Why Rome\'s allies were so loyal?

[Quintius Clavus]

Simon James makes the point in his new book, Rome and the Sword, that Rome used two approaches: The sword, meaning willingness to fight (and keep fighting) until the matter was decided in Rome's favor, and an open hand, meaning the willingness to share/extend Latin rights and Roman citizenship, especially among the elites of their erstwhile enemies and future allies in Italy at first and later elsewhere. Rome did remarkably well using those two approaches -and continued to use them mostly successfully.

Hannibal, when he came to Italy, made sure he found help from among the Gauls, as they were really Rome's big "boogy men" during the Republic. The Romans had a viceral fear and hatred of the Gauls going back to their earliest encounters with them and the "memory" of the taking of Rome by Brennus.