Arruns Tarquinius (Egerius)
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Arruns Tarquinius, commonly called Egerius, was a member of the royal family of early Rome. His father was Arruns Tarquinius, son of Demaratus of Corinth. Demaratus had settled at Tarquinii during the seventh century BC, and married an Etruscan noblewoman. They had two sons, Lucius and Arruns. Arruns died shortly before his father, leaving his wife pregnant. Not knowing of his grandson, Demaratus left him no inheritance, and so Arruns was born into poverty despite his grandfather's wealth. For this reason, the child was called ''Egerius'', meaning "the needy one."''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 976 ("Tarquinius"). At the urging of his wife, Tanaquil, Lucius Tarquinius migrated to Rome, where he found favour with the king,
Ancus Marcius Ancus Marcius () was the Roman mythology, legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the Roman a ...
. Ultimately, Tarquin succeeded Marcius as the fifth
King of Rome The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine H ...
. After subduing the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
town of Collatia, Tarquin placed his nephew in command of the Roman garrison there. Arruns' son was
Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus Lucius Tarquinius Ar. f. Ar. n. Collatinus was one of the first two consuls of the Roman Republic in 509 BC, together with Lucius Junius Brutus. The two men had led the revolution which overthrew the Roman monarchy. He was forced to resign his ...
, one of the first
Roman consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...
s in 509 BC. The rape of Collatinus' wife, Lucretia, by his cousin,
Sextus Tarquinius Sextus Tarquinius was one of the sons of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. In the original account of the Tarquin dynasty presented by Fabius Pictor, he is the second son, between Titus Tarquinius, Titus and Arruns Tarquinius ( ...
, was the event that sparked the expulsion of the Roman kings. Ironically, public hatred of the Tarquins led Collatinus himself to resign the consulship and go into exile.


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Bibliography

* Titus Livius (
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...
), '' History of Rome''. * ''
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...
'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). * ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
'', Eleventh Edition (1911). Tarquinii 6th-century BC Romans Characters in Roman mythology