KINGS OF ROME Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Unit FOUR AB * The Age of Kings • The Duly Elected Kings of Rome • Following Romulus, Roman historians record the election of four more kings of Rome. • They attributed the creation of many Roman traditions and sacraments to these duly elected kings. • Though I shall list the dates of their reign, you should know that few historians take these dates very seriously. • The first was Numa Pompilius, who supposedly ruled from 715 BCE to 674 BCE. • Numa is credited with reforming the Roman calendar to include the months of January and February • Establishing the traditional Roman guild system • Relocating the Vestal Virgins from Alba Longa to Rome • And, introducing several Roman religious rituals Upon Numa's death, the Senate elected Tullus Hostilius, who reigned from 673 BCE to 642 BCE. Historians are pretty sure Tullus actually existed, but beyond that we know very little. The Romans gave him credit for Conquering many of Rome's Latin neighbors, including the old Latin capital of Alba Longa Building the first Senate House, the Curia Hostilia Next came Ancus Marcius, who reigned from 641 BCE to 617 BCE. Marcius was the grandson of Numa, suggesting that though the Roman crown was not hereditary, certain families still tried to make it so. Marcius' contributions to Roman history are almost entirely on the field of battle. He conquered many neighboring Latin cities and relocated their residents to Rome, making them new Roman citizens. He also founded the Roman port city of Ostia. The last of the duly elected Roman kings was Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, AKA Tarquin the Elder, who ruled from 616 BCE to 579 BCE. According to our Roman sources, Lucius Tarquinius was not a Roman at all but rather an Etruscan nobleman who emigrated to Rome. The king at the time, Ancus Marius, was so impressed with Lucius that he appointed him the caretaker of his sons. Thus elevated, Lucius made a bid for the throne upon Marius' death and won the support of the Senate. The Romans considered Lucius Tarquinius one of their greatest kings. Abroad, he flexed his military muscles in campaigns against Latins, Sabines and Etruscans. At home, he added several important civic structures to Rome, including the Circus Maximus - the great Roman racetrack - and the Cloaca Maxima, Rome's impressive sewer system. Rome's Last Two Kings The death of Tarquinius Priscus marked the end of the legitimate kingship in Rome. Tarquinius Priscus was not succeeded by an elected king but rather by his son-in-law, Servius Tullius, who ruled from 578 BCE to 535 BCE. Despite his unusual path to power, Servius was remembered fondly by the Romans, who attributed many important parts of their society to him. Servius supposedly tried to decrease the power of the aristocracy and grant greater power to the common people. He came up with a new class system that extended the vote to a much larger portion of the Roman population, and changed voting rights to align with people's place of residence rather than their lineage. He also replaced the aristocratic comitia curiata with the more inclusive comitia centuriata. Yet, Servius still took efforts to maintain the authority of the aristocracy by making sure that the few votes of the rich could always outweigh the many votes of the poor. These reforms had a military aspect as well, since the divisions of classes determined a person's military obligation to the state. The last king of Rome was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, also known as Tarquin the Proud, who ruled from 534 BCE to 509 BCE. This Tarquin was the grandson of Tarquin the Elder, the last legitimate king of Rome. Tarquin the Proud's reign was marked by some great victories, some horrible failures and some good old-fashioned cruelty. Tarquin arranged for the murder of his predecessor, Servius Tullius. As the old king lay dying on the street, Tarquin immediately seized power and killed off many important senators, making enemies of the Senatorial class. Following his ascension to the throne, Tarquin united the remaining Latin towns under Roman rule and began a very successful campaign against the Volsci and the Sabines, pillaging many of their cities and making him increasingly wealthy. This wealth allowed him to win public support through festivals and circuses. When the money ran out, Tarquin set out to conquer the wealthy Rutuli, but the campaign went poorly. With no more money to appease the commoners and the aristocracy enraged, Tarquin found himself on shaky ground. In the middle of this delicate situation, Tarquin's son Sextus raped an important Roman noblewoman named Lucretia. Dishonored, Lucretia killed herself. With this, the Tarquins had gone too far. The Rape of Lucretia became a rallying cry for commoner and noble alike. Tarquin was thrown out of town by Lucretia's widowed husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, and Lucius Junius Brutus, whose descendant would later overthrow Julius Caesar. In 509 BCE, the Roman people were tired of kings. Their king, Tarquin the Proud, had alienated himself from most of the population. He'd murdered his political opponents, making enemies of the aristocracy. He'd also run out of money to buy the love of the commoners and led a disastrous campaign against some of Rome's neighbors. Worst of all, Tarquin's son, Sextus, had raped a noblewoman named Lucretia. This last offense was too much for the Romans. Led by Lucretia's widowed husband, the Romans drove the terrible Tarquin king and his horrid princes into exile. Since they'd just gotten rid of their old king, the Romans were none too keen on getting a new one. Rome would no longer be the plaything of kings. Instead, Rome would be a public thing. That is what the word 'Republic' means. 'Res' is a general word meaning 'thing or matter,' and 'publica' means 'public'. Res Publica, the public thing. To ensure that this new republican government was accountable to the public, several reforms slowly transformed the old Roman monarchy into a republic. At the heart of these reforms lay a single core concept: checks and balances. Romans wanted to make sure that no individual could ever wield the sort of power their kings once had. Instead, they wanted every official to be held accountable to the public and the state. This concern would provide the main motivation for pretty much all of the reforms of the Roman Republic. The Consul The first thing the Romans needed to do was replace their king with some sort of executive. The warlike Romans knew that command could not be handled by a large group. Leadership, especially in war, offers little opportunity for debate. It requires split-second decisions and unquestioned authority. At the same time, the Romans didn't want to give that sort of unquestioned authority to a single man, and they certainly didn't want anyone holding such power for very long. So the Romans came up with a novel solution: They'd take the responsibilities of the king and split them between two people, called consuls. That way neither consul had absolute power, since the other consul could veto him. And to make sure no consul was able to cause too much trouble, they limited the consul's term to one year and required them to wait 10 years before serving a second term. Patrician Power Splitting up the authority of the king was just the first step the Romans took to check the power of their government. They also greatly increased the power of the Senate. The Senate was a council of Roman aristocrats, called patricians, that used to advise the Roman kings. Under the Republic, the Senate gained control of public funds. This added another effective check to the power of the consuls, since whatever the consuls decided to do, the Senate could always deny them the money to do it. The patricians of Rome also found another outlet for power in the Assembly of the Curia. The Curia were the 30 foremost patrician families of Rome. In the early republic, these families would send representatives to an assembly, which voted on legislation, tried capital court cases, and most importantly, elected the consuls. Between the Senate and the Assembly of the Curia, the patricians of Rome now held far greater sway than they had under the king. However, the common people of Rome, known as plebeians (or just plebs), still felt as powerless as they had ever been. Shared Power few decades after the foundation of the republic, efforts were made to increase the voice of the plebs. Another assembly, the Assembly of Centuries, came to the forefront. This assembly, made up of Roman soldier divisions, called Centuries, had supposedly been around since the time of Roman kings. In the Republic, this Assembly of Centuries gained much authority, eventually taking many of the powers of the Assembly of the Curia. Eventually, they got the right to elect consuls, as well as some other new positions, like censors, who were in charge of measuring the Roman population and adding new members to the Senate. Finally, only the Assembly of the Centuries could declare war. The Assembly of the Centuries was neither purely plebeian nor purely patrician. It was a mixed bag. However, the superior number of the plebs were outweighed by the fact that the weight of one's vote in the Assembly was determined by the amount of property one owned. Thus, the richest members of Rome still controlled most of the voting power. Another new assembly was the Assembly of Tribes.