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Samnite People

contributed by Thomas Robinson, 29 May 2000

Samnite People

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Italy

Samnite People

A banner was used by the Samnite people, who lived in the south of Italy at the time of Rome's ascension. They fought a number of wars with the City of Rome, between 343 BC and 290 BC before the Romans finally conquered them. They actually had a chance to destroy Rome when they defeated the Roman forces in 321 BC, but the Romans outmaneuvered them and built up their strength until they defeated the last Samnite city in 290 BC. Small-scale attacks by Samnite peoples in the hills continued until about 80 BC.
As regards the item in question: I don't know whether it should be counted a flag or not. Flags, as such, were not really around at that time, but this is definitely a piece of (more or less) rectangular fabric hung from an upright staff and would be called a flag by most people. It has a distinctive pattern on it, in three colours, and was commonly used by one or more Samnite cities. It does not actually connect with the pole for its whole length; there is a semi-circle missing in the centre.
Above is a small scanned picture of it, taken from a photo of a Roman fresco in a warriors tomb in Paestrum. It is being carried on a pole slung over the shoulder of a Samnite soldier.
Thomas Robinson, 29 May 2000

There are two images of Samnite flags in Znamierowski's 'Encyclopedia of flags'. He does name them flags but seeing the form I wouldn't know what else to call them
Jarig Bakker, 29 May 2000

Jostein Nygård asked: Is this the actual shape of the flag, or is it just depiction of a heavy cloth that would form a 'natural' bulge?
I believe that the actual shape of the flag is roughly rectangular, and that the distortion is just the artist's attempt to make it seem more natural, yes.
Thomas Robinson, 29 May 2000

This flag is precisely the one shown on page 11 of Znamierowski's "World Encyclopedia of Flags". It is indeed a fresco, which kind of surprised me, for two reasons: (1) I had thought fresco was a late Medieval or Renaissance technique and (2) the flag suggests a cross, such symbolism being jolly unlikely in 330 BC
Al Kirsch, 29 May 2000

I suspect it's not a cross, just the same pattern repeated four times
Roy Stilling, 29 May 2000

I think it's the actual shape. ISTRC that these are supposed to have been made from leather, and they were fixed to the pole only at the top and the bottom. The extremities of the animal hide? The edges around each quarter aren't squares or rectangles, but rather follow the outline of the cloth. In this case, it's not a cross, but the combination of the edges of each of the four "quarters".
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 3 June 2000

It appears to most scholars that have studied this fresco that what is shown is no flag at all but simply a tunic of a defeated foe hanged on a pole as a trophy.
Sources:
- Peter Connolly : Hannibal against Rome
- John Warry : Greece and Rome at War
- Duncan Head : Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars, WRG Publication.

Sorry, it would have been a nice anc