List of Kings of Rome

• Topics in Roman mythology
  Important Gods:
  Jupiter *Mars *Quirinus *Vesta *Juno *Diana *Fortuna	*Minerva *Mercury *Vulcan *Ceres *Venus *Lares
  Legendary History:
  *Aeneas *Romulus	*Numa *Early Kings
  Roman religion
  *The Flamens
  Greek/Roman myth compared

For the son of Napoleon I of France, styled the King of Rome, see Napoleon II of France.

There were seven traditional Kings of Rome before the establishment of the Roman Republic. They were, according to the writings of Livy:

Kings of Rome
King	Traditional Reign
Romulus	753 BC-716 BC
Numa Pompilius	715 BC-674 BC
Tullus Hostilius	673 BC-642 BC
Ancus Marcius	642 BC-617 BC
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus	616 BC-579 BC
Servius Tullius	578 BC-535 BC
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus	535 BC-510 BC/509 BC

The earliest kings and their regnal dates are legendary and conventional. By tradition, the kingship was elective and limited in power, although later kings sought to increase their power. Popular revolt against this tyranny led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.

Rome was, according to tradition, founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of the mortal woman Rhea Silvia, said to be the first of the Vestal Virgins, and the god Mars. Exposed as infants to die, the twins were raised by a female wolf. That they were also descendants of Aeneas and the Trojan refugees Virgil later told of in his epic poem the Aeneid. Romulus killed Remus, and became the first king of Rome (see founding of Rome).

Most of the succeeding six kings had Etruscan names, suggesting that members of the mature Etruscan civilization to the north of Rome dominated the city. The Roman kings were succeeded, not by their sons, but by their sisters' sons, or by their sons-in-law, men whose right stemmed from marriage to women of the royal line [1]. Though the son of Numa’s daughter Pompilia became the fourth king, his father was unknown, according to Cicero, (De Re Publica 2.33). The example of Rome is taken to demonstrate that matrilinearity was a characteristic of Etruscan culture. More securely, portents of future greatness associated with the king legends reveal how closely connected with religious cult the position of kingship remained.

The last king was thrown out by the citizens and replaced by a republican government. The expulsion of the king and the founding of the Republic in 509 BC is sometimes presented as the breaking away of a Latin-speaking population from the control of an Etruscan ruling family.

• Topics in Roman Government
  Roman Kingdom
  Roman Republic
  Roman Empire
  Principate	Dominate
  Ordinary Magistrates:
  Consul *Praetor *Quaestor *Promagistrate	*Aedile *Tribune *Censor
  Extraordinary Magistates:
  *Dictator *Magister equitum	*Triumviri *Decemviri
  Miscellaneous Offices:
  *Pontifex Maximus *Imperator *Princeps senatus	*Emperor *Augustus *Caesar *Tetrarch
  Politics and Law:
  *Roman assemblies *Roman Senate *Imperium	*Roman law *Cursus honorum *Collegiality

Unlike many other Italian city-states of that time, the Roman monarchy was not totally based on inheritance. Once a king died, the city entered into a period of interregnum. The city was ruled by an interrex who had the power to nominate the next King. The interrex was nominated by the Senate, but served for an indefinite period of time. Once the interrex found a candidate he then submitted him to the Comitia Curiata, an assembly of the people. If he was approved by that body, the Senate then ratified the vote. In theory the people got to elect their leader, however the Senate had most of the control over the process. Traditionally the interregia were less than one year; however, then the average reign of a king would have been over 34 years. If longer interegna are taken into account, it is possible that the seven kings may have had less time on the throne than previously thought.

After the murder of Tarquinius Priscus, his consort Tanaquil placed the husband of her daughter, Servius Tullius, in power as the king over her son Lucius Tarquinius, although he had not been elected to become king. During his reign, Tullius held a referendum on his monarchy, which overwhelmingly approved of him. Servius Tullius was overthrown by his son-in-law Tarquin II (the proud), son of the first Tarquin. Tarquin II would be the last Roman monarch.

During this period, Rome's growth was made possible after the drainage of the swamps that are the natural feature of the site. As the communal hearth tended by the Vestal Virgins was the center of the early kingdom, it was the obvious spot to improve cohesion by constructing a central market (a forum). This resulted in combining the Romans into one people. Napoleon Bonaparte restored the drainage systems, making excavation of the Forum Romanum possible.

See also

• Timeline of Ancient Rome
• Feral children in mythology and fiction

External links

• Patria Potestas: a view of suppressed matrilinearity in the early legends of Rome
• The Kings of Rome

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