Sabines, an ancient people of Italy, supposed to have been named from "Sabus," one of their deities. Little is known of their history. They were at war with the Romans from a very early period. A contest broke out between them 504 B.C., later a body of the Sabines migrated to Rome, where they founded a powerful settlement. The Sabines carried their ravages to the very gates of Rome, 469 B.C. On their defeat by Marcus Horatius, 449 B.C., their camp was found full of plunder obtained in the Roman territories. They were again at war with the Romans, 290 B.C., and having been vanquished, many of them were sold as slaves. The remaining citizens were admitted to the Roman franchise.
Entry from Everybody's Cyclopedia,
1912.