48 BC Julius Caesar, a patrician ineligible to be tribune, is given tribunician powers (tribunicia potestas) by the Senate, making his person inviolable, and preventing the other tribunes from interfering with his actions.
49 BC First appointment of Julius Caesar as Roman dictator, for a one-year term, with Mark Antony as his Master of the Horse (second in command). Caesar presides over his own election to a second consulship and then, after 11 days, resigns the dictatorship.
A consul was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic, and the consulship was considered the highest level of the cursus honorum (the sequential order of public offices through which aspiring politicians sought to ascend).
49 BC Battle of Pharsalus. In the Roman civil war, Julius Caesar and his allies decisively defeat the forces of Pompey and the Senate, ending the First Triumvirate and making Caesar master of the Roman state.
The two armies confronted each other over several months of uncertainty, Caesar being in a much weaker position than Pompey. Caesar found himself isolated in a hostile country with only 22,000 men and short of provisions, while on the other side of the river he was faced by Pompey with an army about twice as large in number. Pompey wanted to delay, knowing the enemy would eventually surrender from hunger and exhaustion. Pressured by the senators present and by his officers, he reluctantly engaged in battle and suffered an overwhelming defeat, ultimately fleeing the camp and his men, disguised as an ordinary citizen.
Paul K. Davis wrote that "Caesar's victory took him to the pinnacle of power, effectively ending the Republic." The battle itself did not end the civil war but it was decisive and gave Caesar a much needed boost in legitimacy. Until then much of the Roman world outside Italy supported Pompey and his allies due to the extensive list of clients he held in all corners of the Republic. After Pompey's defeat former allies began to align themselves with Caesar as some came to believe the gods favored him, while for others it was simple self-preservation. The ancients took great stock in success as a sign of favoritism by the gods.49 BC Caesar, recalled to Rome, crosses the Rubicon river into Roman Italy with his legion, defying the Senate. His return forces Pompey and much of the Senate to flee to Roman Greece.
50 BC Conquest of Gaul to the Rhine completed by Julius Caesar.
53 BC Crassus is killed in a disastrous war against the Parthians in the East.
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Il mondo romano all'epoca del primo triumvirato e degli accordi di Lucca tra Cesare, Crasso e Pompeo nel 56 a.C.
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56 BC Caesar, Crassus and Pompey meet at Luca for a conference in which they decided: to add another five years to the proconsulship of Caesar in Gaul; to give the province of Syria to Crassus and both Spains and Africa to Pompey
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59 BC Julius Caesar launches the conquest of Gaul.
59 BC April The first triumvirate is constituted. Pompey secretly allies to Julius Caesar and Licinius Crassus. To solidify the alliance, Pompey marries Julia (daughter of Julius Caesar).
59 BC Julius Caesar elected as Roman consul for the first time.
"Caesar sought election as consul for 59 BC, along with two other candidates. The election was sordid – even Cato, with his reputation for incorruptibility, is said to have resorted to bribery in favor of one of Caesar's opponents. Caesar won, along with conservative Marcus Bibulus."62 BC Julius Caesar is appointed to govern Hispania Ulterior (modern south-eastern Spain) as propraetor.
64 BC or 59 BC Birth of Titus Livius (Livy) in Patavium (Padua). in northern Italy
"a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people – Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Books from the Foundation of the City) – covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time.
At the time of Livy's birth, his home city of Patavium was the second wealthiest on the Italian peninsula. Patavium was a part of the province of Cisalpine Gaul at the time. In his works, Livy often expressed his deep affection and pride for Patavium, and the city was well known for its conservative values in morality and politics. "He was by nature a recluse, mild in temperament and averse to violence; the restorative peace of his time gave him the opportunity to turn all his imaginative passion to the legendary and historical past of the country he loved."
64 BC Roman conquest of Syria by Pompey.
70 BC Powers of the tribunate lost in Sulla's reforms in 81 BC are re-established. "but a precedent had been established."
71 BC Pompey subdues revolt in Roman Hispania.
82 to 81 Appointment of Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix as Roman dictator. Loss of much of the power of the tribunate as a office.
The dictator Sulla, who considered the tribunate a threat to his power, deprived the tribunes of their powers to initiate legislation, and to veto acts of the senate. He also prohibited former tribunes from holding any other office, effectively preventing the use of the tribunate as a stepping stone to higher office. Although the tribunes retained the power to intercede on behalf of individual citizens, most of their authority was lost under Sulla's reforms."
88 BC Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (Sulla) puts down a revolt of the Athenians.
146 BC Roman conquest of Greece.
"In 146 BC, the Romans finally defeated and destroyed their main rival in the Mediterranean, Carthage, and spent the following months in provoking the Greeks, aiming to a final battle that would strengthen their hold also in this area. Cassius Dio reported that it was the Achaeans (Greeks) who began the quarrel.In the winter of that year the Achaean League rebelled against Roman predominance in Greece. Marching from Macedonia, the Romans defeated the first Achaean army under Critolaos of Megalopolis at the Battle of Scarpheia, and advanced unhindered onto Corinth."
149 BC Destruction of Carthage.
202 BC Appointment of Gaius Servilius Geminus as Roman dictator.
203 BC Appointment of Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus as Roman dictator
205 BC Appointment of Quintus Caecilius Metellus as Roman dictator
207 BC Appointment of Marcus Livius Salinator as Roman dictator.
208 BC Appointment of Titus Manlius Torquatus as Roman dictator.
210 BC Appointment of Quintus Fulvius Flaccus as Roman dictator.
212 BC Roman conquest of Syracuse. "During the siege, the city was protected by weapons developed by Archimedes. Archimedes, the great inventor and polymath, was slain at the conclusion of the siege by a Roman soldier, in contravention of the Roman general Marcellus' instructions to spare his life."
213 BC Appointment of Gaius Claudius Centho as Roman dictator.
214 BC Beginning of the Macedonian War. Ends in the Roman conquest of Greece by 148 BC.
216 BC Appointment of Marcus Fabius Buteo as Roman dictator.
216 BC Appointment of Marcus Junius Pera as Roman dictator.
217 BC Appointment of Lucius Veturius Philo as Roman dictator.
217 BC Second appointment of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as Roman dictator.
218 BC Roman invasion of Hispania
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| Map showing Roman expansion in Italy. (source) |
221 BC Appointment of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus as Roman dictator.
224 BC Appointment of ucius Caecilius Metellus as Roman dictator.
225 BC The Battle of Telamon and the Roman conquest of Cisalpine Gaul (the Po valley in northern Italy). The Romans trap and defeat a large army of Gauls in Tuscany.
230 BC Army of Gauls invade northern Italy and are repulsed by the Cisalpine Gauls.
231 BC Appointment of Gaius Duilius as Roman dictator.
246 BC Appointment of Tiberius Coruncanius as Roman dictator.
249 BC Appointment of Aulus Atilius Calatinus as Roman dictator.
249 BC Appointment of Marcus Claudius Glicia as Roman dictator.
257 BC Appointment of Quintus Ogulnius Gallus as Roman dictator.
263 BC Appointment of Gnaeus Fulvius Maximus Centumalus as Roman dictator.
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| Theater of the Pyrrhic War (280 BC - 275 BC) showing movements of Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, who was opposed by both Rome and Carthage. (source) "The Pyrrhic War initially started as a minor conflict between Rome and the city of Tarentum over a naval treaty violation by one of the Roman consuls." |
275 BC End of the Pyrrhic War. Most of Magna Graecia (outside the city of Syracuse) is absorbed into the Roman Republic.
276 BC Possible appointment of Publius Cornelius Rufinus as Roman dictator.
280 BC Appointment of Publius Cornelius Rufinus as Roman dictator.
280 BC Appointment of Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Maximus as Roman dictator.
285 BC Possible appointment of Marcus Aemilius Barbula as Roman dictator.
287 BC Possible appointment of Appius Claudius Caecus as Roman dictator (dictator suffectus?). "As censor he had been responsible for the construction of Rome's first aqueduct and major road project."
287 BC Quintus Hortensius is appointed Roman dictator (mortuus est)
298–290 The Third Samnite Wars.He was a plebeian appointed to the office of dictator of Rome in the year 287 BC. When the people, pressed by their patrician creditors, again "seceded", he was commissioned to put an end to the strife. He passed a law (known as the Lex Hortensia) whereby the resolutions of the multitude (plebiscita) were made binding on all the citizens, without the approval of the Senate being necessary. Another law, passed about the same time, declared the nundinae (market days) to be dies fasti (days on which legal business might be transacted). He is said to have died while still in office, thus making him (if true) one of two formal dictators to die in office in history, with the other being Julius Caesar.
302 to 301 BC Second appointment of Marcus Valerius Maximus Corvus as Roman dictator.
In 302 BC, Corvus was appointed Dictator for the second time. This appointment was brought about by the revolt of the Marsi at Arretium and Carseoli, and Corvus was able not only to defeat them in battle, but to take the fortified towns of Milionia, Plestina and Fresilia. The Marsi sued for peace, and for his victories over them he was awarded his third Triumph.For the following year (301 BC), he was again appointed Dictator, this time to engage in operations against the Etruscans.
312 BC Appointment of Gaius Sulpicius Longus as Roman dictator.
313 BC Appointment of either Gaius Poetilius Libo Visolus or Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus (second time) as Roman dictator.
314 BC Second appointment of Gaius Maenius as Roman dictator.
315 BC Appointment of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus as Roman dictator.
316 BC Second appointment of Lucius Aemilius Mamercinus Privernas as Roman dictator.
320 BC Third appointment of Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus as Roman dictator.
320 BC Appointment of Lucius Cornelius Lentulus as Roman dictator.
320 BC Appointment of Gaius Maenius as Roman dictator.
321 BC Appointment of Marcus Aemilius Papus as Roman dictator.
321 BC Appointment of Quintus Fabius Ambustus as Roman dictator.
322 BC Appointment of Aulus Cornelius Cossus Arvina as Roman dictator.
325 BC Appointment of Lucius Papirius Cursor as Roman dictator.
326 BC Beginning of the Second Samnite Wars (to 304 BC).
332 BC Appointment of Marcus Claudius Marcellus as Roman dictator.
334 BC Appointment of Publius Cornelius Rufinus as Roman dictator.
335 BC Appointment of Lucius Aemilius Mamercinus Privernas as Roman dictator.
337 BC Appointment of Gaius Claudius Crassinus Regillensis as Roman dictator.
339 BC Appointment of Quintus Publilius Philo as Roman dictator.
340 BC Appointment of Lucius Papirius Crassus as Roman dictator.
342 BC Appointment of Marcus Valerius Corvus as Roman dictator.
343–341 BC The First Samnite Wars
344 BC Appointment of Publius Valerius Poplicola as Roman dictator.
345 BC Second appointment of Lucius Furius Camillus as Roman dictator.
348 BC Appointment of Gaius Claudius Crassinus Regillensis as Roman dictator.
349 BC Second appointment of Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus as Roman dictator.
350 BC Appointment of Lucius Furius Camillus as Roman dictator.
351 BC Appointment of Marcus Fabius Ambustus as Roman dictator.
353 BC Appointment of Gaius Julius Iulus as Roman dictator.
353 BC Appointment of Titus Manlius Imperiosus Torquatus as Roman dictator.
356 BC Appointment of Gaius Marcius Rutilus as Roman dictator.
358 BC Appointment of Gaius Sulpicius Peticus as Roman dictator.
360 BC Appointment of Quintus Servilius Ahala as Roman dictator.
361 BC Second appointment of Titus Quinctius Pennus Capitolinus Crispinus as Roman dictator.
362 BC Appointment of Appius Claudius Crassus Regillensis as Roman dictator.
363 BC Appointment of Lucius Manlius Capitolinus Imperiosus as Roman dictator.
366 BC Fifth appointment of Marcus Furius Camillus as Roman dictator.
367/366 BC Office of consular tribune abolished (from 444 BC), and the consulship is re-introduced with a requirement that one of them be a plebe.
"Military tribunes with consular power were abolished, and one of the consuls elected each year was to be a plebeian. Although this law was occasionally violated by the election of two patrician consuls. At last, the plebeian tribunes had broken the patrician monopoly on the highest magistracies of the state."
368 BC Appointment of Publius Manlius Capitolinus as Roman dictator.
368 BC Fourth appointment of Marcus Furius Camillus as Roman dictator.
376 BC Gaius Licinius Calvus Stolo and Lucius Sextius Lateranus, tribunes of the plebs, used the veto power to prevent the election of any annual magistrates. Continuing in office each year, they frustrated the patricians, who, despite electing patrician military tribunes from 371 to 367, finally conceded the consulship, agreeing to the Licinian Rogations.
380 BC Appointment of Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus Capitolinus as Roman dictator.
385 BC Appointment of Aulus Cornelius Cossus as Roman dictator.
389 BC Third appointment of Marcus Furius Camillus as Roman dictator.
390 BC (circa) Sack of Rome by the Gauls following the Battle of Allia. Second appointment of Marcus Furius Camillus as Roman dictator.
The Gauls, who had already invaded most of Etruria, reached Clusium and its people turned to Rome for help. However, the Roman embassy provoked a skirmish and, then, the Gauls marched straight for Rome (July 390 BC). After the entire Roman army was defeated at the Allia brook (Battle of the Allia), the defenceless Rome was seized by the invaders. The entire Roman army retreated into the deserted city of Veii whereas most civilians ended at the Etruscan Caere. Nonetheless, a surrounded Roman garrison continued to resist on the Capitoline Hill. The Gauls dwelt within the city, getting their supplies by destroying all nearby towns for plunder
The Gauls may have been ill-prepared for the siege, as an epidemic broke out among them as a result of not burying the dead. The chieftain Brennus and the Romans negotiated an end to the siege when the Romans agreed to pay one thousand pounds of gold. According to tradition, to add insult to injury, it was discovered that Brennus was using heavier weights than standard for weighing the gold. When the Romans complained, Brennus is said to have thrown his sword and belt on the scales and shouted in Latin, "Vae victis!" ("woe to the conquered").
According to some Roman historians, it was at this very moment that Camillus arrived with a Roman army and, after putting his sword on the scale, replied,"Nōn aurō, sed ferrō, recuperanda est patria" ("not with gold, but with iron, will the fatherland be regained"), and attacked the Gauls. A battle ensued in the streets of Rome, but neither army could fight effectively in the narrow streets and alleyways. The Gallic and Roman armies left the city and fought the next day. Camillus's army lived up to his hopes and the Gallic army was routed. The Romans dubbed Camillus a "second Romulus," a second founder of Rome.
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| (source) Peoples of northern Italy during the 4th to 3rd centuries BC, following the Gaulic invasion of 391 BC. The Romans used the named Cisalpine Gaul for the areas of northern Italy inhabited by various Celtic people. |
391 BC Large number of Gauls, a Celtic people, stream over the passes of the Alps in to Italy, quickly seizing the area north of the the Appennines.
396 BC First appointment of Marcus Furius Camillus as Roman dictator.
"Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of patrician descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome."408 BC Appointment of Publius Cornelius Rutilus Cossus as Roman dictator.
418 BC Second appointment of Quintus Servilius Priscus Structus Fidenas as Roman dictator.
426 BC Third appointment of Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus as Roman dictator. "His first and third dictatorships involved wars against the Veintines and Fidenates. He was victorious both times, capturing Fidenae in 426 BC."
431 BC Appointment of Aulus Postumius Tubertus as Roman dictator. Final Roman conquest of the neighborhing Aequi.
When it was decided to appoint a dictator to undertake the war with the Aequi and Volsci in 431, the consuls could not agree, and by lot the choice fell to Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus Pennus who nominated his father-in-law. The two men proceeded against the enemy, and on the 18th of June, won a great victory over the Aequi and Volsci at Mount Algidus.434 BC Second appointment of Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus as Roman dictator. "occasioned by fear of an impending war with Etruria, but that war never materialized."
Instead used his office as dicator to propose cutting the term of the censors from five years to eighteen months. This change was vigorously opposed by the senate but loved by the people, so he submitted the lex Aemilia de censura minuenda to the Tribal Assembly, which approved it. In retaliation, the censors used the power of their office to strike him from his tribe, increase his tax burden eight-fold, and brand him an aerarian.435 BC First appointment of Quintus Servilius Priscus Structus as Roman dictator.
In 435 BC, during a pestilence in Rome, a force of Fidenates, with re-inforcements from Veii, took advantage of the situation, entering Roman territory, and crossing the Anio, advanced almost as far as the Colline Gate. Quintus Servilius Priscus Structus was appointed dictator, and Postumus Aebutius was named magister equitum. The two gathered a volunteer force just outside the gate. This induced the Fidenates to retreat, but Servilius and Postumius pursued them to Fidenae. Finding that normal siege tactics would be ineffective against the fortified hilltop, the Romans breached the walls with sappers, and took the citadel, bringing Fidenae under Roman control.437 BC First appointment of Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus as Roman dictator, after serving as as consular tribune the previous year. He prosecuted a war against the Veintines and Fidenates.
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| Ahala, master of the horse, presents the dead Maelius to Cincinnatus, fresco by Beccafumi at the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. (source) |
439 BC Second appointment of Lucius Quintus Cincinnnatus as Roman dictator.
He came out of retirement again for a second term as dictator (439 BC) to put down a conspiracy of Spurius Maelius, who supposedly was planning to become king. Maelius was killed immediately when the Master of the Horse (magister equitum) was sent to bring him to trial, and the incipient coup perished with him. With the crisis resolved, Cincinnatus again resigned his commission.
Within his lifetime Cincinnatus became a legend to the Romans. Twice granted supreme power, he held onto it for not a day longer than absolutely necessary.
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| Cincinnatus leaves the plow for the Roman dictatorship – Juan Antonio Ribera, c. 1806 (source) |
During the 440s, the office of consul was quite often replaced with the establishment of the Consular Tribunes, who were elected whenever the military needs of the state were significant enough to warrant the election of more than the two usual consuls. These remained in place until the office was abolished in 367/366 BC and the consulship was reintroduced.
The tribuni militum consulari potestate ("military tribunes with consular authority"), in English commonly also Consular Tribunes, were tribunes elected with consular power during the so-called "Conflict of the Orders" in the Roman Republic, starting in 444 BC and then continuously from 408 BC to 394 BC and again from 391 BC to 367 BC.
Military tribunes were elected in place of the consuls in half the years from 444 to 401 BC, and in each instance, all of the tribunes were patricians; nor did any plebeian succeed in obtaining the consulship.445 BC Tribunes of the plebes succeed in passing lex Canuleia,
It repealed the law forbidding the intermarriage of patricians and plebeians, and providing that one of the consuls might be a plebeian. Rather than permit the consular dignity to pass into the hands of a plebeian, the senate proposed a compromise whereby three military tribunes, who might be either patrician or plebeian, should be elected in place of the consuls.458 BC First appointment of Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus as Roman dictator, for six month term.
In 458 BC, the Romans were fighting the Aequi and the Sabines. The consul Minucius Esquilinus had led an army against them, but had been trapped by the Aequians in the Alban Hills and was attempting to fight off a siege. A few Roman horsemen escaped and returned to Rome to tell the senate what had happened. The senate fell into a panic and authorized the other consul for the year, Horatius Pulvillus, to nominate a dictator. Horatius nominated Cincinnatus for a dictatorial term (also known as Magister Populi or "Master of the People") for six months.
A group of senators were sent to tell Cincinnatus that he had been nominated dictator. According to Livy, the senators found Cincinnatus while he was plowing on his farm. Cincinnatus cried out "Is everything all right?" They said to Cincinnatus that they hoped "it might turn out well for both him and his country," and then they asked him to put on his senatorial toga and hear the mandate of the senate. He called to his wife, Racilia, telling her to bring out his toga from their cottage.
Politically, Cincinnatus was a persistent opponent of attempts to improve the legal situation of the plebeians.463 BC Possible appointment of Gaius Aemilius Mamercus as the fourth Roman dictator (clavi figendi causa)
494 BC Establishment of the office of the tribune of the plebes (Tribuni Plebis).
The tribune of the plebes was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power of the Roman senate and magistrates. These tribunes had the power to convene and preside over the Concilium Plebis, or people's assembly; to summon the senate; to propose legislation; and to intervene on behalf of plebeians in legal matters; but the most significant power of these tribunes was the power to veto the actions of the consuls and other magistrates, thus protecting the interests of the plebeians as a class. The tribunes of the plebs were sacrosanct, meaning that any assault on their person was prohibited by law.
Although sometimes referred to as "plebeian magistrates," technically the tribunes of the plebs were not magistrates, having been elected by the plebeians alone, and not the whole Roman people. However, they were sacrosanct, and the whole body of the plebeians were pledged to protect the tribunes against any assault or interference with their persons during their terms of office. Anyone who violated the sacrosanctity of the tribunes might be killed without penalty.
This was also the source of the tribunes' power, known as ius intercessionis, or intercessio, by which any tribune could intercede on behalf of a Roman citizen to prohibit the act of a magistrate or other official. Citizens could appeal the decisions of the magistrates to the tribunes, who would then be obliged to determine the legality of the action before a magistrate could proceed. This power also allowed the tribunes to forbid, or veto any act of the senate or another assembly. Only a dictator was exempt from these powers.
The tribunicia potestas, or tribunician power, was limited by the fact that it was derived from the oath of the people to defend the tribunes. This limited most of the tribunes' actions to the boundaries of the city itself, as well as a radius of one mile around. They had no power to affect the actions of provincial governors.
494 BC Appointment of Manius Valerius Maximus as the third Roman dictator, who resolves the secession crisis with the plebes.
"During the first secession of the plebes, each of the neighborhing Volsci, Sabines and the Aequi took up arms against Rome at the same time. To meet the threat and because of the popular political concerns at the time, Valerius was appointed dictator by the Roman senate. He was said to have been chosen because of his moderate temper. His appointment was accepted by the people because of the popularity of his late brother Publius... Afterward, he resigned his commission, and went to his house, greeted by the applause of the people."
495-494 BC First secession of the plebeians (secessio plebis). "a dispute between the patrician ruling class and the plebeian underclass."
499 BC (circa) Appointment of Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis as the second Roman dictator, to prosecute a war agains the Latin League, who are seeking to re-install the Tarquins as Roman kings . He defeats them at Battle of Lake Regillus and subsequently celebrates a triumph.
501 BC Appointment of Titus Lartius as the first Roman dictator, for six month term oficially of general purpose (rei gerundae causa), with the intention of preparation the city in defense against attack by the Sabines. After the war, he lays down his office before the expiration of the term.
Roman dictators---originally called the praetor maximus or magister populi, "master of the infantry"---were usually appointed for a specific purpose, or causa, which limited the scope of their activities. The chief causae were rei gerundae (a general purpose, usually to lead an army in the field against a particular enemy), clavi figendi (an important religious rite involving the driving of a nail into the wall of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus), and comitiorum habendorum (the holding of the comitia to elect magistrates, when the consuls were unable to do so). Other causae included ludorum faciendorum (holding the Roman games, an important religious festival), ferarium constituendarum (establishing a religious festival in response to serious prodigies); seditionis sedandae (quelling sedition), and in one remarkable case, senatus legendi (filling up the ranks of the Senate after the Battle of Cannae).509 BC Overthrow of Lucius Tarquinus Superbus (Tarquin the Proud). Abolition of the Roman monarchy and establishment of the Roman Republic. Election of the first two consul, serving simultaneous one year terms, both acting as the military and civilian leaders of Rome, and with veto power over each other.
Prior to the establishment of the Roman Republic, Rome had been ruled by kings. Brutus led the revolt that overthrew the last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, after the rape of the noblewoman (and kinswoman of Brutus) Lucretia at the hands of Tarquin's son Sextus Tarquinius. The account is from Livy's Ab urbe condita and deals with a point in the history of Rome prior to reliable historical records (virtually all prior records were destroyed by the Gauls when they sacked Rome under Brennus in 390 BC or 387 BC).
535 BC Lucius Tarquinus Superbus (Tarquin the Proud) is elected as the seventh King of Rome.
579 BC Assassinaton of Lucius Tarquinus Priscus, King of Rome. Servius Tullius is elected as the sixth King of Rome after a regency.
"Tarquin is said to have reigned for thirty-eight years. According to legend, the sons of his predecessor, Ancus Marcius, believed that the throne should have been theirs. They arranged the king's assassination, disguised as a riot, during which Tarquin received a fatal blow to the head. However, the queen, Tanaquil, gave out that the king was merely wounded, and took advantage of the confusion to establish Servius Tullius as regent; when the death of Tarquin was confirmed, Tullius became king, in place of Marcius' sons, or those of Tarquin."616 BC Lucius Tarquinus Priscus (Tarquin the Elder) is elected as the fifth King of Rome.
642 BC Ancus Marcius is elected as the fourth King of Rome.
673 BC Tullus Hostilius is elected as the third King of Rome.
715 BC Numa Pompilius is elected the second King of Rome (Rex Romae) by the Senate. He abolishes the celeres of Romulus.
"After much bickering between the factions of Romulus (the Romans) and Tatius (the Sabines), a compromise was reached, and the Sabine Numa was elected by the Senate as the next king."
716 BC Death of Romulus, first King of Rome (Rex Romae), at age 55. "After the death of Romulus, there was an interregnum of one year in which the royal power was exercised by members of the Senate in rotation for five days in a row."
753 BC Legendary founding of Rome, according to Livy. Romulus, age approx. 18, proclaims himself king after murdering his brother Remus. He surrounds himself with a permanent bodyguard of 300-500 men, known as the celeres.
After 650 BC, the Etruscans became dominant in Italy and expanded into north-central Italy. Roman tradition claimed that Rome had been under the control of seven kings from 753 to 509 BC beginning with the mythical Romulus who was said to have founded the city of Rome along with his brother Remus. Two of the last three kings were said to be Etruscan (at least partially)—namely Tarquinius Priscus and Tarquinius Superbus. (Priscus is said by the ancient literary sources to be the son of a Greek refugee and an Etruscan mother.) Their names refer to the Etruscan town of Tarquinia. This traditional account of Roman history has come down to us through Livy, Plutarch, Dionysius of Halicarnassus. and others.
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A
map showing the extent of Etruria and the Etruscan civilization. The
map includes the 12 cities of the Etruscan League and notable cities
founded by the Etruscans. The dates on the map are an approximation
based on the sources I had. If the article is updated with more accurate
dates let me know and I'll modify this map to suit.
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