Lucretia was the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, great nephew of Tarquinius Priscus, and she was raped at knifepoint by Sextus, the son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.

The spark that set ablaze the ruins of Lucius Tarquinius’ reign was the rape of Lucretia.

As with every other part of the king’s life, the legend of his downfall has been confused and manipulated over time and by later Roman writers in order to paint an idealised and symbolic transition from monarchy to republic. The end of Lucius Tarquinius’ reign, the Tarquinian clan in Rome, and the monarchy of early Rome itself, all came to an end in the final decade of the 6th century BCE. Lucius Tarquinius also added seats to the Circus Maximus and extended the Cloaca Maxima drainage system, although his use of forced labour from the plebs aroused wide discontent amongst the populace.Įtruscan CivilizationNormanEinstein (GNU FDL) Rape of Lucretia & Exile Another achievement was to complete construction of the massive Temple of Capitoline Jupiter in Rome, a project begun by Tarquinius Priscus and finished by Etruscan sculptors imported especially for the job. In 510 or 509 BCE, Rome’s status as an important power was confirmed with the signing of its first treaty with Carthage. Warfare was coupled with diplomacy, and treaties and alliances were made with Latin towns, notably with Tusculum, whose ruler Octavius Mamilius married Lucius Tarquinius’ daughter.

He firmly established Rome at the head of the Latin League, now a more military-oriented association, and conquered several Latin towns. Lucius Tarquinius’ early reign saw the king embark on a campaign of ambitious expansion, waging war against the Etruscans, Volci, and Latins. Lucius Tarquinius’ early reign saw the king embark on a campaign of ambitious expansion, waging war against the Etruscans, Volci, & Latins. Such colourful descriptions by a Roman author writing five centuries after the events are likely tinged with a bias eager to display the difference between virtuous republic-loving Romans and dastardly foreign kings from immoral Etruria. Again according to the Roman historian Livy, the new king swiftly removed all dissenting senators and established himself as the dictator of Rome, modelling his reign on the Greek tyrants of that period. Shockingly, Tullia was said to have run over her father’s corpse in her chariot splattering blood all over her clothes (even a woman riding a chariot was unthinkable to the Romans, nevermind the lack of family respect). Together they arranged, first to kill Tullia’s husband, Arruns Tarquinius, and then murder the king, allowing Lucius Tarquinius to seize the throne. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus’ wife was Tullia, the younger daughter of Servius Tullius, Rome’s 6th king. However, these dates do not match, and so they are either wrong or Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the grandson of Priscus. 616 – 579 BCE) who was originally from the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, some 90 km north of Rome. Some ancient sources have Lucius Tarquinius the son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome (r. AccessionĪs with much of Rome’s early history, where legend replaces actual facts, the chronology and events of Lucius Tarquinius’ life are often confused and irreconcilable. Porsenna did not restore Tarquinius to the throne, though, and the ex-king fled to Cumae where he died in 495 BCE. Following his exile after the infamous rape of Lucretia by his son Sextus, he joined forces with the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna who besieged Rome c. He belonged to the Etruscan Tarquinii clan, reigned from 534 to 510 BCE, and was infamous for his tyrannical rule, although Rome did enlarge its territory in that time. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (‘Tarquin the Proud’) was traditionally the seventh and last king of ancient Rome before it became a republic.

Sextus and collatinus tarquinus