WI: Social War successful?

I've just been reading on the Social War of 91-88 BCE, and read that the rebels were trying to create an independent Italian state: Founding their own capital, with their own symbols, minting coins and even appointing their own senate. Now, I've been thinking: Without most of Italy, what would Rome do? Surely, it can't keep its provinces, can it? Will it get dismembered or what? Can a Roman state controlling large territories outside of Italy live side-by-side with an Italian state?
 
The Italians could never "win" the Social War in the way you describe winning, and that is setting up an independent Italian state living alongside Rome. It was a matter of when not if, Rome was going to beat them. The Italians were well aware of this. What they really hoped to accomplish was gain Roman citizenship. The setting up of a new capital at Corfinum and creating its own senate was more to show for the hope that Rome would see that they are breaking away and come to terms quickly, giving them citizenship IIRC.

In the end though, the Social War was successful for the Italians. They achieved what they wanted, and were granted Roman citizenship.
 
The Italians could never "win" the Social War in the way you describe winning, and that is setting up an independent Italian state living alongside Rome. It was a matter of when not if, Rome was going to beat them. The Italians were well aware of this. What they really hoped to accomplish was gain Roman citizenship. The setting up of a new capital at Corfinum and creating its own senate was more to show for the hope that Rome would see that they are breaking away and come to terms quickly, giving them citizenship IIRC.

In the end though, the Social War was successful for the Italians. They achieved what they wanted, and were granted Roman citizenship.

I don't know about this. The Romans were devastated in several battles during this war against the Italians, had consuls killed in battle, and were defeated numerous times in Campania and other regions close to home. The reason the Romans won was BECAUSE they started granting citizenship, thus appeasing the Italians. Had they not made this peace gesture, the war would have dragged on, and it is not inconceivable that the Romans would lose. They were, after all, facing armies equally as numerous as their own against commanders who had served in the Roman army and knew it in and out.

If the Italians won, it would be the end for Rome. Their homeland would be too unstable. It's possible that the Italians would try to absorb the Roman Empire and it's territories, and I'm sure some of Rome's rivals at the time (Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, Dacia) would take advantage of a civil war of this nature.
 
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Even if Rome does survive, a longer bloodier social war might mean they're completely defeated in the Mithridatic War as well
 
It was also noted by contemporary Romans that the Italians had been slowly becoming the focus of the Roman military. While old treaties demanded that allied contingents of Italians would make up approx 50% of all Roman armies mustered, the continued wars in the late Republic resulted in the decline of Latin landholders available for military service, who were being largely replaced by Italians to fill up the numbers. The Latins and Romans in the armies were slowly being outnumbered by the Socii, who felt they could challenge Romes authority due to this growing influence.

Rome hardly swatted the rebellion aside, they panicked at the prospect of being surrounded in their own homeland and had to bring Marius to direct the incompetent generals despite his age. The long list of generals Rome fielded to defend its homeland is striking as the list of equally competent enemy generals is just as long (seriously awesome names too like Metellus and Gutta).
The closeness of the war resulted in the virtual annihilation of the Samnites as an independent state within Italy due to their central role in the conflict and one of the few wars that Rome relented of its ill advised staunch stance on its enemies.
 
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