Tarquinius Priscus, Lucius

Tarquinius Priscus, Lucius (reigned 616-c.578 bc), according to tradition, the fifth of the kings of Rome and the son of a Corinthian refugee who is said to have settled at Tarquinii in Etruria. Tarquinius was the guardian of the sons of the fourth king of Rome, Ancus Marcius (reigned 641-616 bc), and supplanted them on the death of their father. Public works attributed to Tarquinius were the construction of the great sewers, called cloacae; the Circus Maximus; and the temple of the Roman deity Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. He is said to have instituted the Roman games, and he fought successfully against the Sabines, who were a neighbouring people.