ntermarriage (CONNUBIUM); and that of holding office (HONORES).

The first of these rights the plebeians always enjoyed; the second they
obtained in the establishment of the COMITIA TRIBUTA; the third by the
CANULEIAN BILL; the fourth by the LICINIAN and subsequent bills.

CHAPTER IX. EXTERNAL HISTORY.

The first authentic history of Rome begins about 400. The city then
possessed, possibly, three hundred square miles of territory. The
number of tribes had been increased to twenty-five. Later it became
thirty-five.

In 391 a horde of Celtic barbarians crossed the Apennines into
Etruria and attacked CLUSIUM. Here a Celtic chief was slain by Roman
ambassadors, who, contrary to the sacred character of their mission,
were fighting in the ranks of the Etrurians. The Celts, in revenge,
marched upon Rome. The disastrous battle of the ALLIA, a small river
about eleven miles north of the city, was fought on July 18, 390. The
Romans were thoroughly defeated and their city lay at the mercy of the
foe. The Celts, however, delayed three days before marching upon Rome.
Thus the people had time to prepare the Capitol for a siege, which
lasted seven months, when by a large sum of money the barbarians were
induced to withdraw.

During this siege the records of the city's history were destroyed, and
we have no trustworthy data for events that happened previous to 390.

The city was quickly rebuilt and soon recovered from the blow. In 387
the lost territory adjacent to the Tiber was annexed, and military
colonies were planted at Sutrium and Nepete upon the Etruscan border, and
also at Circeii and Setia. (Footnote: These military colonies, of which
the Romans subsequently planted many, were outposts established to
protect conquered territory. A band of Roman citizens was armed and
equipped, as if for military purposes. They took with them their wives
and children, slaves and followers, and established a local government
similar to that of Rome. These colonists relinquished their rights as
Roman citizens and became Latins; hence the name LATIN COLONIES.) The
neighboring Latin town of TUSCULUM, which had always been a faithful
ally, was annexed to Rome.

The trying times of these years had caused numerous enemies to spring
up all around Rome; but she showed herself superior to them all, until
finally, in 353, she had subdued the whole of Southern Etruria, and
gained possession of the town of CAERE, with most of its territory. T