he revolts of the early Imperial period were not the first time that Rome had found itself waging; or the Italian War). These allies had been contributing a significant amount of manpower, outnumbering Romans on the battlefield by the third century BC. While the allies enjoyed some benefits, they also faced increasing Roman interference in domestic affairs, and had not been granted citizenship. Some were fighting to free themselves of Rome, while others were aiming to gain Roman citizen status for their population. Appian ( 1.39) claims that 100,000 infantry and cavalry mobilised, and initial operations were able to take advantage of their insider knowledge of the Roman army. The fighting was fierce, and without its previous allies, Rome was forced to allow freedmen to enlist. By 87 BC most of the fighting was over – with the Italian allies having won citizenship.
