Kings of Rome

Kings of Rome (c. 753-510 bc), legendary rulers of Rome, about whom there are so many symbolic stories that few can be verified. Later historians of Rome lacked authentic records and relied on fabrications of a patriotic nature to create an account of the period. The decadence of the kings was often contrasted with the idealism of the Roman Republic.

According to legend Rome was founded c. 753 bc by Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin and the daughter of Numitor, King of Alba Longa, a nearby city in ancient Latium. A later tradition traced the ancestry of the Romans back to the Trojans and their leader Aeneas, whose son Ascanius, or Iulus, was the founder and first king of Alba Longa. The tales about the rule of Romulus, notably the rape of the Sabine women and the war with the Sabines under their leader Titus Tatius, point to an early union of Latin and Sabine peoples. The reference to the three tribes of the Ramnes, Tities, and Luceres in the legend of Romulus as forming part of a new commonwealth suggests that Rome was created from an amalgamation of Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans.

The seven kings of the regal period and the dates traditionally assigned to their reigns are as follows: Romulus (753-715 bc); Numa Pompilius (715-676 or 673 bc), to whom was attributed the introduction of many religious customs; Tullus Hostilius (673-641 bc), a warlike king, who destroyed Alba Longa and fought against the Sabines; Ancus Marcius (c. 641-616 bc), said to have built the port of Ostia and to have captured many Latin towns, transferring their inhabitants to Rome; Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (616-578 bc), celebrated both for his military exploits against neighbouring peoples and for his construction of public buildings at Rome; Servius Tullius (578-534 bc), famed for his new constitution and for the enlargement of the boundaries of the city; and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (534-510 bc), the seventh and last king, whose tyrannical rule was overthrown when his son ravished Lucretia, the wife of a kinsman. Tarquinius was banished, and attempts by Etruscan or Latin cities to reinstate him on the throne at Rome were unsuccessful.

Although the names, dates, and events of the regal period are generally considered to belong to the realm of fiction, there is firm evidence for the existence of an early rule by kings; the growth of Rome and its struggles with neighbouring peoples; the Etruscan conquest of Rome and the establishment of a dynasty of Etruscan princes, symbolized by the rule of the Tarquins; the overthrow of this alien control; and the abolition of the kingship. The existence of certain social and political conditions also seems probable, such as the division of the inhabitants into two orders: the patricians, who alone possessed political rights and constituted the populus, or people; and their dependants, known as clients or the plebeians, who originally had no political status. The rex, or king, was chosen by the Senate (senatus), or Council of Elders (patres), from the ranks of the patricians, and held office for life. He was responsible for summoning the populus to war, and for leading the army in battle. In processions he was preceded by officers, known as lictors, who bore the fasces, the symbols of power and punishment. He was also the supreme judge in all civil and criminal suits. The senatus gave its advice only when the king chose to consult it, although its members possessed great moral authority, inasmuch as their tenure was for life. Originally only patricians could bear arms in defence of the state. An important military reform, usually called the Servian reform, is thought to have occurred under Servius Tullius in the 6th century bc. By this time the plebeians were allowed to acquire property and according to the reform all property holders, both patrician and plebian, were obliged to serve in the army, and were appointed to ranks that accorded with their wealth. This arrangement, although initially serving a purely military purpose, paved the way for the great political struggle between the patricians and the plebeians in the early centuries of the Roman Republic.