The Monarchy
Following the
war with the Sabines,Romulus became the first king of the new city. According
to tradition, there would be a total of seven kings who would rule Rome
over the next two and a half centuries.
The First Kings
Romulus (753 BC to 717 BC) Romulus's reign helped to strengthen
the power of Rome through his sucessful millitary campaigns and wise rule
during times of peace.Romulus made it possible for Rome to enjoy "an assured peace for nearly 40 years."(Mills,29)Romulus was such a mighty
and nobel figure for the future Romans that he was worshipped as a supreme
god of the city of Rome by them throughout the Republic and Empire until
the eventual fall of Rome 1200 years later.
The story recounting the death of Romulus
is one that is fitting of any god. It is said that while he
was speaking to the population of Rome, his father, Mars, swept down from
heaven and carried him away to become a devine god and to live among
the Olympians. However, the sad truth is that Romulus was probably killed
by a group of jealous senators. Romulus died at age 54 and had reigned 38
years.
After the death
of Romulus a whole year passed before there was a successor. Since Rome
was only a new state there was no family that was important enough and
of high enough status to take the reigns of power. Also, the Romans
and Sabines who were united under Romulus became jealous of each other
and did not want to be ruled by a king from the opposite side.
This lack of
a central authority figure caused the senators to worry. Without a central
authority and an army without a general they feared that Rome could be
overrun by the surrounding states and be unable to defend herself from
such an attack.
The senators
came up with a system which was known as an "interregnum." In this system,the
senators would each rule in turn and that way keep the peace. The general
populace did not like this form of government because they believed that
instead of having one supreme master, the king, they had hundreds, the senators. This
unrest made the senators realize that the people wanted to elect a new
king on their own. The senators agreed to let the people elect their own
king but the choice had to be ratified by the senate before it could become
legal.
Both the Romans
and the Sabines had agreed on a suitable successor and heir to Romulus
and their choice was immediately approved by the senate.
Numa Pompilius (715 BC to 673 BC) The successor to Romulus
was a Sabine named Numa Pompilius.He was a man who was well known throught
the land as "a man of renowned justice and pity"(Mills,31) His nobel character
had been moulded by the strict discipline of the ancient Sabines.
When the Roman
senate asked him to become their new king he ,suprisingly,refused at first
and required alot of persuasion . Also he did not want to take the title
that was offered him until he was sure it was what the gods wanted.After
much trouble and persuasion he accepted the title and became the second
king of Rome.
His policies
were centered around religion and peace and ,for the duration of his reign,
Rome faught in no wars but made peace with the neighbouring states.One
of his most famous religious accomplishments was the building of the Temple
to Janus who was a famous hero and warrior to the Romans.It was to
become the practice that whenever Rome was at peace the temple doors would
be closed and when she was at war the doors would stay open.The doors of
the temple remained closed throught his whole reign but ,sadly, only twice
more during the later history of Rome.
Numa is also
consitered the founder of the Roman religious system.He believed that people
should make religion a daily part of their lives and be faithful to the
gods.Also,he made the first religious laws of Rome like the the appointment
of The Pontifex Maximus.He also instituted the famous order of the Vestal
Virgins who were the priestesses of the Goddess Vesta.It would be the responsibility
of these revered women to keep the sacred fire burning constantly.
Numa Pompilius
is prehaps most famous for his new improved calendar.He is the man who
is responsible for dividing the year into 12 months and some of his names
are still in use today.
This king also
instituted a reform that was meant to help the poor and keep the peace
in Rome.With this reform, he distributed all the conquered lands to the
lower classes so they would have property on which to grow crops.Numa believed
that agriculture was a good keeper of peace and an excellent deturrant
from war.
Also,Numa realized
that there was a growing gap between the Sabines and Romans that were living
in Rome.He realized that this gap would one day lead to discontent and
war between the two people and the only solution was to break down this
barrier.He did this by forming "guilds" in which all the different
trades ,like bakers and carpenters, would have their own group.Each of
these guilds had their own seperate place of meeting and worshipped their
own gods.
Numa's peace
and generosity spread outside the territory of Rome and ,as a result,he
brought harmony to all the Italian penninsula.He had reigned for
forty three years and died ,as he had lived,peacefully in his eighties.
Tullus Hostilius (673 BC to 642 BC) Numa's successor ,Titus
Hostilius, was the grandson of a Roman soldier who had fought with Romulus
in the war and as a result was very war minded.He believed that the state
was becomming weak because of the inaction of Numa and he wanted any excuse
to start a war.
This excuse
was not hard to find and he easilly managed a conflict with Alba Longa.At
the time Roman peasents and Alban peasents were stealing from each others
territory and both sides had sent delegates asking for the plundering to
stop but they met without success.This was the excuse that Tullus needed
to wage war on the Albans.
This war was
, in a way, a civil war because the Albans and the Romans could both date
their origins back to Aeneas.In both of these towns there lived three brothers(the
Horatii for Rome and Curiatii for Alba Longa) who were of equal strength
and ability. The kings of both cities agreed that, instead of a hugh blood
bath, these brothers would duel and the loser would surrender to the winner
without a fight.
Both sides agreed
on a suitable location, the brothers armed themselves and the fight was
on. Almost immediately two of the Horatii were killed and there was only
one brother remaining. It looked as if the Romans would fall to defeat but
the remaining Horatii decided it was in his best interest to fight each
Curiatii seperately.He ran and, since the Albans were weak, they could
only approach him one at a time and so he slew all three.
The Romans marched
back to Rome in triumph with Horatius at it's head and the people came
out to greet him along with Horatia, his sister. Horatia was to be married
to one of the fallen Curiatii and when she found out he was dead she wept
in sorrow.Horatius was so mad at his sisters weaping in the midst of his
triumph that he killed her on site. The people were horrified at this act
and Horatius was immediately brought to the king for trial.The penalty
for this type of crime is usually death but, with the intervention
of his father and his nobel victory, Horatius was spared.
The result of
this battle was that the Albans were now subject to Rome and had to follow
Rome's laws. They did not keep the peace, however, and Tullus decided that
it would be best if Alba Longa was raised and the citizens were brought
to Rome.
With the destruction
of Alba Longa, Rome grew as the number of citizens were doubled and the
Caelian Hill was brought into the citys boundries. Tullus also built his
palace on this hill. The destruction of Alba Longa was also important to
Rome's position as a power. Before it's fall, Alba Longa had been the chief
city in THE LATIN LEAGUE and, with her fall, Rome began to gain supremacy
in the league which greatly increased her powers.
Because of all
this fighting,Tullus had severely neglected the state religion.According
to myths, the god JUPITER "burnt up the king and his house, by a stroke of
lightning"(Mills,41). Tullus Hostilius had reigned for thirty two years.
