Lucania, ancient territorial division of southern Italy corresponding to most of the modern region of Basilicata, with much of the province of Salerno and part of that of Cosenza. Before its conquest by the Lucanians, a Samnite tribe, about the mid-5th century bc, it formed part of the Greek-dominated region of Oenotria. Recent discoveries of elaborately painted graves at Paestum, a city taken by the Lucanians about 400, suggest that by the 4th century bc the tribe had developed a culture of great vitality and distinction. Although they allied with Rome in 298, the Lucanians opposed and were defeated by that power in the Pyrrhic War (280–275), the Second Punic War (218–201), and the Social War (90–88). The founding of a number of colonies of Roman citizens on confiscated land in the late 2nd and early 1st centuries bc led to a growth of population and prosperity in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. In the 3rd century ad, economic and social problems brought about the area’s decline.
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