1460bc (est)-The Roman Republic 510 BC

This document shows the line leading up to Anchises Prince of Troy pre-dating the Documet By Niel F. Stafford 1240 bc-present. And filling in the years before The Julian Line which he traced our Stafford ancestry from.

NOTE: Not to be confused with Teucer-Teucrus 2 Son of Telamon, half-brother of Ajax, known for his archery.

Batea- The daughter of Teucrus and ancesstress of the Trojans

In Greek mythology, Dardanus ("burner up") was a son of Zeus by Electra, daughter of Atlas, and founder of the city of Dardania on Mount Ida in the Troad.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1.61–62) states that Dardanus' original home was in Arcadia where Dardanus and his elder brother Iasus (elsewhere more commonly called Iasion) reigned as kings following Atlas. Dardanus married Chryse daughter of Pallas by whom he fathered two sons: Idaeus and Deimas. When a great flood occurred, the survivors, who were living on mountains that had now become islands, split into two groups: one group remained and took Deimas as king while the other sailed away, eventually settling in the island of Samothrace. There Iasus (Iasion) was slain by Zeus for lying with Demeter. Dardanus and his people found the land poor and so most of them set sail for Asia.

However another account by Virgil in his Aeneid (3.163f), has Aeneas in a dream learn from his ancestral Penates that "Dardanus and Father Iasius" and the Penates themselves originally came from Hesperia which was afterward renamed as Italy.

Other accounts make no mention of Arcadia or Hesperia, though they sometimes mention a flood and speak of Dardanus sailing on a hide-raft (as part of the flood story?) from Samothrace to the Troad near Abydos.

All accounts agree that Dardanus came to the Troad from Samothrace and was there welcomed by King Teucer and that Dardanus married Batea the daughter of Teucer. (Dionysius mentions that Dardanus' first wife Chryse had died.) Dardanus received land on Mount Ida from his father-in-law. There Dardanus founded the city of Dardania.

Dardanus' son and heir by Batea was Erichthonius.

According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1.50.3), Dardanus also had a son named Zacynthus by Bataea and this Zacynthus was the first settler on the island afterwards called Zacynthus.

Dionysius also says (1.61.4) that Dardanus' son Idaeus gave his name to the Idaean mountains, that is Mount Ida, where Idaeus built a temple to the Mother of the Gods (that is to Cybele) and instituted mysteries and ceremonies still observed in Phrygia in Dionysius' time.

The mythical King Erichthonius of Dardania and Batia (died c. 1368 BC) was the son of Dardanus or Darda, King of Dardania, and Batia, (although some legends say his mother was Olizone). Erichthonius became king of Dardania when his elder brother Ilus died childless. Homer called him "the richest man on earth", because he inherited kingdoms from both his father and his mother's father.

His son and heir by Astyoche or Callirhoe was Tros, the eponym of the Trojans and the Troad.

When Zeus abducted Ganymede, Tros grieved for his son. Sympathetic, Zeus sent Hermes with two horses so swift they could run over water. Hermes also assured Tros that Ganymede was immortal and would be the cupbearer for the gods, a position of much distinction.

In variant versions Ganymede is son of Laomedon son of Ilus son of Tros.

It was from Tros that the Dardanians were called Trojans and the land named the Troad.

In Greek mythology, Assaracus was the second son of King Tros of Dardania. He inherited the throne when his elder brother Ilus preferred to reign instead over his newly founded city of Ilium (which also became known as Troy).

Assaracus' son and heir was Capys.

6) Capys-A Trojan, the legendary founder of Capua (Virgil X, 145).

A son of Assaracus and Aigesta or Themiste and father of Anchises and so grandfather of Aeneas

In Greek mythology, Anchises was a son of Capys and either Themiste (daughter of Ilus, son of Tros) or Hieromneme (a Naiad and daughter of Simois, the river god). He was the father of Aeneas by Aphrodite. He was either a poor shepherd, or a prince, depending on versions.

Anchises bred his mares with the divine stallions owned by King Laomedon.

After the Trojan War, Anchises was carried from Troy to Italy by his son, Aeneas because he was unable to walk on his own. Two versions of his crippling exist. In one version, he was drunk and boasted to his friends about his affair with Aphrodite. this caused Zeus to smite him down with a lightning bolt. The other simply says that Aphrodite's "booty was too much" for him. Anchises died and was buried in Sicily. Aeneas later visited Hades and saw his father again in the Elysian Fields. Here is a link to an account of the whole sexy affair.

Aeneas (Greek: ???e?a?, Aineías) was a Trojan hero, the son of prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite (Venus in Roman sources). He was also the cousin of King Priam of Troy. The journey of Aeneas from Troy, which led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, is recounted in Virgil's Aeneid. He is considered an important figure in Greek and Roman legend and history. Aeneas is a character in Homer's Iliad and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida

Legend
In the Iliad, Aeneas is the leader of the Dardans (allies of the Trojans), and a principal lieutenant of Hector, son of the Trojan king Priam. In the poem, Aeneas's mother Aphrodite frequently comes to his aid on the battlefield: he is also a favorite of Apollo. Even Poseidon, who normally favors the Greeks, comes to Aeneas's rescue when the latter falls under the assault of Achilles, noting that Aeneas, though from a junior branch of the royal family, is destined to become king of the Trojan people.

When Troy was sacked by the Greeks, Aeneas gathered a group, collectively known as the Aeneads, traveled to Italy and became a progenitor of the Romans. The Aeneads included his trumpeter Misenus, his father Anchises, his friends Achates, Sergestus and Acmon, the healer Iapyx, his son Ascanius, and their guide Mimas. He carried with him the Lares and Penates, the statues of the household gods of Troy, and transplanted them to Italy. During his journey, Aeneas and his fleet made landfall at Carthage. It is at this point that the poem of the Aeneid begins. Aeneas had a brief affair with the Carthaginian queen Elissa, also known as Dido, who proposed that the Trojans settle in her land and that she and Aeneas reign jointly over their peoples. However, the messenger god Mercury was sent by Jupiter and Venus to remind Aeneas of his journey and his purpose, thus compelling him to leave secretly and continue on his way. When Dido learned of this, she ordered a funeral pyre to be constructed for herself; and standing on it, she uttered a famous curse that forever would pit Carthage against the Trojans. She then committed suicide by stabbing herself in the chest. When Aeneas later traveled to Hades, he called to her ghost but she neither spoke or acknowledged him.

The company stopped on the island of Sicily during the course of their journey. There Aeneas was welcomed by Acestes, king of
the region and son of the river Crinisus by a Dardanian woman. When the ship left, Achaemenides, one of Odysseus' crew who had been left behind, traveled with them.

Soon after arriving in Italy, Aeneas made war against the city of Falerii. Latinus, king of the Latins, welcomed Aeneas's army of exiled Trojans and let them reorganize their life in Latium. His daughter Lavinia had been promised to Turnus, king of the Rutuli, but Latinus received a prophecy that Lavinia would be betrothed to one from another land — namely, Aeneas. Latinus heeded the prophecy, and Turnus consequently declared war on Aeneas at the urging of Juno, who was aligned with King Tarchon of the Etruscans and Queen Amata of the Latins. Aeneas' forces prevailed, and Turnus was killed. Aeneas founded the of city Lavinium, named after his wife. He later welcomed Dido's sister, Anna Perenna, who then committed suicide after learning of Lavinia's jealousy. After his death, Aeneas was recognized as the god Indiges. Inspired by the work of James Frazer, some have posited that Aeneas was originally a life-death-rebirth deity.
Family and legendary descendants
Aeneas had an extensive family tree. Aeneas' wet-nurse was named Caieta. He was the father of Ascanius with Creusa, and of Silvius with Lavinia. Ascanius, the son of Aeneas, also known as Iulus (or Julius), founded Alba Longa and was the first in a long series of kings.

According to the mythology outlined by Virgil in the Aeneid, Romulus and Remus were both descendants of Aeneas through their mother, and thus Aeneas was responsible for founding the Roman people. Some early sources call him their father or grandfather [1], but, considering the commonly accepted dates of the fall of Troy (1184 BC) and the founding of Rome (753 BC), this seems unlikely.

The Julian family (Gens Julia) of Rome, whose most famous member was Julius Caesar, traced their lineage to Aeneas's son Ascanius and, in turn, to the goddess Venus.

The legendary kings of Britain also trace their family through a grandson of Aeneas, Brutus.

Aeneas was the first king of Rome before the successors of Romulus.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Ascanius was a son of Aeneas and Creusa. After the Trojan War, Ascanius escaped to Latium in Italy with his father and fought in the Italian Wars. Virgil's Aeneid says he had a role in the founding of Rome as the first king of Alba Longa.

He was also called Iulus or Julus. From this name comes the Gens Julia, the Julian family to which Julius Caesar belonged.

The name Iulus was popularised by Virgil in his work the Aeneid, replacing the Greek name Ascanius with Iulus to link the Julian family of Rome to earlier mythology. The emperor Augustus, who commissioned the work, was a great patron of the arts. As a member of the Julian family, he could claim to have three major Olympian gods in his family tree, so he encouraged his many poets to present material on his direct descent from Aeneas.

Alba-place

According to legend Alba Longa was founded by Ascanius or Iulus, son of Aeneas, thirty years after the foundation of Lavinium. Chronologically this would have been around the middle of the 12th century BC, some time after the destruction of Troy (which according to ancient scholars occurred in 1184 BC).

From Ascanius there is said to have sprung a dynasty of Alban kings, among whom we know the names only of Procas and his sons Numitor and Amulius. The legitimate heir of Procas was Numitor; he was expelled, however, by his brother Amulius, who seized the throne and forced Numitor's daughter Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin and thus take a vow of chastity. When Rhea Silvia gave birth to the twins Romulus and Remus, fathered by Mars, Amulius ordered them to be killed. The twins were abandoned instead to the Tiber and saved. Grown to manhood and becoming aware of their birthright, they chased Amulius from the throne, which they restored to Numitor: the latter in turn permitted them to found a new city, Rome: the Romans thus traditionally viewed Alba Longa as their mother city.

As Rome's power increased, the two cities fell into conflict, and finally under King Tullus Hostilius (around the middle of the 7th century BC), a war between them was settled by the famous combat of the Horatii and the Curiatii; Alba was destroyed, never to be rebuilt, and her inhabitants were transferred to Rome, where the Caelian hill was given to them.

In Roman mythology, Silvius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia. He succeeded Ascanius as King of Alba Longa. Virgil VI, 763. All the kings of Alba following Silvius bore the name as their cognomen. (The cognomen "name known by" in English was originally the third name of a Roman in the Roman naming convention. The term is also occasionally seen in modern times as an obscure synonym for nickname or epithet).

Because of the limited nature of Roman names, the cognomen developed to distinguish branches of the family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. Some Romans – notably general Gaius Marius – had no cognomen at all. By the Late Roman Republic, however, the use of cognomen even in daily conversation had become typical.)

Aeneas Silvius was the third descendant of Aeneas, and third king of Alba Longa, the site of Rome

Latinius Silvius was the fourth descendant of Aeneas. This means that he was king of Alba Longa which rested on the future site of Rome.

A descendant of Aeneas and king of Alba Longa (Alba Longa in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga) was an ancient city of Latium, founder and head of the Latin Confederation; it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC.)

Capetus was a descendant of Aeneas. He was said to have been the father of Tiberinus, who the Tiber river is named for. He was also a king of Alba Longa, built on the site of Rome. He was also the cousin of King Priam of Troy. The journey of Aeneas from Troy, which led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, is recounted in Virgil's Aeneid.

Tiberinus Silvius ('the Tiber's child born in the woods') was the ninth in the legendary king-list of Alba Longa. He was said to have drowned in the Albula river, which was subsequently renamed the Tiber.

In the earliest days of Rome, a cult of Tiberinus survived at the Volturnia, the archaic festival of Volturnus, but no details are known.

16) Agrippia (king)

Agrippia was a descendant of Aeneas you guessed it and therefore a king of Alba Longa.

17) Romulus Silvius

Romulus Silvius was a descendant of Aeneas, and because of this a king of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was built on the site of Rome, founded later by Romulus, his great-grandson in 753 BC.

18) Aventinus

Aventinus, descendant of Aeneas, king of the Latins (future Rome site)

In Roman mythology, King Procas of Alba Longa was the father of Amulius and Numitor.

Virgil VI, 767; Livy I, 3, 9.

Numitor and his brother Amulius received the throne of Alba Longa upon their father’s death. Numitor received the sovereign powers as his birth right while Amulius received the royal treasury, including the gold Aeneas brought with him from Troy. But because Amulius held the treasury, thus having more power than his brother, he dethroned Numitor as the rightful king.

20) Numitor King of Alba Longa.

He was overthrown by his brother, Amulius. His grandsons, however, Romulus and Remus, reinstated him after killing Amulius.

20) Amulius
In Roman mythology, Amulius was the brother of Numitor and son of Procas.

His brother, Numitor, was the King of Alba Longa. Amulius overthrew him and took the throne. Amulius forced Rhea Silvia, Numitor's daughter, to become a Vestal Virgin, a devotee of Vesta, so that she would never bear any sons that might overthrow him. However, one night Mars, the god of war, came to Rhea in the temple of Vesta and she bore him two twin boys of remarkable size and beauty, later named Romulus and Remus. Amulius was enraged and had Rhea placed in prison and ordered the death of the twins by exposure. However, the servant ordered to kill the twins could not. He placed the two in a cradle and laid the cradle on the banks of the Tiber river and went away. The river, which was in flood, rose and gently carried the cradle and the twins downstream

Romulus and Remus were rescued by the river god Tiberinus and placed the twins upon the Palatine Hill. There, they were nursed by a she-wolf underneath a fig-tree and were fed by a woodpecker, two animals that were sacred to Mars. Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd for Amulius, who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the boys as their own.

As they grew, their noble birth showed itself in their size and beauty while they were still children. When they grew up they were manly and high-spirited, of invincible courage and daring. Romulus, however, was thought the wiser and more politic of the two, and in his discussions with the neighbors about pasture and hunting, gave them opportunities of noting that his disposition was one which led him to command rather than to obey. On account of these qualities they were beloved by their equals and the poor, but they despised the king's officers and bailiffs as being no braver than themselves, and cared neither for their anger nor their threats. They led the lives and followed the pursuits of nobly born men, not valuing sloth and idleness, but exercise and hunting, defending the land against brigands, capturing plunderers, and avenging those who had suffered wrong. And thus they became famous throughout Latium.

One day when Romulus and Remus were 18 years old, a quarrel occurred between the shepherds of Numitor and the shepherds of Amulius. Some of Numitor’s shepherds drove off many of Amulius’s cattle, causing Amulius’s men to become enraged. Romulus and Remus gathered together the shepherds, found and killed Numitor’s shepherds, and recovered the lost cattle. To the displeasure of Numitor, Romulus and Remus collected and took into their company many needy men and slaves of Numitor, exhibiting seditious boldness and temper.

While Romulus was engaged in some sacrifice, as he was fond of sacrifices and the gods, some of Numitor’s shepherds attacked Remus and some of his friends and a battle broke out. After both sides took many wounds, Numitor’s shepherds prevailed and took Remus as their prisoner and returned him to Numitor for punishment. Numitor did not punish Remus, because he was in fear of Amulius, but went to Amulius and asked for justice, since he was his brother, and he had been insulted by the royal servants. The people of Alba Longa, too, symapthized with Numitor, and thought that he had been undeservedly outraged. Amulius was therefore induced to hand Remus over to Numitor to treat him as he saw fit.

When Numitor took Remus to his home for punishment, he was amazed at the young man's complete superiority in stature and strength of body. After hearing of his acts and deeds and of his noble virtues, Numitor asked Remus of his birth and who he really was. When Remus told him that they had found and nursed by a she-wolf on the banks of the Tiber river, and conjecturing Remus’s age from his looks, he left to speak with his daughter, Rhea, on the matter.

Upon Romulus's return from his sacrifices, Faustulus told Romulus that Remus had been captured and told him to go to his brother’s aid. Romulus left Faustulus and set out to levy an army to march against Alba Longa. Faustulus took the cradle that he had found Romulus and Remus in and quickly ran to Alba Longa. When Faustulus reached the gates of the city, the guards stopped him. By chance, one of the guards had been the servant who had taken the boys to the river. This man, upon seeing the cradle, and recognizing it, knew that that Faustulus spoke the truth, and without any delay told the matter to Amulius, and brought the man before him to be examined. He admitted that Romulus and Remus were alive and well, but said they lived at a distance from Alba Longa as herdsmen.

Acting out of fear and rage, Amulius quickly sent a friend of Numitor to see if he had heard any report of the twins being alive. As soon as the man entered Numitor’s house, he found Numitor embracing Remus, thus confirming that Remus was Numitor’s grandson. The man then advised Numitor and Remus to act fast, for Romulus as marching on the city with an army of those who hated and fear Amulius. (Romulus’s army was divided in 200 man maniples). Remus acted quickly and incited the citizens within the city to revolt, and at the same time Romulus attacked from without. Amulius, without taking a single step or making any plan for his own safety, out of sheer confusion, was seized and put to death.

With Amulius dead, the city settled down and offered Romulus and Remus the joint crown. However, the twins refused to be the kings as long as their grandfather was still alive and would not live in the city as subjects. Thus after restoring the kingship to Numitor and properly honoring their mother Rhea Sylvia, they two left Alba Longa to found their own city upon the slopes of the Palatine Hill. However, before they left Alba Longa, they took with them fugitives, runaway slaves, and all others who wanted a second chance at life.

But once Romulus and Remus arrived at the Palatine Hill, the two argued over where the exact position of the city should be. Romulus was set on building the city upon the Palatine, but while Remus wanted to before fortified Aventine Hill. They two agreed to settle their argument by testing their abilities as augurs and by the will of the gods. Each took a seat on the ground apart from one another, and Remus saw six vultures, while Romulus saw twelve. (since then, the Romans chiefly regard vultures when they take auguries from the flight of birds)

When Remus was enraged by Romulus’s victory, and as Romulus began digging a trench where his city's wall was to run on April 21, 753 BC, he ridiculed some parts of the work, and obstructed others. At last, Remus leaped across the trench, an omen of bad luck, since this implied that his city was easily breached, Romulus slew him that instant. Faustulus was also killed in the fight that soon followed. Once the fighting subsided, Romulus buried both Remus and Faustulus; then he continued to build his city. He named the city Rome after himself, and served as its first king.

After the completion of the city, Romulus divided the people of Rome that were able to fight into regiments of 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry. Romulus called these regiments legions. The rest of the people became the populus of the city, and out of the populus, Romulus hand selected 100 of the most noble men to serve as a council for the city. He called these men Patricians and their council the Roman Senate. Romulus called these noble men Patricans not only because they were the fathers of legitimate sons, but also because he intended the great and the wealthy to treat the weak and the poor as fathers treat their sons.

Romulus spread the reputation of Rome as an asylum to all that desired a new life. Because of this, Rome attracted a population of exiles, refugees, murderers, criminals, and runaway slaves. Rome’s population grew so much that the city had settled five of the seven hills of Rome: the Capitoline Hill, the Aventine Hill, the Caelian Hill, the Quirinal Hill, and the Palatine Hill. Romulus however, saw a problem quickly forming before him. Seeing his city filling up at once with foreigners, few of whom had wives, Romulus decided he needed to fill his city with women as well.

To solve his problems, Romulus held a festival, the Consualia, and invited the neighboring Sabine tribe to attend as his guest. The Sabines came en masse, and brought with them their daughters. Romulus planned to kidnap the Sabine women and bring them back to Rome for his citizens. When the Sabines arrived, Romulus sat amongst his Senators, clad in purple. The signal that the time had come for the onslaught was to be his rising and folding his cloak and then throwing it round him again. Armed with swords, many of his followers kept their eyes intently upon him, and when the signal was given, his nobles drew their swords, rushed in with shouts, and captured the daughters of the Sabines, but permitted and encouraged the men themselves to escape unharmed. In all, some 700 Sabine women were captured and brought back to Rome. (This event is remembered in various works of art titled “The Rape of the Sabine Women.")

The Sabines, though a numerous and war-like people, found themselves bound by precious hostages, and fearing for their daughters, they sent ambassadors with reasonable and moderate demands that Romulus should give back their maidens, disavow his deed of violence, and then, by persuasion and legal enactment, establish a friendly relationship between the two peoples. But Romulus would not surrender the maidens, and demanded that the Sabines should allow marriage with the Romans, whereupon they all held long deliberations and made extensive preparations for war.

While most of the Sabines were still busy with their preparations, the people Sabines of a few cities banded together against the Romans, and in a battle which ensued, they were defeated, and surrendered to Romulus their cities, their territory to be divided, and themselves to be transported to Rome. Romulus distributed among the citizens all the territory thus acquired, excepting that which belonged to the parents of the ravished maidens; this he suffered its owners to keep for themselves.

This enraged the Sabines, and in response appointed Titus Tatius as the supreme commander-in-chief of all the Sabines, and he marched his army on Rome. The city was difficult of access, having as its fortress the Capitoline Hill, on which a guard had been stationed, with a man named Tarpeius as its captain. But Tarpeia, a daughter of the commander, betrayed the citadel to the Sabines, having set her heart on the golden armlets which she saw them wearing, and she asked as payment for her treachery that which they wore on their left arms. Tatius agreed to this, whereupon she opened one of the gates by night and let the Sabines in. Once inside, Tatius ordered his Sabines, mindful of their agreement, to begrudge the girl anything they wore on their left arms. Tatius was first to take from his arm not only his armlet, but at the same time his shield, and cast them upon her. All his men followed his example, and the girl was smitten by the gold and buried under the shields, and died from the number and weight of them.

With the Sabines controlling the Capitoline Hill, Romulus angrily challenged them to open battle, and Tatius boldly accepted. The Sabines marched down the Capitoline and battled the Romans between the hills in a swampy area which would one day become the Roman Forum. The Sabines overran the Romans and the Romans were forced back behind the very walls of Rome upon the Palatine Hill. From behind the walls, the Romans began to flee the battle. Romulus bowed down and prayed to Jupiter and the Romans rallied back to Romulus and made a stand. Later, on the very spot where Romulus prayed, a temple to Jupiter Stator was built. (stator meaning “the stayer”) Romulus led the Romans on and they drove the Sabines back to the point where the Temple to Vesta would later stand.

Here, as the Romans and Sabines were preparing to renew the battle, they were stopped by the sight of the ravished daughters of the Sabines rushing from the city of Rome through the infantry and the dead bodies. The Sabine women ran up to their husbands and their fathers, some carrying young children in their arms. Both armies were so moved to compassion, they drew apart to give the women place between the battle lines. The Sabine women begged their Roman husbands and their Sabine fathers and brothers to accept one another and live as one nation. With sorrow running through the ranks, a truce was made and the leaders held a conference. It was decided that both Romulus and Tatius would rule as joint kings of the Romans, including the newly added Sabines.

Rome doubled in its size. From the new Sabine citizens, 100 new noble men were selected to become Patricians and joined the ranks of the Senate. The legions were doubled in size, from 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry to 6000 infantry and 600 cavalry (roughly the same numbers as the classical Roman legion). The people, too, were organized into three voting tribes. The first was called the Ramnenes, from Romulus, the second Tatienses, from Tatius; and the third Lucerenses, from the grove into which many betook themselves for refuge, when a general asylum was offered, and then became citizens of Rome, with each tribe being led by a Tribune. These three tribes made up the Curiate Assembly, one of Rome’s oldest legislative assemblies. The cultures of the Romans and Sabine also combined in this union. The Sabines adopted the Roman calendar, and the Romans adopted the oblong shield and armor of the Sabines.

After five years of joint rule, Tatius was assasinated by foreign ambassadors and Romulus became the sole king of the Romans. Romulus introduced legislation that prevented adultery and murder. As the king of Rome, Romulus was not only the commander-in-chief of the army but also the city’s chief judicial authority. His judgements of many crimes were held in place for over six hundred years without a single case being reported in Rome of his judgements being questioned.

From the founding of Rome, Romulus waged wars and expanded his territory, thus Rome’s territory, for over two decades. He conquered many of the neighboring cities, namely Etruscan cities, and gained unequaled control over the area of Latium, Tuscany, Umbria, and Abruzzo. In what would become the traditional Roman style of warfare, though Romulus may have lost some battles along the way, he never lost a single war he fought in.

After his final wars against the Etruscans, the king of Alba Longa, Numitor, Romulus’s grandfather, died. The people of Alba Longa freely offered the crown to Romulus, believing he was the one rightful ruler of the city. Romulus accepted dominion over the city, but gained much favor with the city’s populus by placing the government in the hands of the people within the city. Once a year, Romulus appointed a governor over the city from a man selected by the people of Alba Longa.

In his elderly state, Romulus grew to rely less and less upon the Senate. The Senate became just for show, holding no power in the administration of the city. The Senate could only be convened when Romulus called for it, and once assembled, the Senators merely sat in silence and listened to his edicts. The Senators soon found that their only advantage over the common man was that they learned what Romulus decreed sooner then the commoners did. On his own authority, he divided the territory acquired in war among his soldiers, and without the consent or wish of the Patricians. The Patricians thought he was insulting their Senate outright.

Romulus's life ended in the 38th year of his reign, with a supernatural disappearance, if he was not slain by the Senate. Plutarch (Life of Numa Pompilius) tells the legend with a note of skepticism.

After Romulus' death he was succeeded by Numa Pompilius as the second King of Rome.

Numa was around forty when he was offered the kingship. He was residing "at a famous city of the Sabines called Cures, whence the Romans and Sabines gave themselves the joint name of Quirites" (Plutarch), and he at first refused, but his father and Marcius I (Marcius II's father) took him aside and persuaded him to accept.

He was later celebrated for his natural wisdom and piety. Wishing to show his favour, the god Jupiter caused a shield to fall from the sky on the Palatine Hill, which had letters of prophecy written on it, and in which the fate of Rome as a city was tied up. Recognizing the importance of this sacred shield, King Numa had eleven matching shields made. These shields were the ancilia, the sacred shields of Jupiter, which were carried each year in a procession by the Salii priests.

By tradition, Numa promulgated a calendar reform that adjusted the solar and lunar years, and he established the original constitution of the priests, called Pontifices. In other Roman institutions established by Numa, Plutarch thought he detected a Laconian influence, attributing the connection to the Sabine culture of Numa, for "Numa was descended of the Sabines, who declare themselves to be a colony of the Lacedaemonians."

Numa was credited with dividing the immediate territory of Roman into pagi and establishing the traditional occupational guilds of Rome:
"So, distinguishing the whole people by the several arts and trades, he formed the companies of musicians, goldsmiths, carpenters, dyers, shoemakers, skinners, braziers, and potters; and all other handicraftsmen he composed and reduced into a single company, appointing every one their proper courts, councils, and religious observances." (Plutarch)

Numa Pompilius died in 673 BC when he was older than eighty. He died of old age and by a gentle and gradual decline. He was succeeded by Tullus Hostilius.

Tullus Hostilius is simply the duplicate of Romulus. Both are brought up among shepherds, carry on war against Fidenae and Veii, double the number of citizens, organize the army, and disappear from Earth in a storm. As Romulus and Numa represent the Ramnes and Tities, so, in order to complete the list of the four traditional elements of the nation, Tullus was made the representative of the Luceres, and Ancus the founder of the Plebs. The distinctive event of this reign is the destruction of Alba, which may be regarded as an historical fact. But when and by whom it was destroyed is uncertain — probably at a later date, by the Latins, and not by the Romans, who would have regarded as impious the destruction of their traditional mother-country.

Tullus Hostilius was chosen by the senators because he was a Roman and because his grandfather had fought with Romulus against the Sabines. After the death of Numa Pompilius the spirit of peace seemed to weaken. Friendly feelings between the Romans and the countrymen of Alba Longa in the hills outside of Rome gave way to quarreling because people began to raid each others fields and gardens, stealing each other's crops and animals.

When the ruler of the Albans complained to Tullus Hostilius, he, like a small boy said, "You started it!" The Alban and Roman armies prepared to fight. The Romans defeated the Albans and they were subjects of the Roman state. When they refused to help Rome in a battle, Hostilius had the dictator of Alba, Metius Suffetius, torn in two by chariots running in opposite directions. He had Alba Longa destroyed and gave the Albans the Caelian Hill to live on.

Tullus Hostilius was a warring king. He engaged in another war with the Sabines.

Legend has it that Tullus was so busy with one war after another that he neglected any service to the gods. A dreadful plague came upon the Romans. Even Tullus was stricken with it. He begged Jupiter for his favour and help. The god's answer was a bolt of lightning which shot down from heaven to burn up the king and his house to ashes.

This was seen as an omen to the Romans that they had better choose a new king who would follow the peaceful example of Numa Pompilius. They chose Ancus Marcius, the grandson of Numa Pompilius.

24) Ancus Marcius (King of Rome 640 BC-616 BC),

Fourth of the Kings of Rome, and possibly legendary. Like Numa, his reputed grandfather, he was a friend of peace and religion, but was obliged to make war to defend his territories. He conquered the Latins, and a number of them he settled on the Aventine Hill formed the origin of the Plebeians. He fortified the Janiculum, threw a wooden bridge across the Tiber, founded the port of Ostia, established salt-works and built a prison.

Ancus Marcius is merely a duplicate of Numa, as is shown by his second name, Numa Marcius, the confidant and pontifex of Numa, being no other than Numa Pompilius himself, represented as priest. The identification with Ancus is shown by the legend which makes the latter a bridge-builder (pontifex), the constructor of the first wooden bridge over the Tiber. It is in the exercise of his priestly functions that the resemblance is most clearly shown. Like Numa, Ancus died a natural death. He was succeeded by Lucius Tarquinius Priscus.

Tarquinius Priscus came from the Etruscan city of Tarquinii and was actually named Lucumo (it is now known that lucumo is the common name of an Etruscan politcal position). He was very rich and had settled in Rome with his wife Tanaquil. He had emigrated because he was forbidden to enter the political offices of his own city. The reason for this lay in the origin of his father Demaratus the Corinthian, who came from the Greek city of Corinth. On his arrival in the city in a chariot an eagle took his cap to the Janiculum and set it there. He interpreted this as an omen, once he became king.

In Rome he attained great respect through generosity and skill. King Ancus Marcius himself noticed him and adopted him as his son, also appointing him guardian of his other sons. After the death of Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus was able to convince the People's Assembly that he should be elected king over Marcius' natural sons.

His military ability was immediately tested by an attack from the Sabines. The attack was defeated after dangerous street fighting in Rome, and he then further subjugated the Etruscans. Thus the cities Corniculum, Firulea, Cameria, Crustumerium, Americola, Medullia and Nomentum became Roman. After each of his wars, which were always extremely successful, he brought rich plunder to Rome. He doubled the size of the Centuriate Assembly to 1800 people, and added another hundred men to the Senate from the ranks of the lower classes. Among them was the family of the Octavii.

He also concerned himself further with state festivals and with the expansion of the state. At first he erected the Circus Maximus as a separate building for horse racing. Previously the spectators watched the races between the Aventine and Palatine hills sitting on wooden platforms at best. From then on large games were regularly organized there.

After a great flood, the damp lowlands of Rome were drained by the construction of the Cloaca Maxima (great sewers) to create a site for the Forum Romanum. As his last great act he began the construction of a temple in honour of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill, partially funded by plunder seized from the Latins and Sabines. Many of the Roman symbols both of war and of civil office date from his reign, and he was the first to celebrate a Roman triumph, after the Etruscan fashion, wearing a robe of purple and gold, and borne on a chariot drawn by four horses.

Meanwhile, the now adult sons of his predecessor Ancus Marcius thought that the throne should fall to them. Thus they allowed Tarquinius Priscus to be assassinated between two buildings with an axe after 38 years of reign. Thanks to the intelligent foresight of the queen Tanaquil however, the assassins were not chosen, but rather Tarquinius' son-in-law Servius Tullius was elected as his successor.

26) Servius Tullius

The sixth legendary king of ancient Rome, and the second king of the Etruscan dynasty. The traditional dates of his reign are 578-535 BC he is said to have married a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, and succeeded him after the latter's assassination in 579 BC. He was the first king to come to power without the consultation of the plebeians, having gained the throne by the contrivance of Tanaquil, his mother-in-law. In this account Tullius was anointed as a young child to become king, after he spontaneously caught on fire. He was then raised as a prince.

As time passed, Servius increasingly favoured the most impoverished people in order to obtain favours from the plebs. His legislation was extremely distasteful to the patrician order, and his reign of forty-four years was brought to a close by a conspiracy in 535 BC headed by his son-in-law Tarquinius Superbus and his own daughter Tullia.

He had married his two daughters to the two grandchildren (Lucius and Aruns) of Priscus. Lucius murdered his wife, while Tullia murdered Aruns, and two survivors made a match. Lucius continued the tradition by murdering Servius, while Tullia ordered a chariot to be driven over the body. One senses a murder mystery here with an attempt at concealment, but the sources do not give sufficient information to reach that conclusion. Instead, we are to believe they did all their murdering under the very eyes of the helpless population, unfortunately foreshadowing the behavior of some of the emperors. The street in which the chariot was driven over Servius ever after bore the name of the "Vicus Sceleratus" (Street of Infamy). Servius reformed the army and also radically transformed the Roman constitution. There was no single document, "the constitution", parallel to the one that establishes the government of the United States. By "constitution" is meant instead an accumulated body of law and precedent recorded on stone or metal monuments and parchment scrolls.

27) Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (also called Tarquin the Proud or Tarquin II)

The last of the seven legendary kings of Rome, son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, and son-in-law of Servius Tullius. Tarquin ruled between 535 BC and 510 BC, in the years immediately before the founding of the Roman Republic. Tarquin was upset that he did not inherit the throne, and to add insult to his perceived injury, Tullius was the son of a slave. With his wife's help,(Tullia daughter of Servius Tullius) he summoned the Senate and proclaimed himself to be king of Rome. To further his grip on power, Tarquin orchestrated the murders of key senators who supported Tullius and proceeded at once to repeal the recent reforms in the constitution, seeking to establish a pure despotism in their place. Wars were waged with the Latins and Etruscans, but the lower classes were deprived of their arms and employed in erecting monuments of regal magnificence (and some important public works, such as the Cloaca Maxima), while the sovereign recruited his armies from his own retainers and from the forces of foreign allies.

Tarquin was approached by the Cumaean Sibyl who offered him nine books of prophecy at an exorbitant price. Tarquin refused abruptly, and the Sibyl proceeded to burn three of the nine. She then offered him the remaining books, but at the same price. Tarquin hesitated, but refused again. The Sibyl then burned three more books and again offered Tarquin the three remaining Sibylline Books at the original price. Tarquin accepted. The books were consulted at many portentous moments in Roman history. For example, when Hannibal decimated the Roman Legions at Cannae, the books were consulted and recommended that two Gauls and two Greeks be buried alive in the city's marketplace. The magistrates duly followed the advice showing that nothing was too barbarous for defending the liberty of Rome.

Succeeded by: none (Roman Republic)