Pythagoras, the Spartan, who was Olympic victor in the foot-race for the sixteenth Olympiad (in the third year of which Numa was made king), and that in his wanderings about Italy he made the acquaintance of Numa, and helped him arrange the government of the city, whence it came about that many Spartan customs were mingled with the Roman, as Pythagoras taught them to Numa. And at all events, Numa was of Sabine descent, and the Sabines will have it that they were colonists from Lacedaemon. Chronology, however, is hard to fix, and especially that which is based upon the names of victors in the Olympic games, the list of which is said to have been published at a late period by Hippias of Elis, who had no fully authoritative basis for his work. I shall therefore begin at a convenient point, and relate the noteworthy facts which I have found in the life of Numa.
  14. ^ Bunbury, Edward Herbert (1857). "Sabini". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman geography. Vol. II Iabadius – Zymethus. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.[ISBN missing]
  15. ^ a b Varro, De Lingua Latina 5.74
  16. ^ Woodard, Roger D. Indo-European Sacred Space: Vedic and Roman cult. p 184.[when?]
  17. ^ Scheid, John (2016-03-07). "Venus". Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6730. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5.
  18. ^ Or Novensiles: the spelling -d- for -l- is characteristic of the Sabine language
  19. ^ Varro. De lingua latina. 5.68.
  20. ^ Rehak, Paul (2006). Imperium and Cosmos: Augustus and the northern Campus Martius. University of Wisconsin Press. p 94.
  21. ^ Clark, Anna. (2007). Divine Qualities: Cult and community in republican Rome. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp 37–38;
    Dench, Emma. (2005). Romulus' Asylum: Roman Identities from the Age of Alexander to the Age of Hadrian. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp 317–318.
  22. ^ Fowler, W.W. (1922). The Religious Experience of the Roman People. London, UK. p 108.
  23. ^ Velleius Paterculus 1.14.6
  24. ^ Velleius Paterculus 1.14.7

Sources

Ancient

Modern

Further reading

  • Brown, Robert. "Livy's Sabine Women and the Ideal of Concordia." Transactions of the American Philological Association 125 (1995): 291–319. doi:10.2307/284357.
  • MacLachlan, Bonnie. Women In Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. [ISBN missing]