Summary
Highlights
According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC, by Romulus, a descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas. Ancient historians speak of the aggregation of three tribes settled on the Palatine Hill. During the monarchical phase, the city was governed by four Latin and Sabine kings: Romulus, who founded the Senate; Numa Pompilius, who established new cults and reformed the calendar; Tullus Hostilius, who conquered Alba Longa; and Ancus Marcius, who built the port of Ostia and the Sublician Bridge.
The last three kings of Rome were Etruscan. Tarquinius Priscus built the Cloaca Maxima. His successor, Servius Tullius, reformed the Senate and established the Centuriate Assemblies. Finally, Tarquinius Superbus, after the violence committed by his son against the noblewoman Lucretia, was expelled from Rome, leading to the establishment of the Republic.
The anecdote about Lucretia refers to the patricians' intolerance towards the Etruscans, who had attributed increasing importance to the plebeians. The plebeians were one of two groups of Roman citizens; though free, they did not participate in political life. Only patricians, organized into gentes and families, were full citizens. In the monarchical period, Rome was a city-state whose king, designated by his predecessor and confirmed by the Senate, held absolute power. Adult male patricians participated in the Comitia Curiata, which conferred military power on the king, formed part of the army, and elected Senate representatives. The Senate comprised elderly aristocrats who advised the king and held power during interregnum periods.