Roman Kingdom, part 3.
Servius Tullius.
Priscus was succeeded by his son-in-law Servius Tullius, Rome's second king of Etruscan birth, and the son of a slave. Like his father-in-law, Servius fought successful wars against the Etruscans. He used the booty to build the first wall all around the Seven Hills of Rome, the pomerium. He also reorganized the army.
Servius Tullius instituted a new constitution, further developing the citizen classes. He instituted Rome's first census, which divided the population into five economic classes, and formed the Centuriate Assembly. He used the census to divide the population into four urban tribes based on location, thus establishing the Tribal Assembly. He also oversaw the construction of the Temple of Diana on the Aventine Hill.
Servius' reforms made a big change in Roman life: voting rights based on socio-economic status, favouring elites. However, over time, Servius increasingly favoured the poor in order to gain support from plebeians, often at the expense of patricians. After a 44-year reign, Servius was killed in a conspiracy by his daughter Tullia and her husband Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.
In the first century AD, the emperor Claudius mentioned Mastarna, an Etruscan adventurer who became king of Rome after the death of his chief Caelius Vibenna; Claudius identified Mastarna with Servius Tullius. Mastarna and Caelius Vibenna are also depicted on the François Tomb, a painted tomb with Etruscan inscriptions usually dated to the fourth or third century BC. Mastarna—whose name appears to be the Etruscan form of the Latin title magister 'leader'—may have become king of Rome in the time of the Tarquinii. Momigliano writes that Mastarna "is so different from the traditional Servius Tullius that it appears prudent to keep the two apart."
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.
The seventh and final king of Rome was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. He was the son of Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius, whom he and his wife had killed. He ruled for 25 years.
Tarquinius waged a number of wars against Rome's neighbours, including against the Volsci, Gabii and the Rutuli. He also secured Rome's position as head of the Latin cities. He also engaged in a series of public works, notably the completion of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and works on the Cloaca Maxima and the Circus Maximus. However, Tarquin's reign is remembered for his use of violence and intimidation to control Rome and his disrespect for Roman custom and the Roman Senate.
Tensions came to a head when the king's son, Sextus Tarquinius, raped Lucretia, wife and daughter to powerful Roman nobles. Lucretia told her relatives about the attack and committed suicide to avoid the dishonour of the episode. Four men, led by Lucius Junius Brutus, and including Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, Publius Valerius Poplicola, and Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus incited a revolution that deposed and expelled Tarquinius and his family from Rome in 509 BC. Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus became Rome's first consuls, marking the beginning of the Roman Republic. An attempt by the Etruscan ruler Lars Porsena to restore the Tarquinii to power was abandoned, and a subsequent attack by Porsena's son on Aricia was beaten back by the Latins and their allies from Cumae.
In the first century AD, the Roman historians Tacitus and Pliny recorded an alternative tradition, according to which Porsena had actually captured Rome and imposed humiliating conditions on the Romans. Thus, some modern scholars have suggested that Porsena took Rome and from there attacked Aricia, withdrawing after his defeat. According to Tim Cornell, rather than trying to restore the Tarquinii at all, it is more likely that Porsena abolished the Roman monarchy, and that the republic was established after his departure. Momigliano writes that, if Porsena did in fact take Rome, he must have installed a new Etruscan ruler there, and the Romans probably did not elect their first consuls until after the defeat of Porsena by the other Latins and the Cumaeans.
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