Sabine Timeline: Discussion Thread

After taking a break from this forum for some time, I've recently began research on a possible timeline. Here's my premise so far: the POD is that Rome is never founded, for whatever reason, and instead the Sabines become dominant in Italy.

So far, here's my idea:

In the seventh century BC, the Sabines begin expanding into Latium and are able to form some ground. Possibly due to contact with the Latins and/or the Etruscans, they form a league of mutual defense, similar to the Latin and Samnite Leagues of OTL.

Much of my inspiration is derived from amateur interest in the Italic languages and imaging what a Sabine or "southern" Umbrian language would have looked like, so there will be a lot of linguistic notation ITTL.

I'd like to open this up to everyone for discussion, suggestions and ideas. As I've said, this is still in the early phase, but any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
 
I'd tend to think that an Umbrian power forming a hegemony on Latium would be more or less falsco-latinized after a while in the case of a tight confederation (altough we could see a Sabine League content enough to rule directly over the highlands while dominating part of the coast, a bit like Samnites, I'm not sure it's what you're searching there) : while a seventh century PoD, the coast would be still more developed than the highlands on this regard, and I'm not too sure about an Umbrian hegemony over Italy (altough Central Italy seems quite doable).
Better ask for @clem attlee's opinion, eventually.
 
I'd tend to think that an Umbrian power forming a hegemony on Latium would be more or less falsco-latinized after a while in the case of a tight confederation.

Which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I want a more dominant Sabine culture in central Italy.

...(although we could see a Sabine League content enough to rule directly over the highlands while dominating part of the coast, a bit like Samnites, I'm not sure it's what you're searching there) : while a seventh century PoD, the coast would be still more developed than the highlands on this regard, and I'm not too sure about an Umbrian hegemony over Italy (altough Central Italy seems quite doable).
Better ask for @clem attlee's opinion, eventually.

This would work, actually, at least initially. In fact, I was originally thinking of an allied Sabine League in the highlands that dominates the plains of Latium.

As far as the POD, I'm open to suggestions. The seventh century seemed like the most plausible time to go with, but perhaps earlier may work better? Perhaps the Sabines push west, for whatever reason, and begin occupying the lowlands in the eight century BC? After all, the Umbrians were already migrating south at this time, if memory serves, with the ancestors of these southern Sabellic migrants later theorized to have been the Samnites, so not too implausible?
 
Top