Campania initiated the Roman era.
Since the Samnites were more warlike than the other Oscan populations, they easily took over the cities of Capua and Cumae, in an area which was one of the most prosperous and fertile in the Italian Peninsula at the time
 The First Samnite War was initiated when the Etruscan-influenced Oscan city of Capua (in Etruscan Capeva) was being attacked by the Samnites, and thus appealed to Rome for defensive help

