The Clientele and Political Sympathies Over the Central Adriatic at the End of the Republic in the Context of Settlement Processes in Picenum and on Ager Gallicus in the Third Through the First Centuries BCE

The factor that caused the Ager Gallicus and Picenum to undergo significant social, ethnic and cultural changes was the migrations that took place in the 3rd–1stBCE, when these areas became the domain of the Roman Republic. The settlers completely changed the ethnic landscape on the Adriatic Sea. In the 2nd and 1stBCE, we can see the active political involvement of the inhabitants of Picenum and Ager Gallicus on the side of the Populares and Optimates. The divisions in Roman society at this time caused perturbations resulting in the war with the allies and the civil wars. These resulted in severe destruction in cities, as well as a large loss of population that died in battles and purges carried out in the aftermath of the conflicts, and internal migrations related to fleeing the war and its aftermath and resulting from the policy of the great Roman chieftains to reward their soldiers for military service with land in Picenum and Ager Gallicus. Attention should also be drawn to the existence of very strong clientelist links with representatives of Roman families whose roots or connections originated in these areas. It was thanks to the clientele, not only from the Adriatic areas, that politicians could afford to realize their ambitions in Rome; in return for their support, their clients also had the chance to pursue their dreams and careers alongside their patrons.