Social War ( 91 – 88 BC ) The Allied War ( " Social " from " socii " ( " allies " ) ; also called the Italian War , the War of the Allies or the Marsic War ) was a war waged from 90 to 88 BC between the Roman Republic and several of the other cities in Italy , which prior to the war had been Roman allies for centuries . Origins . Roman victory in the Samnite wars resulted in effective Roman dominance of the Italian peninsula . This dominance was expressed in a collection of alliances between Rome and the cities and communities of Italy , on more or less favorable terms depending on whether a given city had voluntarily allied with Rome or been defeated in war . These cities were theoretically independent , but in practice Rome had the right to demand from them tribute money and a certain number of soldiers : by the 2nd century BC the Italian allies contributed between one half and two - thirds of the soldiers in Roman armies . Rome also had virtual control over the allies ' foreign policy , including their interaction with one another . Aside from the Second Punic War , where Hannibal had some limited success in turning some Italian communities against Rome , for the most part the Italian communities were content to remain as client state s of Rome in return for local autonomy . The Romans ' policy of land distribution had led to great inequality of land - ownership and wealth . This led to the " Italic people declining little by little into pauperism and paucity of numbers without any hope of remedy . " A number of political proposals had attempted to address the growing discrepancy whereby Italians made a significant contribution to Roman ' s military force , while receiving disproportionately small shares of land and citizenship rights . These efforts came to a head under the impetus of Marcus Livius Drusus in 91 BC . His reforms would have granted the Roman allies Roman citizenship , giving them a greater say in the external policy of the Roman Republic . Most local affairs came under local governance and were not as important to the Romans as , for example , when the alliance would go to war or how they would divide the plunder . The response of the Roman senatorial elite to Drusus ' proposals were to reject his ideas and assassinate him . This brusque dismissal of the granting of rights that the Italians considered to be long overdue greatly angered them , and communities throughout Italy attempted to declare independence from Rome in response , sparking a war . The War . The Social War began in 90 BC when the Italian allies revolted . The Latins as a whole remained largely loyal to Rome , with the one exception of Venusia . The rebellious allies planned not just formal separation from Rome , but also the creation of their own independent confederation , called " Italia " , with its own capital at Corfinium ( in modern - day Abruzzo ) that was renamed " Italica " . To pay for the troops , they created their own coinage that was used as propaganda against Rome . These coins depict eight warriors taking an oath , probably representing the Marsi , Picentines , Paeligni , Marrucini , Vestini , Frentani , Samnites and Hirpini . The Italian soldiers were battle - hardened , most of them having served in the Roman armies . The 12 allies of Italia were originally able to field 100 , 000 men . The Italians divided this force according to their positions within Italy . The Roman strategy focused on surviving the first onslaught , while simultaneously trying to entice other Italian clients to remain loyal or refrain from defection , and then meet the threat of the revolt with troops raised from provinces as well as from client kingdoms . One of the two separate theatres of war was assigned to each of the consuls of 90 BC . In the north , the consul Publius Rutilius Lupus was advised by Gaius Marius and Pompeius Strabo ; in the south the consul Lucius Julius Caesar had Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Titus Didius . Events in 90 BC : Despite these losses , the Romans managed to stave off total defeat and hang on . In 89 BC , both consuls went to the northern front whilst Sulla took sole command of the southern front . Events in 89 BC : By 88 BC , the war was largely over except for the Samnites ( the old rivals of Rome ) who still held out . It is likely that the war would have continued a lot longer had Rome not made concessions to their allies . Roman concessions to the Allies . L . Julius Caesar proposed the Lex Julia during his consulship which he carried before his office ended . The law offered full citizenship to all Latin and Italian communities who had not revolted . However , the law offered the option of citizenship to whole communities and not to individuals . This meant that each individual community had to pass the law , most likely by a vote in assembly , before it could take effect . It was also possible under the Lex Julia for citizenship to be granted as a reward for distinguished military service in the field . It is assumed that the Lex Julia was closely followed by a supplementary statute , the Lex Plautia Papiria , which stated that a registered male of an allied state could obtain Roman citizenship by presenting himself to a Roman praetor within 60 days of the passing of the law . This statute enabled inhabitants of towns disqualified by the Lex Julia to apply for citizenship if they desired . Roman citizenship and the right to vote was limited , as always in the ancient world , by the requirement of physical appearance on voting day . After 8 BC , candidates regularly paid the expenses ( at least partially ) for their supporters to travel to Rome in order to vote .