Umbri

Attributes: | +20% Population Growth, +25% Lumberjack Output

The **Umbri** are a very large Sabellic faction, occupying a mountainous territory in Umbria.

Its starting neighbours are the Picentes, Sabines, North Etruscans, Clevsin and, more distantly, Velathri.

The Umbri are notable for being the largest faction at the start of the Unification Sandbox, having more starting cities than any other faction in the game.

### In-game Description

"One of the earliest people to arrive in Italy, the Umbri (also known as the Ombrii) are a widespread collection of tribes including the Isombri, Vilombri, Sarsinates and Camertes. Etruscan growth has been forcing the Umbri east, with 300 Umbrian cities falling to the Etruscans, including Camars, which would be renamed Clevsin. The Umbri would go on founding new cities and settlements, growing and thriving despite the loss of their territory."

### Starting Cities

* **Plestia**: Plestia is a major center of the Plestini Umbri famous for the sacred area dedicated to the Umbrian and Picene fertility deity Cupra.
* **Asisium**: Asisium is an Umbrian town located near Mount Subasio best known in modern times as the birthplace of Saint Francis. It is said to have been founded by the Greek mythological figure Dardanus, a son of Zeus and Electra who the Aeneid places as being born in Italy.
* **Spoletium**: Overlooking the Clitumnus Valley, the site of Spoletium (modern Spoleto) is first mentioned as a colony established by Rome to help them fight the Umbri, but there is evidence of inhabitation far predating Roman settlement. It would gain recognition throughout Rome in the aftermath of the Hannibalic Battle of Trasimene, when it resisted an assault by Carthaginian forces with such ferocity that Carthage abandoned a march on Rome.
* **Camerinum**: Camerinum is a major city of the Camertes, a tribe of the Umbri on the border with Etruria who were the first of the Umbri to encounter Rome. The Camertes were counted an ally of Rome, and frequently made common cause with them to fight the Etruscans. A connection between the Camertes of this city and the city of Camars (later called Clevsin by Etruscan conquerors) is possible, as some Roman sources cite Clevsin as Camerte territory.
* **Sentinum**: Sentinum, located near modern Sassoferrato, is an Umbrian town most famous as the site of the battle of Sentinum. Part of the Third Samnite War, the battle of Sentinum would prove a major Roman victory, causing the allies of the Samnites to abandon the fight and ensuring unchallenged Roman dominance over Italy for over a decade.
* **Iguvium**: Iguvium, modern Gubbio, is an ancient city of the Umbrians secluded high in the Appenine mountains. Its defensive position in the mountains makes it an ideal site to store hostages. It is most famous in modern days for the Iguvine Tablets, a series of seven tablets inscribed in the Umbrian language with religious texts describing the rites of the Atiedian Brethren. The Iguvine Tablets are notable not only as the largest surviving text of not only Umbrian but of any Sabellic language, but as the only document of an ancient Mediterranean religion to be found in a near-complete state.
* **Tifernum**: Tifernum Tiberinum, meaning "Tifernum on the Tiber" to distinguish it from Tifernum Metaurense in the far south of Italy, is an Umbrian city situated not far from the border between the Umbri and the Etruscans. Despite drawing part of its name from the Tiber river, it probably did not sit on its bank itself, being referenced by ancient writers only as "not far" from the river.
* **Sestinum**: Sestinum, modern Sestino, is located on the river Pisaurus. Inscriptions in Sestinum proclaim it as part of the Clustumina tribe of the Umbri.
* **Ariminum**: Ariminum is the name of a Roman colony that would later be founded in Umbria; prior to their settlement in 268 BCE, the area was controlled by the Senones, who are believed to have overrun a major Umbrian city at this location whose name is lost to history. The Roman colony's name comes from the nearby Ariminus river.

### Strategy

Your starting borders with the Etruscan factions to the west and north are relatively defensible, thanks to the Tiber river and Apennine Mountains. Given that Etruscan brigades in the early-game also have superior stats to your own Sabellic brigades, it can make sense to focus your early-game expansion on the Picentes instead, as incorporating their territory will extend your eastern borders to the Adriatic Sea and limit the amount of land borders you have to defend.

Your starting city sits uncomfortably close to the Sabines, who you will likely have dealings with while you are still uniting your starting territory in the very early game. It might be beneficial to use diplomacy to delay a war with them until you have at least united your starting territory and can bring a large army to bear, as the Sabines' strong melee bonus will give their spearmen the upper hand in an even fight.

Your very large amount of starting cities and population growth bonus are a powerful economic advantage and can allow you to build up a large army quickly, if you can succeed in keeping your multitude of borders safe through efficient use of diplomacy and chokepoints.

### Trivia & History

* The territory of the Umbri was originally even larger, containing some parts of the territories belonging to the North Etruscans and Clevsin in-game. The Etruscans gradually assimilated these areas over the course of the first half of the 1st Millennium BC.
* Rome first encountered the Umbri during the 2nd Samnite War of the late 4th Century BC, when the Umbri allied with the Etruscans and Samnites against Rome. Roman-Umbrian hostilities continued into the 3rd Samnite War of the 290s BC, which was largely fought in Umbria. In that war, the Umbri allied with the Gallic Senones as well to form an anti-Roman coalition together with the Etruscans and Samnites. The Romans effectively broke the Umbrian resistance during that war, and managed to solidify their control over the area in the subsequent decades.
* The faction's icon depicts a lyre. The exact design seems to have been taken from ancient coins found in the ancient city of Tuder (modern Todi) in Umbria.