In 550 BC Demaratus, a Greek exile from Corinth settled in Tarquinii. When he died, his son Lucumo migrated to Rome with his family, changed his name to Tarquinius, befriended Ancus and became guardian of his two sons. On Ancus’ death Tarquinius sent the king’s sons on a hunting expedition. During their absence he solicited votes and became king. To protect his position he packed the Senate with loyal followers. As Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (71; r.616-579 BC) he had victories against the Latins, Etruscans and Sabines, and began the construction of the temple of Capitoline Jupiter.
His reign was reaching its thirty-eighth year when the sons of Ancus hired a pair of assassins. They approached the king as litigants in a dispute and as the first presented his case, the second crept up behind Tarquinius and struck him on the back of the head with an axe, killing him instantly. Tanaquil, Tarquinius’ wife, said he had only been wounded and while he was recovering, the regent should be her protege Servius 01Tullius (72; r.578-535 BC), claiming he was divinely favoured. Tanaquil spun out the transition of power and by the time the Romans found out that Tarquinius was dead they were accustomed to having Servius 01Tullius as their leader.
During the early years of the Republic the people of Rome were organised into thirty curiae (voting assemblies), formed from thirty original patrician families. When they met, the thirty curiae formed the comitia curiata, the principal assembly for legislative, electoral and judicial services. Servius is credited with replacing this solely patrician assembly with a comitia centuriata representing all classes. This required him to conduct a census, making Servius the first Roman censor.
Servius added two hills, the Quirinal and the Viminal, and developed the Esquiline. He then surrounded the city with a mound, ditch and wall, and so extended the pomerium. The so-called Servian Wall seems to have been built after the Gallic catastrophe (i.e. after 390 BC). Using funds contributed by all the Latin cities, he built a temple to Diana on the Aventine.
The seventh and last king of Rome was Lucius 01Tarquinius Superbus (71; r.534-509 BC), son or grandson of Priscus. Servius’ daughter Tullia incited Superbus to kill his wife and Arruns (2) (his brother and her husband). When they were man and wife, she pressed him to eliminate her father and seize the throne. One day he entered the Senate and threw Servius out of the building and had him killed in the street.
Having no legal claim to the throne – the kingship was not hereditary – he began a rule of terror, and made up charges against senators in order to get his hands on their wealth and estates. By diplomacy and threats he turned the Latin League (originally led by Alba Longa) into a military alliance with Rome at its head. To capture Gabii, a town eighteen kilometres east of Rome, he pretended to disfavour his son Sextus, who fled to Gabii, seemingly to escape his father’s wrath. There he won the confidence of the people and became their leader. On his father’s advice, he killed the city’s leading men thus facilitating its early capture.
To the south Tarquinius conquered the Volsci, and with the spoils gained from the capture of Pometia he continued with the construction of the temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill. The poor of Rome were excused from military duty so he set them to work on a major building programme. This included not just the new temple, but also improvements to the roads and city defences, and the construction of the famous Cloaca Maxima, which served as a drain for the whole city.
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