Roman monarchy
The Roman Monarchy (Latin: Regnum Romanum; Greek: Ρωμαϊκό Βασίλειο) was the oldest period in the history of Ancient Rome during which the Roman state was ruled by kings Traditionally it began with the very foundation of the city of Rome by Romulus on April 21, 753 BC. C. and ended with the expulsion of the last king in the year 509 a. C., which gave way to the establishment of the Roman Republic. Modern historiography has often questioned these dates by providing archaeological evidence or citing historical and linguistic reasons.
Roman mythology links the origin of Rome and the monarchical institution to the Trojan hero Aeneas, who sailed towards the western Mediterranean fleeing the destruction of his city until he reached Italy, where he founded the city of Lavinio. Later, his son Ascanio founded Alba Longa, from whose royal family the twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, would descend.
Birth of Rome
The origin of the city of Rome can be located especially near the Palatine Hill, next to the Tiber River, at a point where there was a natural ford that allowed its crossing and, in addition, it was navigable from the sea (located 25 km downstream) only to that position. At that point, the river ran between several hills carved out by its course, isolated from each other by valleys that the Tiber flooded in its floods, which made the area swampy, and for which reason the population of farmers and ranchers was originally very reduced.
This vantage point presented an easily defendable location in relation to the wide fertile plain that surrounded the site, protected as it was by the Palatine and the other hills that surrounded it, and, moreover, it was a prominent junction on the trade routes of Lazio central, and between Etruria and Campania. All these factors were those that in the long run contributed to the success and strength of the city.
The ethnic origin of the city can be traced back to the fusion of the Latin tribes of the village of Germal (Roma quadrata) with the Sabines of the Viminal and the Quirinal, thus creating the League of Septimontium or Septimontial (League of the Seven Mountains), a pre-urban religious confederation of clear Etruscan influence, the hegemonic power of Italy at this time. The name of the city could go back to the Etruscan gens Ruma, although there are other theories about it.
Historical problems of the Roman monarchy
The traditional chronicles of Roman history, which have come down to the present day through classical authors such as Tito Livio, Plutarch, Virgilio, Dionisio de Halicarnaso and others, say that in the first centuries of the life of Rome there was a succession of seven kings The traditional chronology, narrated by Varro, gives the figure of 243 years of total duration for these reigns, that is to say, an average of 35 years per reign (much longer than that of any documented dynasty), although it has currently been dismissed, since the works by Barthold Georg Niebuhr. The Gauls, led by Brenus, sacked Rome after their victory at the Battle of Alia in 390 BC. C. (Polybius gives the date of 387 BC), so that all historical records of the city were destroyed, including those of the oldest phases, so later sources must be taken with caution. The traditional chronicles analyze the archaeological evidence of the beginnings of Rome, which, however, coincide in indicating its settlement in the middle of the 8th century BC. c.
At some unknown point in the monarchical phase of its history, Rome fell under the control of the Etruscan kings. The reigns of the first monarchs are quite suspect, due to their long average duration and the added fact that some seem to be rounded to around 40 years in length. This curious fact, which stands out even more compared to the current reigns in which life expectancy is greater, was explained in the Roman traditions because most of the kings had been brothers-in-law of their predecessor. Archaeologist Andrea Carandini is one of the few contemporary scholars to accept Romulus and Remus as historical figures, based on the 1988 discovery of an ancient wall on the northern slope of Rome's Capitoline Hill. Carandini dates the structure to the mid-8th century BCE. C. and calls it Murus Romuli.
German historian Theodor Mommsen even questions Etruscan rule. According to him, it is unlikely that Rome was ever controlled by Etruscan kings, but in any case it would be some family of Etruscan origin that acceded to royalty, but without implying that Rome or the cities of the Latin league passed to form part of the Etruscan domain. This hypothesis, whose only basis is legend, is very difficult to justify based on data from philology and archaeology.
Features
Prior to its republican period, Rome was a monarchy ruled by kings (Latin, rex, pl. reges). having been the founder of the city), were chosen by the people of Rome to rule for life, and none of them used military force to accede to the throne. Although there are no references to his hereditary line for the first four kings, beginning with the fifth king, Tarquinius Priscus, the line of succession flowed through royal women. Consequently, ancient historians claim that the king was chosen for his virtues and not for his ancestry.
The classical historians of Rome make it difficult to determine the powers of the king, since they state that the monarch possesses the same powers as the consuls. Some modern writers believe that the supreme power of Rome rested in the hands of the people, and the king was only the executive head of the Roman Senate, although others believe that the king possessed the powers of sovereignty and the Senate had minor corrections over its powers.
What is known with certainty is that only the king possessed the right of auspicium, the ability to interpret the designs of the gods on behalf of Rome as the chief of augurs, so that no Public business could be carried out without the will of the gods, made known through the auspices. The king was therefore recognized by the people as the head of the national religion, the religious chief executive, and the mediator before the gods, for which he was revered with religious fear. He had the power to control the Roman calendar, direct ceremonies, and appoint minor religious officials. It was Romulus who instituted the body of augurs, being himself recognized as the most outstanding of all of them, in the same way that Numa Pompilio instituted the pontiffs, being attributed to him the creation of the religious dogma of Rome.
Beyond his religious authority, the king was invested with supreme military and judicial authority through the use of the imperium. The king's imperium was for life and always protected him from being brought to trial for his actions. As the sole owner of the imperium of Rome at this time, the king possessed undisputed military authority as commander-in-chief of all the Roman legions. In the same way, the laws that safeguarded citizens from abuses committed by magistrates with imperium did not yet exist during the monarchical period.
The king's imperium gave him both military powers and the ability to make legal judgments in all cases, being the judicial head of Rome. Although he could appoint pontiffs to act as minor judges in some cases, he alone had supreme authority in all cases brought before him, civil and criminal alike, in time of war and peace. A council assisted the king during all trials, although without effective power to control the monarch's decisions. While some authors maintain that there was no possible appeal to the king's decisions, others believe that any appeal proposal could be brought before the king by a patrician, through the meeting of the Curia Assembly.
Another of the king's powers was the ability to designate or appoint posts or offices, among them that of tribunus celerum which served both as tribune of the Ramnes (Romans), as commander of the king's personal guard, a position comparable to that of prefect of the praetorium existing during the Roman Empire. This position was the second in command after the monarch himself, and had the power to convene the Assembly of the Curia and dictate laws about it. The tribunus celerum was to abandon his mandate at the death of the monarch.
Another position appointed by the king was the urban prefect, who acted as the guardian of the city. When the king was absent from Rome, this position received all the powers and capacities of the king, to the point of monopolizing the imperium while he was within the city. Another exclusive privilege of the king was to appoint patricians to act as senators in the Senate.
Under the rule of kings, the Senate and the Assembly of the Curia had indeed little power and authority. They were not independent institutions, in the sense that they could only meet, and jointly, by order of the king, and could only discuss matters of state that the king had previously exposed. While the Curia Assembly had at least the power to pass laws when the king so conceded, the Senate was the king's council of honor and could advise the king on his acts, but not impose his opinions on him. The only time the king had to have the express approval of the Senate was in the event of declaring war on a foreign nation.
The insignia and honors of the kings of Rome consisted of twelve lictors wearing the fasces containing axes, the right to sit on the curule chair, the purple toga picta, red shoes, and silver diadem over the head. Of all these insignia, the most prominent was the purple robe.
The King's Choice
Once the king died, Rome entered a period of interregnum. The Senate could assemble and appoint an interrex for a short period (usually less than a year) in order to maintain the sacred auspice while the throne was vacant; Instead of appointing a single interrex, the Senate appointed several that followed one another over time, usually 5 days, until a new monarch was appointed. When the interrex appointed a candidate to bear the royal diadem, it presented the same to the Senate, which examined the candidate and, if it approved his candidacy, this was the creatio, the interregnum was to bring together the Curia Assembly and serve as its president during the election of the king. This institution passed to the first stage of the Republic, when the monarchy was abolished with the expulsion of Tarquin the Proud, and came into action when the consuls died during the exercise of their position before being able to hold the consular elections.
Once proposed to the Curia Assembly, the Roman people could accept or reject the candidate. If he accepted, the king-elect still could not immediately assume the throne, but two more steps had to be taken before he was invested with royal authority and power. In the first place, he had to obtain divine acquiescence, the gods being summoned through the auspices, since the king was to be the high priest of Rome. This ceremony was directed by an augur, who led the elected king to the citadel, where the augur seated the king on a stone seat, while the people waited at his feet. If he was found worthy to reign, the augur announced that the gods had shown favorable signs, thus confirming the king's sacredness.
The second step that had to be carried out was the granting of the imperium to the new king. The previous vote of the Curiae Assembly had only determined who could be king, and was not valid for granting the precise powers of the king over the elected candidate. Therefore, the same king proposed to the Curia Assembly a law ( lex curiata de imperio ) by which he obtained the imperium , which was granted to the monarch by means of a favorable vote. Of the same. The reason for this double vote of the Curiae Assembly is not very clear. The imperium could only be conferred on the person that the gods had found favourable, therefore it was necessary to first determine who would be the person who was capable of obtaining the imperium, and when the gods were favorable to the candidate, he would be granted the imperium by means of a special vote.
Kings of Rome
Romulus
Romulus was not only the first Roman king, but also its founder, along with his twin Remus. In the year 753 B.C. C., both began to build the city next to the Palatine Hill, when, according to legend, Romulus killed Remus for having sacrilegiously crossed the pomerium. After the founding of the city, Romulus invited criminals, escaped slaves and exiles to give them asylum in the new city, thus coming to populate five of the seven hills of Rome. To get wives for his citizens, Romulus invited the Sabines to a festival, where he kidnapped the Sabine women and brought them to Rome. After the ensuing war with the Sabines, Romulus united the Sabines and the Romans under the rule of a diarchy together with the Sabine leader Titus Tatius.
Romulus divided the population of Rome into strong men and those unfit to fight. The combatants made up the first Roman legions, while the rest became the commoners of Rome, and from all of them, Romulus selected 100 of the highest lineage men as senators. These men were called Patres, and their descendants would be the patricians, the Roman nobility. After the union between Romans and Sabines, Romulus added another 100 men to the Senate.
Also, under the reign of Romulus, the institution of augurs was established as part of the Roman religion, as well as the Comitia Curiata. Romulus divided the people of Rome into three tribes: Romans (ramnes), Sabines (titios) and the rest (luceres). Each tribe elected ten coviriae (curiae, community of men), also contributing 100 knights and 10 centuries of infantry each, thus forming the first legion of 300 horsemen and 3,000 infantry. Occasionally a second legion could be summoned in an emergency.
After a 37-year reign, Romulus had fought numerous wars, spreading Rome's influence throughout Latium and other surrounding areas. He would soon be remembered as the first great conqueror, as well as one of the most devoted men, in Roman history. Upon his death at the age of 54, he was deified as the war god Quirinus, honored not only as one of the three main gods of Rome, but also as the city of Rome itself deified.
Numa Pompilius
After the death of Romulus, the reign of the city fell to the Sabine Numa Pompilius. Although he initially did not want to accept the royal dignity, his father convinced him to accept the position, in order to serve the gods.Remembered for his wisdom, his reign was marked by peace and prosperity..
Numa reformed the Roman calendar, adjusting it for the solar and lunar year, also adding the months of January and February to complete the twelve months of the new calendar. He instituted numerous Roman religious rituals, such as that of the salii, also designating a flamen maioris as the supreme priest of Quirinus, the flamen Quirinalis. He organized the surrounding territory of Rome into districts, for a better administration, and distributed the lands conquered by Romulus among the citizens, while the first organization of the city into guilds or trades is attributed to him.
Numa was remembered as the most religious of all kings, above even Romulus himself. Under his reign temples were erected to Vesta and Janus, an altar was consecrated on the Capitol to the border god Terminus, and the flamins, the vestal virgins of Rome and pontiffs, were organized, as well as the Collegium Pontificum. Tradition has it that during Numa's rule a shield of Jupiter fell from heaven, with the fate of Rome written on it. The king ordered eleven copies of it to be made, which were revered as sacred by the Romans.
As a kind and peace-loving man, Numa planted ideas of piety and justice in the Roman mind. During his reign, the doors of the temple of Janus were always closed, as a sign that he had not waged any war during his rule.After 43 years of his reign, Numa's death occurred peacefully and natural.
Tulo Hostilius
Son of Hersilia (who became the wife of Romulus) and Hostius Hostilius, Tullus Hostilius was very similar to Romulus in terms of his warrior character, and completely opposed to Numa due to his lack of attention to the gods. Tulo promoted several wars against Alba Longa, Fidenas and Veii, so that Rome thus obtained new territories and greater power. It was during the reign of Tullus when Alba Longa was completely destroyed, its entire population being enslaved and sent to Rome. In this way, Rome imposed itself on its mother city as the hegemonic power of Lazio.
Tullus wanted new wars so much that he even fomented another conflict against the Sabines, so it can be said that it was during his reign that the Roman people acquired the desire for new conquests at the cost of peace. The king sustained so many wars that he neglected to pay attention to the divinities, for which, according to legend, a plague struck Rome, the king himself being among those affected. When Tullus requested Jupiter's help, the god responded with a thunderbolt that reduced both the monarch and his residence to ashes.
Despite their belligerent nature, Tullus Hostilius selected a third group of individuals who came to belong to the patrician class of Rome, chosen from among all those who had come to Rome seeking asylum and a new life. He also erected a new building to house the Senate, the Curia, which existed for five centuries after the death of the king, whose reign came to an end after 32 years.
Anco Marcio
After the mysterious death of Tullus, the Romans chose the sabine Ancus Marcius, a peaceful and religious figure, to rule them as their new king. He was the grandson of Numa Pompilius and, like his grandfather, barely extended the limits of Rome, only fighting in defense of Roman territories when necessary. He was the one who built the first Roman prison on Capitol Hill.
During his reign, the Janiculum, on the west bank of the Tiber, was fortified in order to provide greater protection to the city on that flank, and the first bridge over the river was also built. Another of the king's works was the construction of the Roman port of Ostia on the Tyrrhenian coast, as well as the first salting factories, taking advantage of the traditional salt trade route (the Via Salaria) that supplied the Sabine farmers. The size of the city increased thanks to the diplomacy exercised by Anco, which allowed the peaceful union of several smaller villages in alliance with Rome. Thanks to this method, he gained control of the Latins, relocating them to the Aventine, and thus consolidating the commoner class of Rome.
After 24 years of reign, he possibly died a natural death, like his grandfather before him, being remembered as one of the great pontiffs of Rome. He was the last of the Latino-Sabine kings of Rome.
Tarquinius Priscus
Tarquinius Priscus was the fifth king of Rome, and the first of Etruscan origin, presumably of Corinthian descent. After emigrating to Rome, he obtained the favor of Ancus, who adopted him as his son. Upon ascending the throne, he fought several victorious wars against the Sabines and Etruscans, thus doubling the size of Rome and obtaining great treasures for the city.
One of his first reforms was to add 100 new members to the Senate from the conquered Etruscan tribes, bringing the number of senators to a total of 300. He also expanded the army, doubling the number of troops to 6,000 infantry and 600 horsemen. He used the great booty obtained in his military campaigns to build great monuments in Rome. Among these works, the great sewage system of the city stands out, the Cloaca Maxima, whose purpose was to drain the waters of a small stream from the Tiber that used to stagnate in the valleys located between the hills of Rome. On the site of the ancient marshes, Priscus began the construction of the Roman Forum. Another of the king's innovations was the creation of the Roman Games.
The most celebrated of his construction projects was the Circus Maximus, a large stadium that hosted horse racing, which is to date the largest of any erected in the world. Priscus continued the Circus Maximus with the construction of a temple-fortress on the Capitol Hill, dedicated to the god Jupiter. Unfortunately, he was assassinated after a 38-year reign by the sons of his predecessor, Ancus Marcius, before the temple was even finished. His reign is also remembered for having introduced Roman military symbols and civil offices, as well as for celebrating the first triumph.
Servio Tulio
After the death of Priscus, his son-in-law Servius Tullius succeeded to the throne, being the second king of Etruscan origin to rule Rome. Like his father-in-law before him, Servius fought several victorious wars against the Etruscans. He used the booty obtained in his campaigns to erect the first walls that surrounded the seven Roman hills on the pomerium , the so-called Servian walls. He also made changes to the organization of the Roman army.
He achieved renown for developing a new constitution for the Romans, with greater attention to the citizen classes. He instituted the first census in history, dividing the people of Rome into five economic classes, also creating the centuried Assembly. He also used the census to divide the city into four urban tribes, based on their spatial location within the city, establishing the Tribal Assembly. His reign was also noted for the construction of the Diana temple on the Aventine Hill.
Servius's reforms brought about a great change in Roman life: the right to vote was established based on economic wealth, so much of the political power was reserved for Roman elites. However, over time Servius gradually favored the less favored classes, to obtain in this way a greater support among the commoners, for which reason his legislation can be defined as unsatisfactory for the patrician class. Servius Tullius' long 44-year reign ended with his assassination in a conspiracy hatched by his own daughter Tullia and her husband Tarquinius, his successor to the throne.
Tarquinius the Proud
The seventh and last king of Rome was Tarquin the Proud. The son of Priscus and son-in-law of Servius, Tarquin was also of Etruscan origin. It was during his reign that the Etruscans reached the height of his power. Tarquin used violence, murder, and terror to maintain control over Rome in ways no previous king had used, even repealing many constitutional reforms established by his predecessors. His best work for Rome was the completion of the temple to Jupiter, begun by his father Priscus.
Tarquinius abolished and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars on Tarpeian Rock, thus enraging the Roman people. The turning point of his tyrannical reign came when he allowed the rape of Lucretia, a Roman patrician, by his own son Sextus. A relative of Lucretia and the king's nephew, Lucius Junius Brutus (ancestor of Marcus Junius Brutus), summoned the Senate, which decided to expel Tarquin in 510 BC. C. Tarquinio could then have received the help of Lars Porsena, who nonetheless occupied Rome for his own benefit. Tarquinio fled then to the city of Túsculo and later to Cumae, where he would die in the year 495 a. This expulsion marked the end of Etruscan influence in both Rome and Lazio, and the establishment of a republican constitution.
After the expulsion of Tarquin, who had reigned for 25 years, the Senate decided to abolish the monarchy, making Rome a republic in 509 BC. C.. Lucio Junio Bruto and Lucio Tarquinio Colatino, Tarquinio's nephew and Lucrecia's widower, became the first consuls of the new government of Rome, which would eventually achieve the conquest of almost the entire Mediterranean world, and which lasted for almost five hundred years until the accession of Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus.
Public posts after the monarchy
To replace the leadership of the kings, a new position was expressly created with the title of praetor (praetor, meaning "leader"), which in the year 305 BC C. was changed to consul. Initially, the consul possessed all the powers that once belonged to the king, shared with another consular colleague. His mandates were annual, and each consul could veto the actions or decisions of his colleague.
Subsequently, the powers of the consuls were divided, adding new magistracies that monopolized different minor powers from the king's original ones. The first of these were those of praetor, who brought together the judicial powers of the consuls, and that of censor, who had the power to control the census.
Nine years after the expulsion of Tarquin the Proud, the Romans created the magistracy of dictator, who was granted complete authority over all Roman affairs, both civil and military, with no appeals against his decisions. This power was so absolute that the Romans only dared to appoint a dictator in times of extreme urgency, and his mandate being only six months long.
The king's religious powers were transferred to two new offices, the rex sacrorum and the pontifex maximus. The first was the highest de jure religious position in the Republic, his only task being to officiate the annual sacrifice to Jupiter, a privilege previously reserved for the figure of the monarch. However, the pontifex maximus (or "head of the bridge over the Tiber River") was the de facto most important religious office, and the one who possessed most of the religious authority King. He had the power to summon all the vestal virgins, flamines , pontiffs and even the rex sacrorum . This last charge would finally disappear at the beginning of the [[I century a. C.]], falling the few powers of him in the figure of pontifex maximus .
The return to the monarchical system
With the ascension to power of Julius Caesar and his adoptive son César Augusto, we witnessed the gradual restoration of royal power. Julius Caesar was elected pontifex maximus and dictator for life, which in practice gave him greater powers than the ancient kings. He also wore red shoes, and Marco Antonio went so far as to offer him a diadem publicly, although he vehemently rejected it.
Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March 44 B.C. C. During the period between 28 and 12 B.C. C., Augustus obtained the tribunician powers, together with the positions of pontifex maximus and princeps senatus, becoming a de facto monarch. This was the beginning of the Principality, although the institutions of the Republic continued to exist as such until the Dominado. Even in the Byzantine era, the emperor shared the title of consul with another consul.