This article examines the origins of the Roman alliance system in the second half of the 4th century. The significance of the allies for the creation of a Mediterranean empire is undisputed; allied troops provided the Roman Republic with a manpower reservoir unmatched by any of its opponents. However, the stunning achievement of incorporating defeated foes into the military in equal numbers to Roman troops has been somewhat neglected and been taken as a given fact. A careful analysis of the years following the Latin War and the Samnite Wars reveals a constellation which does not suggest that the immediate creation of a more or less beneficial system of alliances was a primary Roman objective. Instead it will be argued that the evidence indicates a rather different development, where the challenge of organising and integrating the captured territory was a dynamic and at times arduous process, for which the setbacks – and indeed the crisis – of the so-called Second Samnite War served as a major catalyst.

中文翻译：

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一个麻烦的开端：公元前四世纪的罗马及其不情愿的盟友

本文考察了 4 世纪下半叶罗马联盟体系的起源。盟友对创建地中海帝国的意义是无可争议的。盟军为罗马共和国提供了任何对手都无法匹敌的人力储备。然而，将与罗马军队同等数量的被击败的敌人纳入军队的惊人成就在某种程度上被忽视并被视为既定事实。对拉丁战争和萨姆尼特战争之后几年的仔细分析揭示了一个星座，这并不表明立即建立或多或少有益的联盟体系是罗马的主要目标。相反，有人会争辩说，证据表明一个相当不同的发展，