According to Livy, the temple was vowed to the god Mars in the aftermath of the Roman defeat at the Battle of the Allia in 390 BCE by the Senones. It was dedicated on 1 June 387 by Titus Quinctius, one of the "Duumviri sacrorum". In 189 BCE the Via Appia was paved from the Porta Capena to this point, along with the stretch of road that linked the Via Appia to the temple (the "Clivus Martis"). This road was then referred to as the Via Tecta, named after the construction of a portico along the road.