Lucius Tarquinius Ar. f. Ar. n. Collatinus was one of the first two

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...

s 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 Kingd ...

in 509 BC, together with

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus af ...

. The two men had led the revolution which overthrew the Roman monarchy. He was forced to resign his office and go into exile as a result of the hatred he had helped engender in the people against the former ruling house.

Background

According to Roman tradition, Collatinus was the son of Arruns Tarquinius, better known as ''Egerius'', a nephew of

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military con ...

, the fifth

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 509 ...

. Through an accident, Arruns had been born into poverty, but when his uncle subdued the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

town of

Collatia Collatia was an ancient town of central Italy, c. 15 km northeast of Rome by the ''Via Collatina''. It appears in the legendary history of Rome as captured by Tarquinius Priscus. Vergil speaks of it as a Latin colony of Alba Longa. ...

, he was placed in command of the Roman garrison there. The surname ''Collatinus'' was derived from this town. Collatinus married

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: ʊˈkreːtɪ.a died c. 510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subse ...

, daughter of Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus. According to legend, while Collatinus was away from home, his cousin,

Sextus Tarquinius Sextus Tarquinius was the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, according to Livy, but by Dionysius of Halicarnassus he was the oldest of the three.Roman Antiquities Book 4.69 According to Roman tradition, ...

, son of the king,

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 ...

, came to his house by night. Forcing himself upon Lucretia, Sextus threatened to kill her, together with a slave, and tell her husband that he had caught her in the act of adultery with the slave, unless she should accede to his desire. After his departure, Lucretia sent for her husband and father, and recounted the events to them. Despite their entreaties and protests of her innocence, Lucretia then plunged a dagger into her breast in expiation of her shame.

Revolution

Enraged by his cousin's deed, Collatinus and his father-in-law brought news of the crime before the people. They were supported by Brutus, the king's nephew, and others who had suffered various cruelties at the hands of the king and his sons. While the king was away on a campaign, the conspirators barred the gates of Rome and established a republican government, headed by two consuls, so that one man should not be master of Rome. Brutus and Collatinus were the first consuls, and set about the defense of the city. Collatinus' ascendency was short-lived; although he himself had suffered at the hands of the king, and ushered in the Republic, he soon became the object of revulsion from those who would not abide any of the Tarquins in power at Rome. Collatinus was dumbstruck when Brutus, his colleague and cousin, called upon him to resign, but resisted until his father-in-law, Lucretius, added his voice to the chorus. Fearing what might become of him should he refuse the popular demand, Collatinus laid down the consulship and went into exile at

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive vi ...

. Brutus, who as the king's nephew was even closer to the royal house, was spared the same indignity, as a part of the

Junia gens The gens Junia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius S ...

; but he fell in battle the same year against the king's forces. Publius Valerius Poplicola was appointed consul ''suffectus'' in the place of Collatinus, and the elderly Spurius Lucretius in place of Brutus; but he died soon after, and Marcus Horatius Pulvillus became consul in his place, the fifth and final consul of the first year of the Republic.

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 ...

, ''

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 m ...

'', ii. 2.

References

Sources

, i. 38, 57–60, ii. 2. *

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style ...

, iv. 64. *

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 ...

, Frag. 24. *

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...

, ''De Republica'', ii. 53, ''De Officiis'', iii. 10. * as quoted in th
''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities''
(1870).

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarquinius Collatinus, Lucius 6th-century BC Roman consuls Collatinus, Lucius