Enmity between peoples is the tradition of millenia.The less successful, but more belligerent attack the more successful. Sometimes they succeed, therefore countries without the Atlantic barrier to armies, should create a military. The most successful countries create military that is powerful, that inspires fear in their enemies, and therefore have peace. That includes domestic peace, when the military that can destroy anything in its path, is subservient to civilian government.

Early Expansion

Map of republican Rome and creative ways how to use ancient masonry

            Rome was the preeminent city in Latium, but that still did not prevent attacks from neighbours, it just spurred them on. One expansive tribe was called Volsci, and they were giving Roman armies hard time. Rome had a good general, Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus, the cognomen, or nickname was from the time when he was as a young man the first scaling the wall of the town of Corioli. Under his leadership, the Romans inflicted a number of defeats on the Volsci. 

                  Coriolanus was a popular general, but a lousy politician. He tried to use his popularity to stem the tide of plebeian democratic reforms. As a result, he was haled to court by the tribunes of the plebs and accused of having sticky fingers with public funds. He was sentenced to exile. Coriolanus went directly to the enemies of Rome, to the Volsci, and offered to general their armies, and from then on, Romans had no luck on the battlefield. Finally, the Volscian army came to Rome. Despair overwhelmed the city.

          And that was again the time, when women took charge. They congregated in the home of Veturia, Coriolanus’ mother, and his wife, Virgilia. The women went to the enemy camp, without the knowledge of the Senate and the army – they would be forbidden , so as not to furnish hostages for the Volsci – and went directly to Coriolanus’ tent. There his mother held a long discourse laying a huge amount of guilt on her traitorous son, the way only mother can do. His wife and children just cried. The result was that Coriolanus gathered the enemy army and withdrew, opening himself to prosecution now in the Volsci town of Antium. He was assassinated before the trial ended.

             This was not the end of the regional wars and jockeying for power over Latium. The tribes of Volsci and Aequi were expanding from the Apennines, and threatening the other Latin cities and tribes, which forced them (grinding teeth)  into closer alliance with Rome and ended with absorption of those communities by Rome. However, these were still nothing more than regional, or rather ‘district’ wars. For instance, Rome was also constantly threatened and fought with the Etruscans, mainly with their closest city, Veii, which was only 20 km away from Rome.

Remains of the so called Servian
 Walls from 4th cent. BC,
close to the main railway station Termini

            The story of Cincinnatus originated then.  Because of the dual nature of the highest leadership, the Romans had an uneasy feeling that there might come a time, when a leadership of one person who had people on the hop, might be needed. That is why they had on the legal back burner the office of Dictator, who had power over everybody. This office was enacted only for 6 months duration, and then the dictator had to step down.

           Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (curly haired) was a persistent opponent of democratic reforms, and his son, Caeso Quinctius, was no better, even preventing the Tribunes of the Plebs from calling assembly, which resulted in capital charge against Caeso, and his flight from the city. His father paid enormous fine, and had to sell most of his property, and could keep only one small farm.

            In 457 BC, the Aequi wiped out a Roman army, with only a few people escaping and bringing the news to the Senate. The Senate nominated Cincinnatus a Dictator and a delegation went across the Tiber to tell him, and ask him to help Rome. They found Cincinnatus plowing the field, and asked him to put on his toga, to hear what the Senate decided – all was quite homely, Cincinnatus called his wife to bring him his toga from the cottage – then put it on, and was hailed as Dictator. In his impoverished state he knew that if he did not sow seeds, his family might starve, but did not hesitate.

           Cincinnatus called an assembly and issued order that all able bodied men are drafted, and had to assemble on Campus Martius. Then he instructed the Master of the Horse (the Dictator’s deputy) to take the cavalry and they squeezed the Aequi from two sides and beat the stuffing out of them. Aequi surrendered. His supreme power was 16 days in duration, because right after that Cincinnatus resigned and returned to his farm to continue his labours.

The original she-wolf  resides in the Capitoline Museum
Probably where she always resided. My friend Broňa
poses with her.

            Conflicts with Veii, conflicts with Aequi and Volsci and others and of course the internal struggle between plebeians and patricians were occupying Romans in such a way, that it is a wonder they had time to sow and reap and bring up families. Gaius Furrius Camillus destroyed Veii after a long siege, and in difference to the usual merciful Roman way with defeated enemies, the Veientes were expelled from the city and Rome took it over with its territory. Camillus was rewarded as usual, that is, he was accused of arrogance and sentenced to exile. All this squabbling came to an abrupt end, when Gallic raiders started to come from the north.

And then the revolutions started. Sometimes they were quiet and polite (Canada), sometimes violent (USA)

under St.Crisogono

Arch of Constantine/Colosseum

The Birth of the Roman Republic. (509 BC)

            Among those who pretended to be happy with Tarquinius was a certain Lucius Junius Brutus, a patrician, but as his cognomen, or nickname, Brutus suggests, pretty dumb. That is at least how he presented himself to Tarquinius Superbus, not wanting to be among the exiles or dead foes of the king. In consequence, Tarquinius and his spoiled sons did not fear him and left him alone.

            Under the mask of a stupid man, Brutus watched for an opportunity. Tarquinius had sons, all three of them in his mould. To quell the unrest in the city, the king sent Roman troops to war against the near city of Ardea.  A direct attack did not work out, and Romans had to besiege the city, and boredom crept upon the troops. One evening the king’s sons and other officers were drinking, and started to talk about their wives. It is never a good thing for drunken men to talk about their wives, especially not in a competitive spirit. The competitiveness concerned mainly the wives’ virtue. The men, including the king’s sons were convinced that while they exert themselves besieging Ardea, their wives are busy with household chores, and sighing with unshed tears when thinking about their brave husbands.

Under St. Crisogono

            Wagers were struck; the men jumped on horses and sped to Rome to see, whose wife is more virtuous and diligent. They went from one household to another, and the picture was the same all over – the wives were partying and not sighing at all. Except when the disappointed losers entered the household of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. His wife Lucretia was sitting in the hall of the house in the middle of her maids, spinning wool and no party anywhere to be seen.

Forum Romanum/Temple of Saturn

Commemorative tablets

       Lucretia was a pretty young wife and Sextus Tarquinius, one of the king’s sons fell in love with her. Or at least in lust.  He returned to Collatinus’ house another evening, and Lucretia did not think anything of it – gave him supper and a place to sleep. In the middle of the night he came to her bedroom and raped her. Then he left. Lucretia sent for her husband Collatinus and her father Lucretius and told them what happened. She killed herself in their presence, even though they tried to convince her that she did nothing wrong. Before she plunged the knife into her breast, she asked her father and her husband to avenge her. With them was the ‘dumb’ Brutus, who set everything in motion and it seems that he had a plan worked out already. With the knife stained with Lucretia’s blood, Brutus made the rounds of leading patricians and plebeians and led a party to the army at Ardea.

            The army marched back, and when the king and his sons wanted to enter Rome, the gates were closed against them. The republic was born.

            This is a legend, same as the lives of the previous kings (it is not probable that only 6 kings ruled for app. 250 years), however, something pretty nasty must have happened, which seeped through the centuries and the proof is the enduring hatred which Romans had even in historical times for the title of the king.

Ancient material in medieval wall

            When the Romans kicked the king and his brood out, they realized that they need government. However, how to have it and not to get somebody powerful, who will get into the kingship game again? Brutus had it all mapped out. Everybody was amazed at the rhetorical skills of a guy, who previously mostly communicated in a series of grunts. Two leading executive officers of the state were to be elected from the patricians for one year only, called consuls. Not only that – one consul could veto the order of the other consul. The Senate, 100 strong, was extended to 200 men, patricians only. Elections were by plebeians and patricians.

            Anyone looking at the constitution of the fledgling republic, res publica, or ‘public matter’ could safely predict, that troubles lie ahead. While everybody was celebrating, Tarquinius was crawling from one king to another in neighbouring cities asking for help against his subjects, and his best argument was pointing out the danger of extremely bad example that the Roman Senate and people provided for their own subjects.

            He received support from Etruscans, especially from the king of Clusium, Porsenna. Romans had to endure a series of attacks that inspired a number of heroic deeds, like the legend of Horatius Cocles defending the Sublicius Bridge against overwhelming odds covering the retreat of his comrades, or the story of Mucius Scaevola. When Porsenna and his Etruscans besieged the city, Mucius entered the enemy camp and attempted to kill Porsenna. He was unsuccessful, however, and was arrested by the guards. When he was brought before Porsenna, Mucius showed no fear and spoke in such a manly way to his enemy that Porsenna was impressed. To show his contempt for pain and torture, Mucius voluntarily placed his right hand in a fire and let it burn without showing the slightest trace of weakness. Even more impressed with this feat, Porsenna released Mucius. From that moment on, Mucius and his descendants were nicknamed Scaevola ('leftie').

           Women as well had a place in the stories of early republic.  It seems that the Romans were not as successful in repelling the Etruscan attacks as the legends would have us to believe, otherwise they would not have sued for peace and given hostages. The hostages were teenage boys and girls from leading families, among them the intrepid girl Cloelia, who lead a breakout from the Etruscan camp, swimming across the Tiber.  Later, her statue was erected on the Roman Forum.

Via Fori Imperiali on Sunday-no traffic

            Eventually, Porsenna told the disappointed monarch Tarquinius, that it’s a no go, that Rome simply does not want him. Any wars after this against Rome were strictly for the normal reasons of that time: loot and prestige. This was a normal state of affairs in the 5^th century BC Italy, because so many different tribes resided close to each other. The tribes of Volsci, Aequi, Etruscans and others, none of them being the proverbial peace doves.

The kings of Rome

Some countries started on the wrong foot with kings and aristocracy… but only until the people decided that they can govern themselves quite well without the expense of inherited privileges…

Ancient road up the Capitoline Hill

Excavations in Trajan's Forum

 The kings of Rome (753-509 BC)

            The second king was Numa Pompilius, a Sabine who ruled from 715-673 BC. After the energetic a warring king Romulus, Numa Pompilius was something of a relief. His main worry was, to get his rough subjects into some kind of gentler frame of mind. Therefore he is credited with establishing the state religious rites and priestly offices like flamines and pontifices, house of Vestal Virgins, building temples and other pious deeds. In order that the people don’t sneer at all this religious fervor, he announced, that he meets nights with the nymph Egeria, residing on the Caelius hill, and she gives him pointers about religion and worship of the gods. He must have been meeting with someone at night to substantiate his story, though a nymph is doubtful.

The Roman She-Wolf

       Numa Pompilius died peacefully in his old age, but that is not true of his successor, Tullius Hostilius.  Hostilius decided that Rome lapsed into senility, and his neighbours were busily plotting to take Rome over. To discourage such an idea, Hostilius renewed military readiness. To increase the population of Rome, he asked the good people of Alba Longa to join the Romans. Alba Longans declined this honour.  Biiig mistake. Alba Longa was destroyed, and then the population was deported to Rome as new citizens. Hostilius had one big fault, that is, he neglected to keep the contract with the gods, instituted by Numa Pompilius. Therefore, in the usual manner of vengeful ancient gods, they sent a plague on Rome.  Hostilius suddenly remembered the gods, but too late. He was struck down by a bolt of lightning.

     The plague and the unhappy fate of Tullius Hostilius prompted the Senate to get a king less energetic in war and more energetic in revering the gods. In 640 BC the Senate chose Ancus Marcius, the grandson of Numa Pompilius as a king, reasoning (without even knowing about DNA, but still believing in heredity) that Marcius’s election as a king will appease the gods. Ancus Marcius struck a balance between religious, military and administrative duties. To protect the salt works at the mouth of the Tiber, he is credited with founding the port of Ostia, and also with building the first bridge across the Tiber, Pons Sublicius, the Wooden Bridge. Growing Rome was a temptation to surrounding Latin tribes, but Ancus Marcius beat them, and they invented the adage ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ and became the citizens of Rome.

     Ancus Marcius died natural death like his grandfather in 616 BC, proving thus to the senators, that they chose well.  Tarquinius Priscus was a guardian of the sons of Ancus Marcius, but after Marcius’s death he sent them away and convinced the Senate to name him the king. Tarquinius Priscus was originally Etruscan, and that was in the past interpreted that Etruscans took Rome over. However, as noted above, Rome was not a seat of one tribe, or one nationality, but a mixture, a hodgepodge of different peoples, coming from all over central Italy, and undoubtedly some Etruscans among them (Vicus Tuscus is still an extant street, leading from the Forum between the Palatine and the Capitol where originally the Etruscan inhabitants of Rome lived).

Model of Regia, the house of Roman kings

     Tarquinius Priscus is credited with a lot of public works, the main one being draining of the swampy area between the Capitol and Palatine hills. The first part of Cloaca Maxima, or the Great Sewer gave birth to Forum Romanum, the center of the Roman world. To get funds for the building program, some more Sabine and Latin tribes became Roman citizens through forcible means, and Tarquinius is credited with instituting the tradition of celebrating triumph for victorious generals. During this busy period, Tarquinius did not notice that the sons of Ancus Marcius grew up, and was sincerely surprised by his own assassination in 579 BC.

      The sixth king of Rome was Servius Tullius. He is credited with further division of citizens into classes according to their property and with the building of the temple of Diana on the Aventine hill, which was at the time outside of the city.  He also did not die a peaceful death but was killed by his daughter Tullia and her husband Tarquinius. There is a dark legend, that the wild Tullia rode over her dying father in a war chariot in the Forum and on the steps of the Regia, the house of the king in 534 BC.

      Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud/Arrogant) realized that his ascension to kingship was not exactly according to the constitution of Servius Tullius, and decided that playing with constitutions, senators, approval of the plebs and other niceties was outdated. The malcontents mumbling something about laws and constitution and gods and other such unpleasantnesses were either killed or exiled. To keep Romans busy, Tarquinius embarked on military adventures, and also to get some loot to keep his followers happy, since he could not rely on law to keep people in order.