What did the kings of Rome do

that ended the Roman Kingdom?

The History of Rome
The majority of written history up to the time of Augustus
was primarily written by the Roman Historian Livy.
Livy was writing in the Augustus age, this means it was up
to 750 years after the events had happened.
However, Livy was a well respected Historian who was
personal friends with many Aristocrats and Augustus
himself, this means that Livy had access to sources and
information.
Modern Historians have declared that the majority of
Livy's work was facts, unfortunately there is none/little of
the original sources left today because in 390 BC the City
of Rome was sacked for the first time. So his work is the
best thing we have to use to learn about Roman History.
The Roman Kingdoms' Kings

The King had absolute control over the Military, Political, Religious and Legal matters in Rome. However surprisingly the Senate was there from the start.
The Senate consisted of 100 members from Romes most influential families. The original 100 were called Patres. The descendants of the Patres were called
Patricians, later however the term Patricians could be used for any member of the Roman Ruling class regardless if they were descended from Patres.
The Curiate Assembly consisted of 100 Members from each class of Roman life, However like the senate their power was mostly symbolic because their actual
role was to enact the kings decrees.
However when the new King of Rome needed to be Elected, Roman kings entered a period of Interregnum. Where the senate held th e power. They chose one
senator to be an "Interrex,"
Each Interrex could only serve for 5 days before being replaced by another Senator. The Interrex had the power to select a ne w king and present them before the
Curiate assembly. The Curiate assembly then decided whether or not the Interrex's Choice had what It took to be king. If found suitable a religious ceremony
was held to ensure that the candidate also had the approval of the gods. Afterwards there was a final vote to decide whether or not this candidate would
become the king.
Tarquin The Elder
The only king that was related to a previous king was the 7th (And final) King of Rome.
Tarquin the Proud was the 7th king of Rome and the Son of the 5th King Tarquin the Elder.
Neither Tarquin the Elder or his wife were Roman, They were Etruscan, a civilization that predated
the Romans. Whilst they didn’t have status in Etruia because Tarquin the Elders' dad was a refugee,
both Tarquin E and Tanaquil (His wife) were very wealthy so they moved to Rome which didn’t have
much of a focus on Heritage.
Priscus was an able and cunning businessman and soon became an incredibly trustworthy advisor
to the king. The 4th king Marcius even named Priscus the Guardian of his children.

After Marcius died (At a young age of 24) Priscus, suggested that his two sons go on a hunting trip.
This got the two children out of Rome, which allowed him to go around Rome, going from person to
person and presenting himself as the best man for the Title of King. He made a Good impression
and around 616BC he was elected as King.

Priscus, had a long reign of almost 40 Years, he expanded Romes borders by conquering its
neighbours, he added another 100 people to the senate and endorsed construction projects such
as the City's First Bridge.
 Tullius was a young slave boy that, before his city was captured by the Romans was a noble.
Tanaquil, Priscus' wife, was very heavily into believing in omens, (Story about the bird from
earlier), so when she heard of a Young slave boy, Tullius, who whilst sleeping had his head
combust into flames yet was unharmed by the flames when he awoke, she was fixated on the
Servius Tullius idea that Tullius would become the guiding light that shield their house from harm.
We are unsure whether the Tarquin's officially adopted Tullius but we are sure that Tullius was
raised in the Tarquin's house and was later married off to their daughter Tarquinia.
We are unsure of the ages of the Tarquin family Houshold or the age of Tullius but it seems
that the Tarquin's were putting Tullius in as their Heir, this could be because of their strong
belief in omens, the Tarquin sons were too young or that they believed Tullius was a stronger,
more competent leader for Rome.
 Death of Tarquin
the Elder
Marcius' son's allready had a deep resentment for
Tarquinus the Elder, so the idea that he was pushing
Servius Tullius to be the next King instead of them getting to
be the next king serverly angered them. They decided it was
time to get their revenge.
Two Shepards went into the castle and started to have a
dispute, the sheperds where stopped by the gaurds and
brought before the king to state the reason for the dispute.
Whilst one of the sheperds was talking the other sheperd
produced an axe and drove it into the kings skull killing him.
Tarquin the Elders' wife's quick thinkign ensured the line of
succession. His wife didn’t allow the word of his death to
spread, the people knew that the king had been attacked
but thought he was at home recovering and had
temporarily ceased power to Tullius whilst he was
recovering. By not telling anyone that the king was dead, it
allowed Tullius to rule for a week by himself. This secured
his authority and ensured that Tullius was elected as the
6th King of Rome, and the only one not to be elected by the
people.
Tarquin the Proud
Tullius was worried that the sons/grandsons (We aren't entirely sure whether Tarquin the
Proud was the son or grandson of Tarquin the Elder) of Tarquin the Elder would hold the
same animosity towards him as the Marcius sons held for TtE. To alleviate some of the
tension between them Tullius married his two daughters off to the sons of Tarquin.
Neither couple paired well, Tarquinius (TtP) was Greedy, sly and desperate for power
whilst his wife Tullia the Elder wasn’t, on the other hand. Tullia the Younger was Greedy
and Lustful for power whilst her husband (Tarquinius , The other son of TtE)(Confusing I
know) was not.
Livy said it was the good fortune of Rome that intervened in order to separate the two
violent, scheming Greedy personalities from marrying each other.
Unfortunately It did not manage to stop them as soon enough Tarquin and Tullia the
younger realized they were made for each other.
Both of them had to get rid of their Spouses, (We assume poison if you are interested),
then the two married each other and began plotting against Tullius to get the throne.
Tarquin first got ahold of all the senators that didn’t like Tullius, this was not too difficult,
as it was Tarquins father who originally adopted the 100 more Patres to the senate so
many of them were on his side.
Others didn’t like Tullius for taking power without an Election.
Tarquin, after gaining enough confidence in his support, he stormed into the Senate
house, sat on the royal chair and gave a passionate speech, that mainly focused on
Tullius' roots as a slave and the illegitimate rights to the throne.
When Tullius Arrived to the Senate house Tarquin and him got into a fight that turned
physical, the Stronger, Younger Tarquin threw the king down the steps of the senate
house. The armed guards of Tarquin then put Tullius to death.
However the most wicked thing that day came from Tullia, Tullius' own daughter, who
when arriving by carriage, her driver stopped suddenly in horror as he saw the corpse of
Tullius infront of him. Tullia, ordered the driver to drive right over her fathers body and
approach the senate house so she could be the first to salute Tarquin the proud as the
new king of Rome.
Then came the Reign of Terror
Having no legitimate claim to the throne having been neither elected nor having his kingship
confirmed by the senate.
He also realized that what he did to Tullius could happen to him, so he saw no other choice but to
rule with violence and fear to secure his position.

He started his Kingship with a purge, killing all the senators and other nobles he suspected ,might
still be loyal to Tullius. Additionally he started holding trials, without any councilors or assessors,
meaning he could basically just execute, banish or fine anyone he wanted with no justification
(Imagine Hitler and Stalin levels of pure dictatorship)
Furthermore, Tarquin refused to fill vacancies in the senate, weakening their overall power, there
were rumors that he wanted to permanently get rid of the senate but thought that may a bit too far
even for him, and that it would cause a revolt so great even his own gods would turn against him.
Tarquin embarked on a campaign of conquests to determine Rome as the greatest power in the
Region.
He also worked on ambitious projects, and finished others that his father had started.
Examples of construction projects include;
- The Cloaca Maxima, one of the worlds first sewage systems
- And the first version of the Temple of Jupiter, which maintained it significance as the moist
important temple in Rome throughout the ancient period.

He also collected the Sibylline books, a collection of Prophecies, divinations and other wisdoms.
According to the legends Sibyl asked the king to buy a total of 9 books for a very high price, he
refused, she burned three and asked him to buy it for the same high price as last time, he refused
she burned three more and asked for the same high price and the king folded and bought the final
three books. These books were stored in the temple of Jupiter and only consulted during times of
crisis like plagues, a famine or a great war.
Those that go up, must come down
Tarquin's ruthless reign cemented Rome as a regional power but also created a city
of hate, fear and anger.
In 510 BC, the event that ended the Roman kingdom occurred. However it was not
caused by Tarquin himself but rather Tarquins' Son, Sextus Tarquinius.
Sextus had fallen in love with a Noble woman named Lucretia. She was married to
one of Sextus' cousins. However Sextus was undeterred, and visited Lucretia whilst
her husband was away.
First he tried to seduce her, then bribe her and then threatening her.
Lucretia remained faithful to her husband.
However Sextus said that he would kill her and her Servant, place their naked bodies
together so it would appear like they were caught in adultery.
To this Lucrecia relented and Sextus raped her.
She sent word to her father, who was a chief magistrate of Rome, and husband to
come home immediately. She told them both what had happened, and pleaded
with them to swear an oath to punish Sextus, she then committed suicide
supposedly died in her fathers arms.
This struck those who had witnessed it with such horror that they collectively vowed
to publicly defend the liberty of the Roman people against the Tyrranical leaders.
The son of Tarquins sister, Lucius Brutus became the leader of the Antiroyal
movement. In Livy's version of the events, Brutus picked up the bloody knife Lucretia
used to end her own life and swore an oath to the gods to bring down Lucius
Tarquinius (Tarquinius the Proud) with "Fire and sword". He then passed the Knife to
Collatinus who swore the same oath and then to two other men.
The people of Rome didn’t need much convincing to get rid of the Tarquins. Brutus
and Collatinus apparently Rode to Rome and spoke to the people of the lates
Heinous act committed by the royals and easily turned the people against the
Tarquins.
They then held a vote and banished the Tarquins from Rome. Brutus then apparently
Rode to Ardea (Where the Roman army was fighting a war, also where Lucretias
Husband was fighting) and gave the same speech he gave to the people to the
Roman Army, turning the soldiers against Tarquin aswell. Brutus made everyone
swear an oath that Never again would Rome have a King.
 The Roman Republic

The senate was restored to 300 people, it played a large part in how the City of Rome was ruled but they needed someone at the top. Therefore they created the position of Consul, with two Consuls
governing together simultaneously, to prevent any one man ever obtaining too much power again (Until Caeser and Augustus)The first two Consuls were Brutus and Collatinus, the new consuls also
created a new office of rex sacrorum to carry out the religious duties that had previously been performed by the kings. The royal family made an attempt to regain the throne, in the Tarquinian
conspiracy, where ambassadors from the royal family arrived in Rome to seek to persuade the senate to return to the royals their personal effects which had been seized during the coup. In secret,
while the Roman senate debated the request, the ambassadors sought supporters of the monarchy in Rome to form a conspiracy to re-admit the royal family to the city.However, a slave of the Vitelii,
having witnessed a meeting of the conspirators at his master's house (which Plutarch claims involved a horrific oath by human sacrifice and cannibalism) alerted the consulsAmongst the
conspirators were two brothers of Brutus' wife and Brutus' two sons. The conspiracy was discovered and the consuls determined to punish the conspirators with death. Brutus gained respect for his
stoicism in watching the execution of his own sons, even though he showed emotion during the punishment. However, collatinus was forced to resign either because he lied about his hatred
of Tarquins or due to his lack of harshness in punishing the conspirators. Brutus died at a battle fighting allies of Tarquin the Brave over an attempt to reinstate the Roman Royals. Brutus's
Descendants are also well known for the assassination of Julius Ceaser. In 508Bc another attempt to reinstate the monarchy was enacted where Tarquin appealed to the king of a powerfull Etruscan
City. The King laid seige to Rome but ultimately signed a peace treaty with Rome. The final attempt to regain the throne was made in 496Bc, with the help of his son in law. Tarquin was an old man at
this point and when the Battle of Lake Reggillius was lost Tarquin had no more allies left and died soon after. The news of this death was soon reported back to Rome where Both plebians and
Patricians celebrated not only the death of demise of Tarquin the proud but of the Whole Roman Monarchy.
So why do Romans hate kings?
• To begin, the average Roman citizen did not hate particularly hate the idea of a kingdom. Instead, powerful aristocrats hated the idea. Because the
last three kings, Tarquin I, Servius Tullius, and Tarquin II tried to gain mass support and subvert aristocratic power.
• Servius Tullius and Tarquin II even broke with the traditional way of getting power through the Gods' assent, controlled by the aristocrats. In other
words, the aristocrats had no control over the later kings, and the king's actions harmed them.
• Ultimately, when Tarquin II went to such a move as killing senators, the aristocrats believed they had suffered too much with the kingship. Despite
the debate about how Tarquin II was removed, the aristocrats certainly supported his removal. After the aristocrats successfully removed Tarquin,
they established the Republican system.
• The aristocrats designed the Republican system to prevent one thing. The aristocrats did not want a member to elevate by attending to the needs of
the lower classes. They worried that that member would win their support by taking up their cause and ultimately become king.
• In a sense, the aristocrats of Rome connected kingship with rights and power for the poor. Throughout the Republican period, the aristocrats
consistently ordered executions on those who attended to the needs of the lower classes. Examples of this ideology in action include the murders
of Cassis, Maelius, and Manlius in 486, 440, and 382 BC.
• In other words, the aristocrats were very power-hungry and scared of the poor usurping their political power. They saw the demise of kingship as one
way to prevent the poor from gaining power.
• Ultimately, influential Romans connected kingship with loss of political power, and they decided to make propaganda about the horrors of a
kingdom. The average Roman citizen themselves might have favored a kingship over control by the aristocrats.

Long story short, Tarquinius and his son were so outrageously oppressive (although reading between the lines, it's
hard not to conclude that he pissed off the Senate more than the people generally, and that the revolution was
motivated primarily by the aristocrats seeking to restore their position) that they completely ruined the concept of
kingship for Romans, and the "Romans are free men, we don't need or want a king, kings are tyrants," message was
passed down for centuries, with the result that Romans would be perpetually suspicious of people who accumulated
too much power.