As such, we must renegotiate the terms of our alliance with Tarentum."
"What did you just say?!!" The Senate erupted in an uproar.
"The Thurians have formed an alliance with you? What kind of alliance?"
"You didn’t forcibly seize Thurii’s land, did you? Just like that mercenary leader took over Amendolara!" a senator shouted.
"I protest against this statement!" Marigi angrily retorted.
"What you said is not only an insult to our consul but also an insult to Amendolara! I can hardly believe these words came from Tarentum, Amendolara’s closest ally!"
Archita defended Amendolara:
"Lord Diomilas , what you said is unfair! On the day Amendolara held its citizens’ assembly, I was present and personally witnessed how enthusiastically Amendolara’s people invited the mercenaries to become citizens!"
Despite Archytas’s support, Diomilas stubbornly countered:
"If Amendolara didn’t use force, why would the Thurians choose to ally with a weak and poor Amendolara instead of a wealthy and powerful Tarentum?"
"Diomilas is right! If it weren’t for Amendolara’s military threat, the Thurians would surely have chosen Tarentum!" Many senators immediately agreed.
Tarentum’s self-assurance was overwhelming.
Marigi sneered inwardly and prepared to argue, but Ansitanos stopped him. Ansitanos stood up and spoke gently,
"Honorable senators of Tarentum, my name is Ansitanos.
I was once a general of Thurii and have visited Tarentum many times. Some of you may know me, such as Lord Eumachus and Lord Dysitimias ..."
The named senators nodded reluctantly.
"As a Thurian, I can swear by Apollo that Amendolara did not use force to threaten Thurii! On the contrary, when Thurii was captured by the Crotonians and its people had given up hope, believing they had been abandoned by the Divines, only the ’weak’ Amendolara refused to submit to the powerful Crotonians.
Even with the enemy’s army at their gates, Amendolara held firm to its alliance with Thurii.
"When the Crotonians committed the unprecedented crime of burning a Greek city, robbing the Thurians of all their means of survival, and leaving unpunished, no city-state in Magna Graecia stood up for justice.
Only Amendolara dared to confront the mighty Crotonians, avenging the Thurians and saving them.
"To the Thurians, Amendolara’s citizens are heroes and family.
They wholeheartedly chose to share a consul, a senate, and the rights and obligations of citizenship with Amendolara, just like brothers in a family—indistinguishable from one another. This choice was entirely voluntary!"
Ansitanos’s heartfelt words left the Tarentum Senate in silence.
Some senators even felt ashamed.
After a while, Eumachus coldly said,
"Amendolara and Thurii have now formed an alliance, greatly strengthening their power. With Amendolara’s growing reputation,
no other city-state would dare to invade them. What’s the point of renegotiating an alliance with Tarentum?"
Marigi, with a sincere expression, replied,
"Before I left, Lord Juleios repeatedly reminded me: ’Tarentum extended a helping hand to Amendolara in its darkest hour.
Tarentum is a great benefactor of Amendolara!’"
The Senate grew quiet again.
The other consul, Dysitimias, stood up and said,
"Now, let the emissaries from Amendolara and Thurii leave for the moment. We will discuss the matter of the alliance."
After the emissaries had left, Diomilas said,
"Gentlemen, it’s said that Juleios, Amendolara’s consul, is a very young man. Young people are often energetic and ambitious.
Half a year ago, he was a mercenary leader.
Now he’s the lifelong consul of two cities. His rapid rise and expansion are reminiscent of that man in Syracuse, Sicily! Someday, he may turn his ambitions against us in Tarentum!"
Diomilas’s remark provoked laughter from the senators.
"Diomilas, you’re too paranoid! Amendolara only has three or four thousand citizens, and Thurii’s remaining population is just a few thousand more. Combined, they’re less than ten thousand people. Would Tarentum fear them?"
"They should worry about surviving Tarentum’s wrath before thinking about anything else!"
Amid the senators’ ridicule, Diomilas sneered,
"Gentlemen, when Thurii was first established, our predecessors in this Senate mocked them just as you are doing today. And what happened?"
The senators listened to Diomilas . Some appeared thoughtful, while others showed displeasure and rebuked him:
"The original Thurii had Athens’ strong support. Otherwise, the ultimate victor would have been us! Now, Amendolara and Thurii combined are far weaker than the Thurii of old. Diomilas, if Tarentum has to worry even about this, then why are we even here? We might as well emigrate sooner rather than later!"
"I am reminding everyone that Tarentum needs to be vigilant about Amendolara! With such a capable consul skilled in military matters, and now merged with Thurii, Amendolara could develop into a powerful city-state in northern Magna Graecia in the future, potentially causing trouble for us," Diomilas argued.
Archita immediately stood up and loudly declared:
"If Lord Diomilas is so afraid of Amendolara, then we should form an alliance with them! Juleios has always been faithful to his promises.
Whether it was when he was employed by Thurii, and despite their devastating defeat and the danger of being surrounded by the Lucanian army, he stayed and led the mercenaries to victory; or when the Crotonian army besieged Amendolara, he still upheld his alliance with Thurii. If Tarentum ever faces difficulties one day, they will extend a helping hand!"
At this moment, Dysitimias said gravely,
"Archytas is right. Gentlemen, let us not forget what the greatest threat to Tarentum is. It’s not Amendolara or Thurii; it’s the Messapians who surround us! The cursed Athenians have even taught them hoplite tactics and armor manufacturing. They are becoming harder to deal with every year. Look at how many of our people they kill and how much farmland they destroy annually!
"If we are not careful, we will be confined to the city walls instead of our land. This is the very reason we’ve been advocating for a Magna Graecia defensive alliance in recent years. Why can’t we start with this?"
The senators fell into a prolonged silence, with most of them looking somber.
Finally, the proposal to form an alliance between Tarentum and the Amendolara–Thurii Alliance was passed.
When the treaty was signed, although Tarentum elevated the new alliance to a relatively equal partnership, they insisted on being the dominant party in any future joint military actions.
Marigi and Ansitanos raised no objections, and thus, the alliance was finalized.