3 The Kings of Rome
A list of the Roman kings is given:
1) Romulus
2) Numa Pompilius- peaceful character who developed most of Rome’s religious celebrations
3) Tullus Hostilius- renowned warmonger
4) Ancus Marcius- founder of Ostia, the seaport
5) Tarquinius Priscus- Tarquin the Elder, developed the Forum
6) Servius Tullius- political reformer and founder of the census
7) Tarquinius Superbus- it was his tyrannical behavior that led to revolution and the establishment of a republic. It was the rape of Lucretia by one his sons that drove the people to rebellion.
This period of kings was considered non-existent by many modern historians until an ancient inscription was found mentioning the kings. Even so, once the Republic was established, no leader, even emperor, wanted the title of Rex.
Roman religion was not like religion today. There was no doctrine, no scriptures, hardly any real belief system. Roman religion wasn’t concerned with salvation or even morality. It was an attempt to keep the gods on their side. Roman religion was about doing, not believing.
Servius Tullius and the Servian constitution. He is credited with the first census, which numbered and classified Romans into ranks according to wealth. This classification was used for the army and organizing people for elections.
The richer you were, the more, and better, equipment you could provide for yourself. There were 80 ‘centuries’ from the first rank. 30 from each of the next four classes. Above all these were 18 centuries of cavalry, and then there were engineers and musicians. At the bottom were the poorest, who were exempt from military service.
When it came to voting, this division was meant to ensure that the rich had overwhelming voting power.
The author believes it unlikely that Rome resembled anything remotely capable of mustering the numbers required at the time of Servius Tullius. But even acknowledging this as somewhat legendary, it still gives insight into the Roman mindset. It highlighted the importance of the state over the individual citizen and the connection between the political and military roles of the citizen. It also highlighted that wealth brought both high privilege and high responsibility.
The fall of the Tarquins began the era of the Roman republic (res publica or public thing). While despising the idea of a “king”, the republic’s leaders were two consuls. There are three differences between king and the two consuls though. First, they were elected. Second, the term was for one year only. Third, the executive power was shared. The basic idea underpinning the republic was freedom. Over the next 800 years there would be ongoing debates about what exactly freedom meant, how far it was to be taken, and what clamps on it were reasonable in order to preserve it.