Federation "Italiot" revolves around the concept of polity Ache.
The starting point is the complete disruption of the cities of the region then called Megale Hellas, after the fire of the Sanhedrin Pythagoreans that led to bloodshed and unrest. To delete the existing state of affairs is the use of mediation from 'outside. The latter was successfully provided by the Achaeans and the eventual exit from the crisis of the cities.
crease the same after time came to completely imitate the Achaean polity. The historian Polybius says that Croton, Sybaris and Caulonia decided to join and chose the temple of Zeus Homarios as joint location for their meetings. The terms in which Polybius is expressed are clear with regard to the presence in the "colonial" of federalism and the adoption of a polity that uses the mutual fund laws, customs and institutions Achaean (Pol. 2.39). Under the city's cost of Sybaris had everything to gain by being part of a federation on an equal footing with the powerful Crotone, as the recipient, in terms of prestige and power, Caulonia which strove for the work of mediation since the outbreak of riots antipitagoriche and starred - along with Metaponto and Taranto - the arbitration paid by the Pythagoreans Crotoniati exiles and then promoted as a possible mediator of the intervention Achaean.
For the operation of the league is interesting Italiot the contents of two synthekai narrated by Diodorus. The first included a commitment of all the cities allied to intervene promptly to the rescue of an area attacked by the Lucania. It, in addition to indicating the specific enemy in recent symmachia which was intended to oppose a common front, suggests that the main aim of the commitment in ensuring the contract was - in case of attack Lucan - the automatic and the consequent rapid Federal defense response. This essentially means that in the presence of an attack on any part of the territory of the League there was no need to convene the council to take ad hoc decisions. In this case the military was taking action automatically and globally and this was a deterrent to Lucani that they should face the full force of the League, in case of attack. But that agreement was also a preventive measure against any hesitation or lingered in the military response of the member states of the federation. In fact, it was envisaged the death penalty, as provided in the other syntheke, strategists for any breach of the city. The application of this second syntheke - which among other things, shows the prominent role of the strategists of various cities in the organization of joint military defense presupposed a trial if guilty of the same failed aid. It follows that the council itself or by other suitable panel of representatives of the cities had specific assignments judicial order to implement the complaints to ascertain the facts, issue the sentence, impose execution.
later became a prominent city in the League Italiota, Taranto who had advocated a court under his direct control of federal jurisdiction and before it threatened to prosecute any conduct Antifederalists. The fear for use by unscrupulous Taranto and unpredictable to the detriment of other cities, federal government, the powers that lediscendevano from the exercise of hegemony that is found in the grounds of the request made by a Roman garrison at the console Reggini Fabrizio (Dion . 20,4,2) : they would have said not to trust the city of Taranto
