The scholarly debate has often criticized the traditional distinction between foedera aequa and foedera iniqua, because of the absence of this terminology in the Roman sources, being the second category a creation of their interpretation by Grotius. However, the study of the Roman international relationships clarifies that a simply terminological analysis of the different types of foedera doesn’t make justice of the complexity of the phenomenon, and that a true picture can be obtained only taking into account the political and military power of Rome and its effects in the standardization of international relationships.[...]