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Both the consuls were honoured with a triumph, with high applause of their excellent conduct. Some writers say, that the consul Minucius was brought back to the camp grievously wounded, and that he died there; that Marcus Fulvius was substituted consul in his place, and that it was he who, being sent to command Minucius's army, took Bovianum.
The Samnites had their numerous allies; but the obstinate valor of the Romans, who were discouraged by no reverses, triumphed. The capture of Bovianum, the capital of the Samnite league , ended the war. The Samnites sued for peace. The old treaties were renewed. In the course of this protracted struggle, various Roman colonies were established, and military roads were constructed.
The Southern army was under the command of the consul, Lucius Sulla, whose great career had commenced in Africa, under Marius. Sulla advanced into the Samnite country and took its capital, Bovianum. Under his able generalship, the position of affairs greatly changed. At the close of the campaign, most of the insurgent regions were subdued. The Samnites were almost the only people which held out.
The pass, where the Samnite militia under Mutilus awaited him, was turned, the Samnite army was attacked in rear, and defeated; the camp was lost, the general escaped wounded to Aesernia. Sulla advanced to Bovianum, the capital of the Samnite country, and compelled it to surrender by a second victory achieved beneath its walls. The advanced season alone put an end to the campaign there.
A Samnite army advanced into Campania and encamped before the city, in the hope that its vicinity might place the national party in the ascendant . But Sora was immediately attacked by the Romans and recaptured after the defeat of a Samnite relieving force . The movements among the Ausonians were suppressed with cruel rigour ere the insurrection fairly broke out, and at the same time a special dictator was nominated to institute and decide political processes against the leaders of the Samnite party in Capua, so that the most illustrious of them died a voluntary death to escape from the Roman executioner . The Samnite army before Capua was defeated and compelled to retreat from Campania; the Romans, following close at the heels of the enemy, crossed the Matese and encamped in the winter of 440 before Bovianum, the: capital of Samnium.
Both in their old and in their new territory they named their place of public assembly which in the one case was situated near Agnone, in the other near Bojano from the ox which led them Bovianum. A second band was led by the woodpecker of Mars; these were the Picentes, "the woodpecker-people," who took possession of what is now the March of Ancona.
The victorious troops were led from thence to Bovianum; this was the capital of the Pentrian Samnites, by far the most opulent of their cities, and the most powerful both in men and arms.
On hearing that the citadel of Fregellae was taken by the Samnites, he left Bovianum, and proceeded to Fregellae, whence, having recovered possession of it without any contest, the Samnites abandoning it in the night, and having placed a strong garrison there, he returned to Campania, directing his operations principally to the recovery of Nola.
He had managed the campaign in a bold and able way, where less daring generalship might have failed. Now Bovianum was taken, and Aesernia became its centre. The occupation of the Hirpinian territory cut off the Samnites from the South of Italy, where the Lucanians and Bruttians remained in arms.
All these transactions being reported to the Beneventans, just as they occurred, they lost no time in sending ten ambassadors to the Roman consuls, who were encamped in the neighbourhood of Bovianum.
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