Latium is the Roman name for a region in ancient
Italy bounded by the
Tiber to the north, the
Appenines to the east, and
Campania to the south, where a relatively homogeneous group of peoples had settled, whom we know as the
Latins. The Latins shared the same language, material culture, and gods, and followed similar ways of life.
In its early history, the city-state of Rome came into conflict with the other Latin groups as it sought to expand. The Latins were among the first groups to be conquered by Rome, and Latium was on of the first regions to be granted full Roman citizenship.
Today Latium comprises the modern Italian region of Lazio.