early roman history – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus murdered his father at the request of his wife, Tullia. His reign began in 535 B.C that is where he appears on the Bible Timeline with World History. King Superbus was a man who possessed an angry disposition and spirit, and he was also filled with insolence and arrogance. This is one of the major reasons why he was dubbed Tarquinius the Proud.

Tarquinius_The_Proud, Roman_Ruler — Tarquinius

King Superbus was the son of Rome’s sixth King Servius Tullius and he also had a brother named Aruns. King Servius Tullius had two daughters that he named Tullia. The younger of the two daughters was a mean spirited female who despised Aruns her marriage to Aruns. He wasn’t considered strong enough for her, so she was drawn to Superbus, who was a lot more ruthless. Superbus was married to Tullia’s older sister who was also a good hearted woman. Superbus didn’t like her and desired the younger Tullia and both of them schemed to kill their siblings and then to kill their father the king.

Once Tarquinius took the throne, he quickly eliminated any senators who sympathized with his father. After he slaughtered the Senators, he then dismissed the remaining Senate members and made decisions without them. He purposely stripped them of their power so he could do whatever he pleased. He then trumped up false charges so he could kill off a Latin political leader who had enough foresight to see that King Superbus wasn’t going to be a good ruler.

Tarquinius the Proud then married off his daughter to secure foreign power over the Latin tribes. He schemed and began to subdue more of the surrounding tribes outside of Rome including the people of Sabine. He continued Rome’s peace treaty with the Etruscans, and he also established Roman colonies. He erected the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill. Throughout the rest of his reign, he connived and tricked many people while forcing others to do his will.

King Superbus also had a son named Sextus Tarquinius who raped an incredibly beautiful woman named Lucretia from the land of Collatia. King Superbus wanted to take this territory and had sent his son Sextus to lead the expedition. Sextus had snuck into Lucretia’s chambers and forced himself on her. Lucretia committed suicide, and her father was outraged. Other leading members of Roman society and the Collatia also joined her father in rebelling against the king. Tarquinius the Proud and his family were eventually exiled from Rome. After his demise, this led to the forming of the Republic of Rome which was now led by the consuls Brutus and Collantinus.

Tarquinius, the Proud’s reign, was significant because it marked the beginning of a new Roman era. The people of Rome realized that a sole king would not be needed anymore to rule the land. When his reign was over the face of Rome was changing into a forceful, dominant empire that would eventually rise and dominate most of the known world at the time. Tarquinius tried to regain power through military might and negotiations, but it was no use the people never allowed him back on the throne. He eventually died in exile in 496 B.C., and he ruled Rome for 26 years from 535 B.C. to 509 B.C.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Tarquinius_Superbus
http://www.unrv.com/bio/lucius-tarquinius-superbus.php
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/583670/Tarquin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tarquinius-Superbus.jpg

Servius Tullius was Rome’s sixth monarch, and he ruled from 578 B.C. to 535 B.C., which is where he appears on the Bible Timeline with World History. The society of Rome was transformed under King Tullius and in a short time after his reign it would become a Republic. King Tullius rise to power was very uncommon for Roman rulers because his ascendency to the throne seemed more like a mythical account than a factual event.

King Tullius story began with his mother Ocrisia who was a young noblewoman from the land of Comiculum. During the reign of Rome’s fifth king Tarquinius, the land of Comiculum was attacked and subdued by the Romans. Ocrisia was brought back to Rome and made a personal servant to King Tarquinius’ queen named Tanaquil. Ocrisia was already pregnant when she was made a personal slave to the queen, and she had her child while in servitude. The child was named Servius, and when he was around eight years old, he was sleeping and then all of a sudden flames arose around the youth’s head. The king and queen were informed about this matter, and they witnessed the spectacle for themselves. Another servant had thought to retrieve water to extinguish the flames, but Tanaquil didn’t allow him to put them out. Queen Tanaquil took this as a sign that Servius was destined for greatness. The queen actually believed that he would become the next king of Rome after her husband, and she adopted the boy as her own child.

King Tarquinius had taken over the throne of Rome by stealing power away from an old king named Ancus Marcius. King Tarquinius accomplished this feat by sending the king’s two sons away on an extended hunting trip and by persuading the Senate. When King Marcius’ sons returned from their trip and found out what had occurred, they were outraged, and they secretly plotted to avenge this evil deed against their father and themselves. King Marcius’ sons were young teenage boys so they couldn’t do anything about what had occurred but in time they were able to carry out their plot. They hired two wild shepherds to assassinate King Tarquinius, and when the time was right, the shepherds disposed of the king.

Queen Tanaquil knew that her husband was going to die, but she didn’t know when or how it was going to happen. Long before King Tarquinius was killed the queen had already spread her influence over the Senate. A few minutes after the king was slain she told the people that King Tarquinius was recovering from his wounds and that he placed Servius in charge until he recovered. The people believed the queen and about one week later the queen announced that Servius was now the sole ruler of Rome.

King Servius had a strong bodyguard, so no one challenged his authority. King Marcius’ two sons who carried out the assassination plot had gone into exile to save their own lives. Before King Tullius took over the throne his adopted father King Tarquinius had given him special duties to perform such as governing some parts of the kingdom and overseeing some military operations. King Servius had proven that he was skilled at both endeavors. He used this knowledge later on during his reign to help change the Roman’s way of life. He expanded the population and then created the first census to determine voting rights and how people were to vote. He divided the land of Rome into four sections.

He established new military forces and how Roman citizens were to be used within the Army, he founded Diana’s temple on Aventine Hill, he expanded the city of Rome and he built a wall around the city for the purpose of defense.

King Tullus eventually lost his life to one of his daughters who was a mean spirited woman named Tullia. Before his death, he had married those two daughters of his to King Tarquinius’ natural sons. One of King Tarquinius sons was also named Tarquinius, and he was married to Tullia. Tarquinius and Tullia both plotted and killed their siblings before murdering their father the king. King Servius reign came to an end after a 44-year rule. After his death, King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus became Rome’s final king.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servius_Tullius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Tarquinius_Priscus
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Servius_Tullius.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Servius_by_Rouille.jpg