Roman Republic · 91-88 BC

The Social War: Italy fights for citizenship

Rome's Italian allies had fought in all its wars but were not Roman citizens. In 91 BC many of them rose up and set up a state of their own. Students explore a war Rome won on the battlefield but lost in politics.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, 100 BC to 1 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Rome's Italian allies had fought in all its wars but were not Roman citizens. In 91 BC many of them rose up and set up a state of their own. Students explore a war Rome won on the battlefield but lost in politics.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain what the Italian allies (socii) wanted from Rome and why.
  • Locate Corfinium and the peoples who rebelled in central and southern Italy.
  • Describe how the war ended with Roman citizenship for Italians south of the Po.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

100 BC

One Italy?

Open the map in 100 BC. All of Italy looks Roman, yet most Italians were allies, not citizens. Zoom in on the Apennine mountains, the homeland of the Marsi and the Samnites.

Open this view on the map
b

91 BC

A new capital

Find Corfinium in the mountains east of Rome. In 91 BC the rebels made it their capital and renamed it "Italia". Why choose that name?

Open this view on the map
c

1 BC

After the war

Drag the time slider from 100 BC to 1 BC. The colors stay Roman, but what changed for the people living inside? Think about voting, law and the army.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The allies sent soldiers to all of Rome's wars but had no vote in Rome. Why did that feel unfair?
  2. In 91 BC the tribune Livius Drusus proposed citizenship for the allies and was murdered. How did his death lead to war?
  3. Why might some Romans not want to share their citizenship with the Italians?
  4. Rome won the battles but gave in on citizenship. Who really won the Social War?
  5. Many countries today argue about who should get citizenship. What makes someone a full member of a country?
4

Game round

9 min

No ruler in Rule History fought in this war. Play the Julius Caesar round: in 49 BC Caesar gave full citizenship to the people north of the Po. Discuss: why did the question of who counts as a citizen keep coming back?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.