The band was formed in Campobasso in 2002 under the name Sakahiter, which in the Oscan language means"let it be sacrificed." More specifically, it referred to the sacrifices of men and animals to propitiate the gods before a battle, a ceremony deeply rooted among the Samnites. Oscan was chosen because it is the ancient language spoken by the Samnites, a warrior people originally from a restricted area of southern Italy centered in Molise, Campania, and Basilicata. From the very beginning, SAKAHITERidentified their genre as Samnite Black Metal, as both the lyrics and iconography reflect Samnite history.