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In 91 BC., there was a general revolt among the Italian allies. The rebels were coordinated and many began to issue coinage proclaiming their freedom such as the Samnites. The Italian bound themselves together in a formal league, which was called Italia and it had twelve members. <ref>Holland, Tom Rubicon: the last years of the Roman Republic. (London, Doubleday, 2005), p. 123</ref> The league had a constitution and its leaders were drawn from the main Italian citiesand tribes. The Italic League also had its own capital where representatives of the rebels would assemble. There was no central command for the Italian army. There were several armies based in local areas and cities. For example, the Samnites had their own army and operated under their own commanders in their home region. This was to prove a mistake and it later allowed the Romans to pick off the regional armies one by one. <ref>Scullard, H. From the Gracchi to Nero, London (London, Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1970), p. 45, 67</ref> Initially the Italian Confederacy Confederation was very successful and Roman soldiers and colonies were driven from many areas. The Italian army was composed of men from marital societies such as the Samnites and they had fought with the Rome army. Some modern historians claim that the Italians had a combined army of over 100,000 men. The Romans at first were not in a position to launch a counter-attack. They bided their time and attempted to divide their former Italian allies by entering secret negotiations. Rome also managed to order back some Roman legions from abroad and also received some help from its client kingdoms. <ref> Scullard, p. 78</ref> The two Roman Consuls led to separate armies in the north and south of Italy. The consuls were not successful and they needed the support of Sulla and Marius to prevent a total Italian victory. After a series of brutal sieges and battles , the tide began to turn in favour favor of Rome in 89 BCE. The Roman after a siege captured the fortress of Aesernia and this cut communications between the rebels in the south and the north. Sulla and his legions were particularly successful in the south of Italy. In the north, the Consul Strabo managed to defeat a large Italian army near Asculum and Sulla inflicted a heavy defeat on the most powerful of the Italians, the Samnites. The Roman general then entered Campania and many cities surrendered to him.<ref> Plutarch. Life of Sulla. 34</ref> By 88 BC all the Italians had been defeated apart from the Samnites who held out in the mountains of central and south Italy. They only agreed to surrender after some concessions were made and indeed they were practically beyond the control of the Roman government for several years.<ref> Holland, 145</ref>