Submitted for award of PhD September 2006. - King's College London

the confederation of Cirta was led by its duoviri, while tresviri praefecti lure dicundo
were sent out to the subordinate colonies.
Heurgon's article followed Beloch. 845 He suggested that P. Sittius brought the
federal arrangement of the region from Nuceria and `founded a
New Campania' in
Africa. According to Heurgon, the so-called confederation of Cirta was governed by
tresviri 1111 coloniarum and aediles 1111
coloniarum, and the three colonies were under
praefecti iure dicundo. The common council of the federation was formed by the
decuriones 1111 coloniarum. Heurgon then reversed the argument to suggest that at
Nuceria the federal meddix tuticus and two aediles had formed a college of tresviri,
whereas the meddices and quaestores were local magistrates. This reconstruction
certainly cannot stand. Senatore points out that Heurgon's comparison of the tresviri of
Cirta with those of Latin communities is not correct, because the tresviri aediles of
Arpinum, Fundi and Formiae were civic magistrates and not part of a federal
structure. 846 More fundamentally, Laffi has thrown serious doubt on Beloch's and
Heurgon's reconstruction of the political structures of the Cirtan colonies and the date of
their implementation. 847
Certainly the names of the Cirtan colonies relate to the Sarno valley and they had a
large number of colonists from the area of Nuceria. However, their political structure
remains uncertain, and even if Beloch and Heurgon were partly right, we must accept
Senatore's view that there is no evidence of imitation of previous local Oscan political
644
Beloch (1877) 295-6; Beloch (1879) 241.
645
Heurgon (1957) 7-24.
846
Senatore (2001) 232-8.
847
Appian. B. C. 4.54. Laffi (1966) 135-147. The foundation date of the colony is also supported by
Keppie (1983) 83
251