Ancus Martius (642 BC to 617 BC) The successor to Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, was the grandson of Numa. The new king ,like his grandfather, decided that during the reign of Hostilius state religion was severly neglected so he decided that it would be best to once again carry out the religious ceremonies as had been done under his grandfather.

Rome's neighbouring states thought that Martius was spending so much time on state religion that he would be unprepared for an attack and, so, planned an attack on Rome. Martius, however, realized that the type of peace experienced under Numa was now impossible to reinstate and so set out with an army and took the enemies city and brought the citizens to Rome.With this influx of people, the Janiculum hill was brought into the city of Rome to house them.

As well as millitary and religious reforms, Martius made several civil reforms to the city of Rome. With the increased population came a higher crime rate which Martius combated by building a prison in the heart of Rome. Also, Martius is responsible for the construction of the now famous Port of Ostia  at the mouth of the Tiber. This port would remain the chief means by which both food and people would arrive at Rome and would be improved a number of times,most notably by the future emperor Claudius. Martius also built the first bridge across the Tiber which was known as the Pons Sublicius.

The reign of Ancus Martius was a short one of only twenty four years but his accomplishments in battle and at home were great and helped to benefit the new city.

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (616 BC to 579 BC)-- Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (better known as Tarquin I) came to Rome from Etruria while Ancus Martius was still on the throne. He was not Etrucian from origion but married an Etruscan woman named Tanaquil who came from a prominent family. He was a wealthy and ambitious man who thought his fortune would be better made in the young state of Rome  than the older Etruria. Tarquin and Tanaquil believed that if Sabines like Numia could rule rome, an Etrucian could as well so they picked up and moved to the new city.

When he entered the city Tarquin and his wife were immediately noticed by the populace being that he was a wealthy stranger. Also his appealing personality and physical grace helped him to win the favour of all who were in power, including the king and his officials.

When Martius died, Tarquin jumped at the opportunity to be named king.He got the children of the dead king out of the way by sending them on a trip and started his quest for the crown. He was the first of the kings who actually campaigned for the crown by giving a speach that persuaded the people and the senate to support him. In his speach, he pointed out that it was not a new thing for a foreigner to be king of Rome and that he had lived in Rome as a man longer than he had in Etruria. His speach of persuasion had won over the Romans and he was made their next king.

Tarquin, like many of the kings that preceeded him, continued the policy of war and conquest.During his reign, Rome won many victories over the Latins and the renagade Sabines . After one of these such victories he brought so much loot back to. Rome that he decided to celebrate his great victory by holding the grandest games that Rome had ever seen. This is important because it was the first time that the space for the legendary Circus Maximus was planned out for such games.

Also, Tarquins civil policy was executed on a grand scale. He made many improvements to Rome and it was said that "he kept the people so busy that they had no more quiet time at home then they had on the field"(Mills,46) Most notable of these civil improvements were his draining of the forum and the other lower lying parts of the city and his building of the Cloaca Maxima. As well, he started construction of a massive temple to Jupitor on the Capitoline Hill.

The end of this king was not a very happy one. The sons of Ancus Martius were jealous of him because they believed that he cheated them out of what legally belonged to them, the kingship, and hired two assasans to kill him. Tarquin did not die on the spot which gave his successor time to rule in his place for a short time. Lucius Tarquinius Priscus had ruled Rome for about 38 years.

Servius Tullius ( 578 BC to 535 BC), the successor of Tarquin came from very humble beginnings as a slaveboy to the king.Legend says that while he was sleeping one day his head was seen to be surrounded by flames which the queen, Tanaquil, took as an omen of the young slaves future. She suggested to the king that they raise the child as their own son with every advantage that a prince enjoys. Tarquin agreed, and years later Servius Tellius would grow to succeed him. He would be the first king to rule without being "sworn in" by the senate.

As soon as he began his reign, Servius Tullius made an important reform to the Roman army. He divided the citizens of Rome into sections based on the amount of wealth they had which would determine how good their weapons and armor would be. In ancient times, all able bodied men were required to serve in the army and provide their own weapons and armor. These sections helped the king to see what quality of weapons and armour the men were able to provide. He then devided the men in groups of 100 and called these groups Centuries. These Centuries eventually aquired voting power and were raised to a status of nobility. Also, Tullius instituted a census which was taken every five years. The purpose of this census was help the king form the classes and, in turn, form the Centuries.

Like the kings before him, Tullius also made many great civil improvements to Rome. He started by enlarging the city by including the remaining two hills of Rome, the Viminal and the Esquiline. He also was the first ruler of Rome to enclose the whole city (which had now reached it's full size) with a wall.

Also, he engaged in friendly diplomatic relationships with the neighbouring states, most notably the Latins and made a treaty of peace with them. To commerate this peace, Tullius built a temple to Dianna on the Aventine hill in honour of this new treaty and the fact that the Latins now acknowledged Rome as the head of Latium.

Tullius had two daughters whom he married to the two sons of Tarquinius Priscus. However, his relationship with the sons of Tarquin was quite sour as one of the Tarquins started saying that Tullius usurped the throne as he was not sworn in by the senate and, therefore was without the concent of the people. To make sure his reign was justified and he was reigning with the goodwill of the people, Tullius gave to every male citizen a piece of the land that Rome had conquered and then asked if he was reigning with the peoples good will.The result of this was that Tullius recieved a  resounding vote of favour that was higher than that of any other king since.

This vote of confidence for the king did not deture Tarquin from his ambitions of wearing the crown. His next act of betrayal against the good king was a treasonist act that that foreshadowed his evil nature. It is said that one day he walked into the house of the senate and proclaimed himself king.When Tullius arrived, Tarquin stated to him that "he was only occupying his fathers seat and as kings son he had more right to it than one who was a slave."(Mills,50) The younger Tarquin was a great deal stronger than the elderly king so he picked Tullius up and threw him onto the steps of the forum below and the king , who was almost dead due to terror and violence,was finished off by Tarquin's men.

Servius Tullius had reigned for an impressive 43 years and his whole reign was marked by peace and contentment for all of Rome. It was often said "that with him perished all the lawful and just kingship in Rome."(Mills,50)

Tarquinius Superbus (534 BC to 510 BC), the successor of Servius Tullius, was the son of Tarquin 1 and is known by historians by the more famous name of "Tarquin the Proud." From the start of his reign he showed signs of cruelty and disregard for the people and senate. His rise to power was due to violence and he reigned without ever being accepted by the people or confirmed by the senate.

Tarquin the Proud may have been a vicious tyrant of the first degree but he was very successful in warfare. Under his rule, his great successes in war made the power of Rome greatly respected among other nations.

There is one story from the reign of Tarquin the Proud that the later Romans would hold as a national legend. It is said that one day when Tarquin was at his height he was approached by a mysterious old woman who offered to sell him nine books which she said predicted the future. The price that she asked for the books seemed to be so unreasonable that the king thought she was mad.To prove her point the old woman threw three of the books in a fire and offered the king the remaining six for the same price. The king again refused her so she burnt three more and offered the last three to the king. By now the king was impressed with the old woman and brought the last three books from here whenceforth she left as mysteriously as she had come. As it later turned out, this woman was the Sibyl of Cumae and the three books were indeed prophecies of future events. These books would be a national treasure of Rome throughout the rest of her long history.

Tarquin's son Sextus Tarquinius was just as ruthless as his father. He was so evil that it is said that he even raped a nobel woman named Lucrece and threatened to kill her if she revealed what he did. To rid her family of this disgrace she later told them about the act and later killed herself with a dagger.

As with all things, evil must come to an end and the end did come to the Tarquins by way of banishment from Rome. Under the leadership of Lucius Junius Brutus the citizens of Rome rose up, kicked the Tarquins out of the city and decreed that a seal of banishment would be placed on the Tarquins and all their kin(the Etruscians). Tarquin the Proud had reigned for twenty five years and would be that last king of Rome.

After the banishment of the Tarquins, Rome reverted to a republican system of government which was to be lead by the Senate. In place of the king two Consols would be elected annually from the senate. It would be the duty of this institution to govern Rome for over 500 years until it was eventually toppled by Julius Caesar and the empire.