The Roman Senate as arbiter during the second century BC. Two exemplary case studies: the Cippus Abellanus and the Polcevera Tablet

In the wider context of the border coflicts that involve Rome as a third 'super partes' authority – of which we have evidences for the II century BC – stand out for the peculiarities that distinguish them above all two epigraphic documents: the so-called tabula of Polcevera (concerning a dispute between Genuates and Viturii Langenses) and the cippus Abellanus (related to a border dispute between Nolani and Abellani and written in the Oscan language). They make us aware of the political and municipal dynamics underlying the complex principle of Roman arbitration, often required to resolve territorial disputes, which is gradually evolving when Rome opens up to the East. What role did the Rome senate play in such disputes? What part played the referees sent by the City to settle the disputes with a 'super partes' judgment? What importance did the Gracchan agrarian reform and the realization of road axes in the acuity of such antagonisms? All these questions will try to give an answer with this work.