The Battle of Arretium marked a Roman defeat by Gallic forces in northern Italy, triggering a broader Roman campaign that expelled the Senones from their territory.
Key Facts
- Approximate date
- 284 BC (possibly 283 BC)
- Roman commander killed
- Praetor Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter
- Primary ancient source
- Polybius
- Gallic tribe involved
- Senones (probable)
- Roman successor commander
- Manius Curius Dentatus
- Colony founded after campaign
- Sena Gallia (Senigallia)
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Unspecified Gallic forces, possibly the Senones tribe, besieged the city of Arretium in northeastern Tuscany. Rome dispatched an army under Praetor Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter to relieve the city, intervening in what had become a direct threat to Roman-allied territory in northern Italy.
The Roman relief force was defeated by the besieging Gauls outside Arretium, and the praetor Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter was killed in the fighting. His successor, Manius Curius Dentatus, sent envoys to negotiate the return of Roman hostages, but the envoys were killed by the Gauls, prompting a full Roman military campaign into Gallia Cisalpina.
Rome invaded the territory of the Senones, expelled or killed most of them, and founded the colony of Sena Gallia on the Adriatic coast. The Boii and Etruscans subsequently fought Rome near Lake Vadimon and were heavily defeated. After a further defeat the following year, the Boii and Etruscans sued for peace and concluded a treaty with Rome.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, Manius Curius Dentatus (successor).
Side B
1 belligerent