The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary Roman victory over the Latin League shortly after the establishment of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

and as part of a wider Latin War. The Latins were led by an elderly

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I He is commonly known ...

, the seventh and last

King of Rome The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 50 ...

, who had been expelled in 509 BC, and his son-in-law, Octavius Mamilius, the dictator of

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

. The battle marked the final attempt of the Tarquins to reclaim their throne. According to legend, Castor and Pollux fought on the side of the Romans.Grant, ''The History of Rome'', p. 37.

Background

The threat of invasion by Rome's former allies in Latium led to the appointment of Aulus Postumius Albus as

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...

. The year in which the battle occurred is unclear, and has been unclear since ancient times. Livy places the battle in 499 BC, but says some of his sources also suggest the battle occurred during Postumius' consulship in 496 BC.William G. Sinnigen, and Arthur E. R. Boak, ''A History of Rome to AD 565'', 6th ed., 1977, p. 46 The other major source for this historical period, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, also places the battle in 496 BC. Some modern authors have suggested 493 BC. or 489 BC.

Lake Regillus Regillus was an ancient lake of Latium, Italy, famous in the legendary history of Rome as the lake in the neighborhood of which occurred (in 496 B.C.) the Battle of Lake Regillus between the Romans and the Latins which finally decided the hege ...

was located in the remains of a volcanic crater between Rome and Tusculum. The lake was drained in the fourth century BC. According to Livy, the Volsci (a neighbouring tribe to the south of Latium) had raised troops to send to the aid of the Latins against Rome; however, the haste of the Roman dictator in joining battle meant that the Volscian forces did not arrive in time.

Battle

The dictator Postumius led the Roman infantry, while

Titus Aebutius Elva __NoToC__ Titus Aebutius Helva was a Roman senator and general from the early Republic, who held the consulship in 499 BC. He was '' magister equitum'' under Aulus Postumius Albus at the Battle of Lake Regillus. He was the father of Lucius Aeb ...

was '' Magister Equitum'' (Master of the Horse). Tarquin was accompanied by his eldest and last remaining son,

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

. It was said that the presence of the Tarquins caused the Romans to fight more passionately than in any previous battle. Early in the battle, the king was injured attacking Postumius. The ''magister equitum'' charged at Mamilius, and both were wounded: Aebutius in the arm, and the Latin dictator in the chest. The ''magister equitum'' had to withdraw from the field and direct his troops from a distance. The king's soldiers, including many exiled Romans, began to overpower the republican forces, and the Romans suffered a setback when

Marcus Valerius Volusus Marcus Valerius Volusus (or Volesus, sometimes referred to as M. Valerius Volusus Maximus) was a Roman consul with Publius Postumius Tubertus in 505 BC. He was the son of Volesus Valerius and brother to Publius Valerius Publicola (consul in 50 ...

was killed by a spear while attacking Titus Tarquinius. However, Postumius brought in fresh troops from his own bodyguard and halted the exiles' progress. Meanwhile, Titus Herminius Aquilinus, who had won fame fighting alongside Horatius at the Sublician bridge, and served as consul in 506 BC, engaged Mamilius and slew him; but while attempting to strip his fallen enemy and claim the spoils, Herminius was killed by a javelin. As the outcome of the battle seemed in doubt, Postumius ordered the cavalry to dismount and attack on foot, forcing the Latins to retreat and capturing the Latin camp. Tarquin and the Latin army abandoned the field, resulting in a decisive Roman victory. Postumius returned to Rome with his army, and celebrated a triumph.

Fasti Triumphales The ''Acta Triumphorum'' or ''Triumphalia'', better known as the ''Fasti Triumphales'', or Triumphal Fasti, is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a ''triumphus'', or triumph, in recognition of an imp ...

A popular legend reported that the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, fought alongside the Romans, transfigured as two young horsemen. Postumius ordered a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

built in their honour in the Roman Forum, in the place where they had watered their horses. In the 19th century, the battle was celebrated in

Thomas Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

's ''

Lays of Ancient Rome ''Lays of Ancient Rome'' is an 1842 collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name. M ...

''.

Notes

References

Sources

;Primary sources * (print: ''Book 1 as The Rise of Rome,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1998, '') ;Secondary sources * *

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 in ...

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...

Book II cap. 19; 20.
Ab Urbe Condita (Latin)
poem from Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome". *Cornell, Tim, ''The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars, C.1000-263 BC'', Routledge, 1995. . *Drago, Massimo, ''The battle of Lake Regillus'', Ancient Warfare magazine, 2013. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Lake Regillus 490s BC conflicts 496 BC

500s BC 490s BC 5th century BC in the Roman Republic