The
socii ( in Latin; in English; "allies") were the autonomous tribes and city-states of the
Italian Peninsula in permanent military alliance with the
Roman Republic until the
Social War of 91–88 BC. After this conflict, all Rome's peninsular Italian allies were awarded
Roman citizenship and their territories incorporated in the
Roman state. The Romans themselves referred to their confederates as the
socii Latini ("Latin allies"), although most were not members of the
Latin tribe strictly speaking, but members of various other Italian tribes and city-states. In everyday usage, the word
socius could mean "associate" or "partner" in general.