The gens Tarquinia was a
plebeian family at
ancient Rome, usually associated with
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the fifth and seventh
Kings 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 509 BC ...
. Most of the Tarquinii who appear in history are connected in some way with this dynasty, but a few appear during the later
Republic, and others from inscriptions, some dating as late as the fourth century AD.
Origin
The legendary origin of the Tarquinii who reigned at Rome begins with
Demaratus of Corinth, a member of the house of the
Bacchiadae
The Bacchiadae ( grc, Βακχιάδαι ''Bakkhiadai''), a tightly knit Doric clan, were the ruling family of ancient Corinth in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, a period of Corinthian cultural power.
History
Corinth had been a backwater ...
at
Corinth, which was expelled in 657 BC. Demaratus settled at
Tarquinii
Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage stat ...
in
Etruria, where he married an
Etruscan noblewoman, and had two sons,
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
and
Arruns, who took the surname ''Tarquinius'' after the town of their birth. Denied political advancement due to his father's foreign birth, Lucius, encouraged by his wife,
Tanaquil, determined to settle at Rome, where he could hope to attain high station based solely on his merits. He fell into the retinue of
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius was the 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 assembly of the people wh ...
, the fourth Roman king, becoming his trusted advisor. Since the Roman monarchy was elected, rather than strictly hereditary, when Marcius died, Tarquinius successfully argued that he should be named the next king, in preference to the sons of Marcius.
300px, Family tree showing relations to Lucretia and Brutus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last Roman king, was said to have been the son or grandson of the elder Tarquin, while
Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, one of the first
Roman consuls was his cousin. Other Tarquinii are mentioned as part of this family, although it is not entirely clear how some of them were related. It is likely that there were additional kings and perhaps other members of the Tarquin dynasty during this period.
It is not clear whether the early Tarquinii should be regarded as
patricians
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...
or
plebeians. The consul Collatinus is generally regarded as a patrician, but as Cornell explains, none of the families that claimed descent from or kinship with the Roman kings were considered patrician in later times, while none of Rome's leading patrician families is represented among the kings. The patricians may have chosen the king, but were probably not eligible for the office, and it is unlikely that the kings themselves were admitted to the patriciate once chosen. It may be that Collatinus was granted patrician status on the overthrow of the Roman monarchy; but as he then accepted exile according to the demand of his colleague,
Lucius Junius Brutus
Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first Roman consul, consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the King of Rome, Roman k ...
, the matter becomes academic, as there was no tradition of patrician Tarquinii at Rome in later times. The Tarquinii of the later Republic were plebeians.
The
nomen ''Tarquinius'' appears to be the
Latin form of the
Etruscan ''Tarchna'', apparently the same as the ''Tarchunies'' named in one of the
frescoes in the famous
François Tomb
The François Tomb is an important painted Etruscan tomb from the Ponte Rotto Necropolis in the Etruscan city of Vulci, Lazio, in central Italy. It was discovered in 1857 by Alessandro François and Adolphe Noël des Vergers. It dates to the ...
at
Vulci. The nomen is certainly derived from the city of Tarquinii, in Etruscan ''Tarchna'' or ''Tarchuna'', after its legendary founder, the folk-hero
Tarchon
In Etruscan mythology, Tarchon and his brother, Tyrrhenus, were culture heroes who founded the Etruscan League of twelve cities, the Dodecapoli. One author, Joannes Laurentius Lydus, distinguishes two legendary persons named Tarchon, the Younge ...
, although in historical times the Tarchna family had branches at both Tarquinii and
Caere.
Members
*
Arruns Tarquinius, the elder son of Demaratus, died shortly before his father, who accordingly left his entire fortune to his younger son, Lucius, unaware that the wife of Arruns was pregnant, and that his first grandson would inherit nothing.
[Dionysius, iii. 46, 47, 50.]
*
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or ''Tarquin the Elder'', the fifth Roman king, according to tradition conquered a number of
Latin and
Sabine, built the
Cloaca Maxima
The Cloaca Maxima ( lat, Cloāca Maxima, lit. ''Greatest Sewer'') was one of the world's earliest sewage systems. Its name derives from Cloacina, a Roman goddess. Built during either the Roman Kingdom or early Roman Republic, it was construct ...
and drained the
Roman Forum, laid out the
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and la ...
, doubled the size of the
senate, and the number of the
equites, the Roman cavalry, and instituted the
Ludi Romani
The ''Ludi Romani'' ("Roman Games"; see '' ludi'') was a religious festival in ancient Rome. Usually including multiple ceremonies called '' ludi''. They were held annually starting in 366 BC from September 12 to September 14, later extended to ...
.
*
Arruns Tarquinius Ar. f. Collatinus, the first grandson of Demaratus, was deprived of his inheritance when his grandfather died shortly after his elder son, unaware that his daughter-in-law was pregnant. According to tradition, young Arruns became known as ''Egerius'', the needy one. However, when he was grown, and his uncle had become King of Rome, he received the command of the Roman garrison at
Collatia, thereby obtaining the surname ''Collatinus''.
* Tarquinia L. f., daughter of the elder Tarquin, married Servius Tullius, and was the mother of the two Tulliae.
*
Lucius Tarquinius L. f. Superbus, the seventh and last king of Rome, was the son, or more likely grandson, of the elder Tarquin. He overthrew his predecessor,
Servius Tullius, and behaved as a
tyrant, but he also established Roman hegemony over the
Latin League, and the
Hernici; made war on the
Volsci, founded colonies at
Signia and
Circeii
Circeii was an ancient Roman city on the site of modern San Felice Circeo and near Mount Circeo, the mountain promontory on the southwest coast of Italy. The area around Circeii and Mount Circeo was thickly populated with Roman villas and other ...
, and conquered
Gabii
Gabii was an ancient city of Latium, located due east of Rome along the Via Praenestina, which was in early times known as the ''Via Gabina''.
It was on the south-eastern perimeter of an extinct volcanic crater lake, approximately circular ...
. He built the
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the
Capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerou ...
, but was overthrown by members of his own family and the Roman aristocracy in 509 BC.
*
Arruns L. f. Tarquinius, the brother of Tarquin the Proud, married
Tullia, the younger daughter of Servius Tullius. His wife was ambitious, while he was not; his equally ambitious brother had married Tullia's demure elder sister. Lucius and Tullia murdered their spouses, and married one another.
*
Lucius Tarquinius Ar. f. Ar. n. Collatinus, one of the commanders in the army of his cousin, Tarquin the Proud. He boasted of the fidelity of his wife,
Lucretia, which excited the passions of the king's son, Sextus. Sextus' rape of Lucretia set in motion the events that led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, but Lucretia took her own life out of shame. Collatinus was elected one of the first consuls, but was called upon to resign and enter into exile by his cousin and colleague,
Lucius Junius Brutus
Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first Roman consul, consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the King of Rome, Roman k ...
, so that none of the hated Tarquins would rule at Rome, and to this demand he reluctantly consented.
* Tarquinia L. f., the sister of Tarquin the Proud, married Marcus Junius Brutus, and was the mother of Marcus, whom the king put to death, perceiving in him a potential threat, and Lucius, who survived by feigning stupidity, later becoming one of the first consuls.
*
Titus Tarquinius L. f. L. n., the eldest son of Tarquin the Proud, led the Roman exiles at the
Battle of Lake Regillus
The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary Roman victory over the Latin League shortly after the establishment of the Roman Republic and as part of a wider Latin War. The Latins were led by an elderly Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seve ...
, ''circa'' 498 BC. Although wounded in the fighting, he survived, the last of Tarquin's sons.
*
Arruns Tarquinius L. f. L. n., the second son of Tarquin the Proud, led the Etruscan cavalry at the
Battle of Silva Arsia
The Battle of Silva Arsia was a battle in 509 BC between the republican forces of ancient Rome and Etruscan forces of Tarquinii and Veii led by the deposed Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. The battle took place near the Silva Arsia (the ...
in 509 BC, where he and his cousin, the consul Brutus, mortally wounded one another.
*
Sextus Tarquinius L. f. L. n., the youngest son of Tarquin the Proud, whose rape of Lucretia led to the downfall of the Roman monarchy. He took refuge at Gabii, which his father had conquered after Sextus had put its leading men to death, but was soon assassinated.
* Publius Tarquinius, a native of
Laurentum, together with his brother, Marcus, were among the leaders of a conspiracy in 500 BC to seize a number of defensible positions at Rome, and open the city gates to the king and his allies. Tormented by visions in their sleep, the two brothers revealed the plot to the consul
Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus
Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus ( 500–463 BC) was consul at Rome in the year 500 BC with Manius Tullius Longus.
Livy reports that no important events occurred during this year, but Dionysius of Halicarnassus states that Camerinus detected ...
, and were rewarded when the other conspirators were apprehended. It is unknown how they were related to the king.
[Dionysius, v. 53–57.]
* Marcus Tarquinius, the brother of Publius, together with whom he revealed a plot to restore the Tarquins in 500 BC.
* Tarquinia, one of the
Vestal Virgins
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before pubert ...
, said to have dedicated a field adjacent to the
Campus Martius
The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
to
Mars, at some time following the expulsion of the kings. The freshly reaped wheat was thrown into the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...
, where it came to anchor a new island, the
Insula Tiberina, sacred in later times.
* Publius Tarquinius,
tribune of the plebs in 91 BC, supported the laws proposed by his colleague,
Marcus Livius Drusus, whose reforms might have averted the
Social War.
* Lucius Tarquinius, a participant in the
conspiracy of Catiline, who attempted to implicate
Marcus Licinius Crassus.
* Tarquinia, buried at Castellum Elefantum in
Numidia, aged thirty-five.
* Appia Tarquinia C. f., named in an inscription from
Tarracina
Terracina is an Italian city and '' comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity.
History Ancient times
Terracina appears in a ...
in
Latium, dating to the first half of the first century AD.
[.]
* Tarquinius L. f., named in an inscription from Tarracina.
* Gnaeus Tarquinius, named in an inscription from
Hispania Baetica
Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic di ...
.
* Lucius Tarquinus L. l. Amianthus, a freedman, and the husband of Tarquinia Paederos, built a tomb at Rome for himself and his wife.
[.]
* Quintus Tarquinius Apuleius, named in a list of the
vigiles
The ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' (" cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome.
History
The ''Triumviri Nocturni'' (meaning ''three men of t ...
at Rome, dating to the beginning of the third century AD.
* Tarquinia Fastina, wife of Marcus Calventius Sabinianus, who built a tomb for her at
Burdigala
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
in
Gallia Aquitania.
* Tarquinia Ɔ. l. Fausta, a freedwoman named in a libationary inscription from
Verona in
Venetia and Histria
Venetia et Histria (Latin: ''Regio X Venetia et Histria'') was an administrative subdivision in the northeast of Roman Italy. It was originally created by Augustus as the tenth ''regio'' in 7 AD alongside the nine other ''regiones''. The region h ...
.
* Tarquinia P. f. Ingenua, buried at
Cirta
Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria.
Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city ...
in Numidia, aged sixty-five.
* Lucius Tarquinius Januarius, named in a devotional inscription from
Beneventum in
Samnium
Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the Th ...
.
* Tarquinia Modesta, daughter of Modestus and Lasciva, and the young wife of Lucentius, buried at Beneventum, aged fifteen years, six months, and six days, having been married for six months and seven days.
* Tarquinia L. l. Paederos, wife of Lucius Tarquinius Amianthus, with whom she is buried at Rome.
* Publius Tarquinius Philodespotus, buried at Cirta, aged twenty-five.
* Gaius Tarquinius C. f. Pollio, buried at
Cupra Maritima in
Picenum.
* Lucius Tarquinius Primus, a
murmillo
The murmillo (also sometimes spelled "mirmillo" or "myrmillo", pl. murmillones) was a type of gladiator during the Roman Imperial age. The murmillo-class gladiator was adopted in the early Imperial period to replace the earlier Gallus, named afte ...
buried at
Avaricum
Avaricum was an ''oppidum'' in ancient Gaul, near what is now the city of Bourges. Avaricum, situated in the lands of the Bituriges Cubi, was the largest and best-fortified town within their territory, situated on very fertile lands. The terrain ...
in Gallia Aquitania.
* Tarquinius Q. f. Priscus, named in an inscription from Tarracina.
* Lucius Tarquinius Salutaris, buried with his brother, Publius Vibuleius Primus, at
Casilinum Casilinum was an ancient city of Campania, Italy, situated some 3 miles north-west of the ancient Capua. The position of Casilinum at the junction of the Via Appia and Via Latina, at their crossing of the river Volturnus by a still-existing thre ...
in
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
, aged fifteen years, one month, and six days, with a tomb from their parents.
* Tarquinia Secunda, the wife of Quintus Pompeius Crispus, and mother of Marcus Pompeius Victor, who became
quaestor, and built a tomb for his parents at
Bagacum
Bavay () is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The town was the seat of the former canton of Bavay.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bavaisiens'' or ''Bavaisiennes''
Geography
Bava ...
in
Gallia Belgica.
* Gaius Tarquinius M. f. Stra
o? named in an inscription from Caere in Etruria.
* Tarquinia Tertulla, buried at Castellum Elefantum, aged eighty-two.
* Tarquinia Titosu, buried at Castellum Elefantum, aged forty.
* Tarquinius Valens, one of the heirs of Lucius Cattius Viator, a veteran soldier for whom Valens built a tomb at
Misenum in Campania.
* Tarquinius Vitalio, an
eques named in a late imperial inscription from
Abella
Abella, often known as Abella of Salerno or Abella of Castellomata, was a physician in the mid fourteenth century. Abella studied and taught at the Salerno School of Medicine. Abella is believed to have been born around 1380, but the exact time ...
in Campania.
[.]
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
The gens (plural gentes) was a Roman family, of Italic or Etruscan origins, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same '' nomen'' and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in early ...
Footnotes
References
{{Reflist
Bibliography
*
Marcus Tullius Cicero, ''
De Officiis'', ''
De Republica
''De re publica'' (''On the Commonwealth''; see below) is a dialogue on Roman politics by Cicero, written in six books between 54 and 51 BC. The work does not survive in a complete state, and large parts are missing. The surviving sections derive ...
''.
* Gaius Sallustius Crispus (
Sallust), ''Bellum Catilinae'' (The Conspiracy of Catiline).
* Titus Livius (
Livy), ''
History of Rome
The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced ...
''.
*
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities).
*
Plutarchus, ''
Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...
''.
* Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
), ''Roman History''.
*
Julius Obsequens
Julius Obsequens was a Roman writer active in the 4th or early 5th centuries AD, during late antiquity. His sole known work is the ''Prodigiorum liber'' (''Book of Prodigies''), a tabulation of the wonders and portents that had occurred in the Ro ...
, ''Liber de Prodigiis'' (The Book of Prodigies).
* ''
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'',
William Smith, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849).
*
Theodor Mommsen ''et alii'', ''
Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum
The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...
'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present).
* René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''
L'Année épigraphique
''L'Année épigraphique'' (''The Epigraphic Year'', standard abbreviation ''AE'') is a French publication on epigraphy (i.e the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing). It was set up by René Cagnat, as holder of the chair of 'Epigraphy an ...
'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present).
* Stéphane Gsell, ''Inscriptions Latines de L'Algérie'' (Latin Inscriptions from Algeria, abbreviated ''ILAlg''), Edouard Champion, Paris (1922–present).
*
Michael Grant, ''Roman Myths'', Dorset Press (1971), ''History of Rome'', Scribner's (1978).
*
Timothy J. Cornell, ''The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC)'', Routledge, London (1995).
Etruscan families
Roman gentes