Tarquinius priscus biography sample

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BCE), or Tarquin the Proud, ruled Rome between 534 and 510 BCE and was the last king the Romans would tolerate. Tarquinius' despotic reign earned him the title Superbus (proud, haughty). The flaw in Superbus' character—he combined a great deal of ambition with a wealth of family treachery in his background—eventually led to the end of the Etruscan rule over the city of Rome.

Superbus was a member of the Tarquin Dynasty, dubbed the "Great House of Tarquin" by Rome's historian Livy, but the spotty, intrigue-riddled reign was hardly a dynasty. The Tarquins were one of several Etruscan chiefs, including the Tarchu, Mastarna, and Porsenna, who in turn usurped Rome's throne with little chance to found genuine dynasties. Cicero sketched the Tarquin history in his "Republica" as an example of how easily good government could degenerate.

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Tarqui'nius

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Lucius Tarquinius, called Priscus (“the Elder”), was the 5^th oh the seven legendary kings of Rome. He was the first king of the so-called Tarquin dynasty, family of Etruscan origin connected to the strong Etruscan influence on early Rome. Nevertheless, the man himself was half Greek and ancient historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus saw him as the one behind a huge Roman victory against the Etruscans and the Latin and Sabine cities on top of that. Read on if you want to know more of his military campaigns.

I will write about the events as described by Dionysius in his Roman Antiquities. Please be advised that the historicity of the story is at best questionable, even other historians provide different accounts. For example, Livy writes about the events of the Sabine war but does not connect Tarquinius to any conflict with the Etruscans. On the other hand, in the Fasti Triumphales (a list of Roman triumph completed in the reign of Augustus) Tarquinius is mentioned with three triumphs – against the Latins, Etruscans and Sabines.

WHO IS WHO?

THE LATINS

Italic tribe living in Latium, close to Rome (from the south). According to Roman foundation myths, the Latins were the Italians that mixed with the Trojans who had come from Troy under the leadership of Aeneas. The Romans