1.
King of Rome
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The King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for an average of 35 years, the kings after Romulus were not known to be dynasts and no reference is made to the hereditary principle until after the fifth king Tarquinius Priscus. Consequently, some have assumed that the Tarquins and their attempt to institute a hereditary monarchy over this conjectured earlier elective monarchy resulted in the formation of the republic, early Rome was not self-governing, and was ruled by the king. The king possessed absolute power over the people, the senate was a weak oligarchy, capable of exercising only minor administrative powers, so that Rome was ruled by its king who was in effect an absolute monarch. The senates main function was to out and administer the wishes of the king. Candidates for the throne could be chosen from any source, for example, one such candidate, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus was originally a citizen and migrant from a neighboring Etruscan city-state. The people of Rome, sitting as the Curiate Assembly, could either accept or reject the nominated candidate-king. The insignia of the king was twelve lictors wielding the fasces, a throne of a Curule chair, the purple Toga Picta, red shoes, only the king could wear a purple toga. The people knew the king as a mediator between them and the gods and thus viewed the king with religious awe and this made the king the head of the national religion and its chief executive. Having the power to control the Roman calendar, he conducted all religious ceremonies and appointed lower religious offices and it was Romulus who instituted the augurs and who was believed to have been the best augur of all. Likewise, King Numa Pompilius instituted the pontiffs and through them developed the foundations of the dogma of Rome. Beyond his religious authority, the king was invested with the military, executive. The imperium of the king was held for life and protected him from ever being brought to trial for his actions. As being the owner of imperium in Rome at the time. His executive power and his sole imperium allowed him to issue decrees with the force of law, also, the laws that kept citizens safe from the misuse of magistrates owning imperium did not exist during the times of the king. Another power of the king was the power to appoint or nominate all officials to offices. The king would appoint a tribunus celerum to serve as both the tribune of Ramnes tribe in Rome but also as the commander of the personal bodyguard
2.
Ancus Marcius
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Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome. He was the son of Marcius, who may be identified with Numa Marcius, according to Festus, Marcius had the surname of Ancus from his crooked arm. Upon the death of the king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex. Ancus Marcius was believed by the Romans to have been the namesake of the Marcii and he waged war successfully against the Latins, and a number of them were settled on the Aventine Hill. According to Livy the war was commenced by the Latins who anticipated Ancus would follow the pious pursuit of peace adopted by his grandfather, the Latins initially made an incursion on Roman lands. When a Roman embassy sought restitution for the damage, the Latins gave a contemptuous reply, Ancus accordingly declared war on the Latins. The declaration is notable since, according to Livy, it was the first time that the Romans had declared war by means of the rites of the fetials, Ancus Marcius marched from Rome with a newly levied army and took the Latin town of Politorium by storm. Its residents were removed to settle on the Aventine Hill in Rome as new citizens, following the Roman traditions from wars with the Sabines, when the other Latins subsequently occupied the empty town of Politorium, Ancus took the town again and demolished it. The Latin villages of Tellenae and Ficana were also sacked and demolished, the war then focused on the Latin town of Medullia. The town had a garrison and was well fortified. Several engagements took place outside the town and the Romans were eventually victorious, Ancus returned to Rome with much booty. More Latins were brought to Rome as citizens and were settled at the foot of the Aventine near the Palatine Hill, by the temple of Murcia. Ancus Marcius incorporated the Janiculum into the city, fortifying it with a wall and connecting it with the city by a bridge across the Tiber. On the land side of the city he constructed the Fossa Quiritium and he also built Romes first prison, the Mamertine prison. He expanded the temple of Jupiter Feretrius to reflect these territorial successes, according to a reconstruction of the Fasti Triumphales, Ancus Marcius celebrated at least one triumph, over the Sabines and Veientes. Ancus Marcius was succeeded by Lucius Tarquinius Priscus who would later be executed by the sons of Ancus Marcius, patrician Marcius Rex -family is descended from Ancus Marcius and remained prominent during the republic and empire. Attribution Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Ancus Marcius
3.
Servius Tullius
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Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 575–535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Romes first Etruscan king. Several traditions describe Servius father as divine, Livy depicts Servius mother as a captured Latin princess enslaved by the Romans, her child is chosen as Romes future king after a ring of fire is seen around his head. The Emperor Claudius discounted such origins and described him as an originally Etruscan mercenary, named Mastarna, Servius was a popular king, and one of Romes most significant benefactors. He had military successes against Veii and the Etruscans, and expanded the city to include the Quirinal, Viminal and Esquiline hills. He is traditionally credited with the institution of the Compitalia festivals, the building of temples to Fortuna and Diana and, less plausibly, despite the opposition of Romes patricians, he expanded the Roman franchise and improved the lot and fortune of Romes lowest classes of citizens and non-citizens. According to Livy, he reigned for 44 years, until murdered by his daughter Tullia, in consequence of this tragic crime and his hubristic arrogance as king, Tarquinius was eventually removed. This cleared the way for the abolition of Romes monarchy and the founding of the Roman Republic, before its establishment as a Republic, Rome was ruled by kings. In Roman tradition, Romes founder Romulus was the first, Servius Tullius was the sixth, and his successor Tarquinius Superbus was the last. The nature of Roman kingship is unclear, most Roman kings were elected by the senate, as to a lifetime magistracy, some were native Romans, others were foreign. Later Romans had a complex relationship with this distant past. In Republican mores and institutions kingship was abhorrent, and remained so, in name at least, Servius Tullius has been described as Romes second founder, the most complex and enigmatic of all its kings, and a kind of proto-Republican magistrate. The oldest surviving source for the political developments of the Roman kingdom and Republic is Ciceros De republica. Livys sources probably included at least some official state records, he excluded what seemed implausible or contradictory traditions, and arranged his material within an overarching chronology. Dionysius and Plutarch offer various alternatives not found in Livy, and Livys own pupil and she was given to Tanaquil, wife of king Tarquinius, and though slave, was treated with the respect due her former status. In one variant, she became wife to a client of Tarquinius. According to Tanaquil, this was a manifestation, either of the household Lar or Vulcan himself. Thus Servius was divinely fathered and already destined for greatness, despite his mothers status, for the time being, Tanaquil
4.
Tanaquil
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Tanaquil was the wife of Tarquinius Priscus, fifth king of Rome. She had four children, two daughters and two sons, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, seventh and last king of Rome, and Arruns Tarquinius, one of the daughters became the wife to Servius Tullius, when he became the successor of Tarquinius Priscus. Knowing this, Tanaquil encouraged him to move to Rome, which was not at the time dominated by a local aristocracy. Her strong prophetic abilities helped her to install Tarquin as king, while on the road to Rome, an eagle flew off with Tarquins hat and then returned it to his head. Tanaquil interpreted this as a sign that the gods wanted him to become a king, tanaquils prophecy was eventually realized for Tarquin - he eventually became friends with King Ancus Marcius, who made Tarquin guardian of his children. When the king died before his children were old enough to become successors to the throne and he ruled from 616 to 579 BCE. Tanaquil also played a role in the rise of Servius Tullius, raising him as her own child, Tanaquil believed Servius would be the next successor to the throne. Her dreams would be realized when, one day Servius was sleeping, the fires danced around his head without hurting him and when Servius awoke, the fire disappeared. Taking this as an omen, Tanaquil knew Servius would one day be king, when Tarquin was murdered, Tanaquil hid his death from her subjects, instead telling them that Tarquin appointed Servius as a temporary king until he got better. After gaining the respect and commanding the kingship, Servius. Tanaquil had a daughter, who married Servius Tullius, and two sons, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and Arruns Tarquinius, who would marry Tullia, the daughter of Servius Tullius. According to Festus, she changed her name to Gaia Cirillo when she arrived at Rome, under this name she is the mythical source of various Roman wedding customs. She was remembered as an artisan in the art of working with wool. Queen Gaia was so admired by the Romans of her day that it was a public decree that any new bride entering their royal palace would announce their name as Gaia when asked. This was said to be an omen of future frugality for these women, Pliny says that a statue was dedicated to her as Gaia Caecilia in the temple of Semo Sancus. Stemma Tarquiniorum Pliny the Elder, Natural Histories VIII.74.194 Livy, Ab urbe condita I.34,39,41 Cassius Dio, Roman History, retrieved May 9,2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Raia, Ann R. and Sebesta, Judith Lynn, Roman History, vol.1 Loeb Classical Library edition,1914. Who was who in the Roman World, biographical dictionary of ancient Greek and Roman women, notable women from Sappho to Helena
5.
Livy
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Livy and Augustuss wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood. Livy was born as Titus Livius in Patavium in northern Italy, there is a debate about the year of Titus Livius birth,64 BC or more likely 59 BC. At the time of his birth, his city of Patavium was the second wealthiest on the Italian peninsula. Patavium was a part of the province of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, in his works, Livy often expressed his deep affection and pride for Patavium, and the city was well known for its conservative values in morality and politics. Livy’s teen years were during the 40s BC, a time that coincided with the wars that were occurring throughout the Roman world. The governor of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, a man called Asinius Pollio, had tried to bring Patavium into the camp of Marcus Antonius, the wealthier citizens of Patavium refused to contribute money and arms to Asinius Pollio, and went into hiding. Therefore, Livy and the residents of Patavium did not end up supporting Marcus Antonius in his campaign for control over Rome. Later on, Asinius Pollio made a jibe at Livys patavinity and his jibe at Livy and his patavinity, however, may have been said because the city of Patavium had rejected Asinius Pollio, and he still harboured harsh feelings toward the city as a whole. Titus Livius probably went to Rome in the 30s BC, and it is likely that he spent an amount of time in the city after this. During his time in Rome, he was never a senator nor held any other governmental position and his elementary mistakes in military matters show that he was never a soldier. However, he was educated in philosophy and rhetoric and it seems that Livy had the financial resources and means to live an independent life. He devoted a part of his life to his writings. Livy was known to give recitations to small audiences, but he was not heard of to engage in declamation and he was familiar with the emperor Augustus, formerly Octavian, and the imperial family. Octavian was one of the three men fighting for the control of Rome during the Civil Wars in the 40s BC, Octavian gained power after defeating Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra, and was later given the honorary name of Augustus. Considering that Augustus came to be known as the greatest Roman emperor in the eyes of the Romans and it is said that Livy was the one who encouraged the future emperor Claudius, who was born in 10 BC, to explore the writing of history during his childhood. Livy himself was married and had at least one daughter and one son, Livy’s most famous work was his history of Rome. In it he explains the history of the city of Rome. Because he was writing under the emperor Augustus, Livy’s history emphasizes the great triumphs of Rome and he wrote his history with embellished accounts of Roman heroism in order to promote the new type of government implemented by Augustus when he became emperor
6.
Etruria
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Etruria was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria. Such trade occurred either directly with Egypt, or through intermediaries such as Greek or Phoenician sailors, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany styled itself in Latin as Magnus Ducatus Etruriae. The name Etruria was also applied to the Kingdom of Etruria, a particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H. Lawrences Sketches of Etruscan Places and other Italian essays. Etruscan was the language for meetings. When Etruria was conquered by the Roman Republic, Latin became the official language, cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, by George Dennis, an overview of Etruscan civilisation
7.
Etruscan language
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The Etruscan language was the spoken and written language of the Etruscan civilization, in Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Campania, Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna. Etruscan influenced Latin, but was eventually superseded by it. Grammatically, the language is agglutinating, with nouns and verbs showing suffixed inflectional endings, nouns show four cases, singular and plural numbers, and masculine and feminine genders. Phonologically, Etruscan appears uncomplicated, with a system and an apparent contrast between aspirated and unaspirated stops. The language shows phonetic change over time, with the loss, Etruscan religion influenced that of the Romans and many of the few surviving Etruscan language artifacts are of votive or religious significance. Etruscan was written in a derived from the Greek alphabet. The Etruscan language is believed to be the source of certain important cultural words of Western Europe such as military and people. Etruscan literacy was widespread over the Mediterranean shores, as evidenced by about 13,000 inscriptions, most fairly short and they date from about 700 BC. The Etruscans had a rich literature, as noted by Latin authors, however, only one book, the Liber Linteus has survived. By AD100, Etruscan had been replaced by Latin, around 180, the Latin author Aulus Gellius mentions Etruscan alongside the Gaulish language in an anecdote. Only a few educated Romans with antiquarian interests, such as Marcus Terentius Varro, plautia Urgulanilla, the emperors first wife, was Etruscan. Livy and Cicero were both aware that highly specialized Etruscan religious rites were codified in several sets of written in Etruscan under the generic Latin title Etrusca Disciplina. The Libri Haruspicini dealt with divination from the entrails of the sacrificed animal, a third set, the Libri Rituales, might have provided a key to Etruscan civilization, its wider scope embraced Etruscan standards of social and political life, as well as ritual practices. The single extant Etruscan book, Liber Linteus, which was written on linen and this range may indicate a maximum Italian homeland where the language was at one time spoken. Outside of mainland Italy inscriptions have been found in North Africa, Corsica, Elba, Gallia Narbonensis, Greece, the Balkans, by far the greatest concentration is in Italy. An inscription found on Lemnos in 1886 is in a similar to that used to write the Etruscan language. A few concepts of word formation have been formulated, modern knowledge of the language is incomplete. Etruscan was traditionally considered to be a language isolate, in the first century BC, the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus stated that the Etruscan language was unlike any other
8.
Tarquinia
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In 1922 it was renamed after the ancient city of Tarquinii or Tarchna. Although little is visible of the great wealth and extent of the ancient city. The Etruscan and Roman city is situated on the plateau of La Civita to the north of the current town. The ancient burial grounds, dating from the Iron Age to Roman times, were on the adjacent promontories including that of todays Tarquinia and it is said to have been already a flourishing city when Demaratus of Corinth brought in Greek workmen. Descendants of Demaratus, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, from Tarchuna many of the religious rites and ceremonies of Rome are said to have been derived, and even in imperial times a collegium of sixty haruspices continued to exist there. In 509 BC after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy the family of Tarquinius Superbus went into exile in Caere and he sought to regain the throne at first by the Tarquinian conspiracy and, when that failed, by force of arms. He convinced the cities of Tarchuna and Veii to support him, although the Roman army was victorious it is recorded by Livy that the forces of Tarchuna fought well on the right wing, initially pushing back the Roman left wing. After the battle the forces of Tarchuna returned home, the Spurinnas tomb, known as the Tomba dellOrco, is decorated with fine frescoes of a banquet uniting the famous members of the family who are identified by inscriptions. The Spurinna family was prominent in Tarquinii up to the 1st Century AD, recently two fragmented slabs were found known as the Elogia Tarquiniensis. During this period, Tarchuna overtook Caere and other Etruscan cities in terms of power and it was about this period that colossal walls were built around the city in response to threats from the Celts and from Rome. Tarchuna, not affected by Celtic invasions, finally colonised all its previously held territories in about 385 BC and this new flourishing state allowed a rapid recovery of all activities. However, during the fourth century BC when Tarchunas expansion was at its peak, a bitter struggle with Rome took place. In 358 BC, the citizens of Tarchuna captured and put to death 307 Roman soldiers, a bishop of Tarquinii is mentioned in 456AD. The last historic references to Tarquinii are from around 1250, while the name of Corneto was changed to Tarquinia in 1922, reversion to historical place names, was a frequent phenomenon under the Fascist Government of Italy as part of the nationalist campaign to evoke past glories. The painted scenes are of a quality virtually unrivalled elsewhere in the Etruscan world and they show banquets with dances and music, sporting events, occasional erotic and mythical scenes. Famous tombs include the Tomb of the Bulls, Tomb of the Augurs, during the second half of the 4th century sculpted and painted sarcophagi of nenfro, marble and alabaster came into use. They were deposited on rock-carved benches or against the walls in the by then very large underground chambers, sarcophagi continued until the second century and are found in such numbers at Tarquinia that they must have been manufactured locally. The city towered above the Marta valley and was about 6 km from the sea, La Civita is made up of two adjoining plateaux, the pian di Civita and the pian della Regina, joined by a narrow saddle
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tarquinius Priscus, Lucius". Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
