They dressed slaves in Samnite armor and forced them to fight to the death. Some scholars believe that the origins of gladiator fights can be traced more north to the ancient Etruscan civilization.

There were also many different types of gladiators – the Thracian, Samnite, Murmillo, and Retiarius – that were classified based on the weapons they used as well as their fighting techniques.

That was the Second Latin War, which came a century and a half after the first and lasted two years, between 340 BC and 338 BC.The Latin League, formed by the peoples of Latium, was alarmed by Rome’s ...