Brutus and Lucretia's bereaved husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, were elected as the first consuls of Rome (509 BC). the components of the Republican government were largely in place, so the transition to the first stable Republic in history was relatively smooth. The Etruscan cities of Caere, Veii, and Tarquinii were defeated by Rome at the Battle of Silva Arsia. When the Romans created the Republic, they loosely modeled the government after the Greek state of Athens' democracy, seeing that they had a minimal conflict. [5], Brutus, along with Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus, Publius Valerius Publicola, and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus were summoned by Lucretia to Collatia after she had been raped by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of the king Tarquinius Superbus. Roman Transition to a Republic As you may know from previous posts, the Roman Republic was born out of the overthrow of an Etruscan monarchy. Approx.) A reference to L. J. Brutus is in the following lines from Shakespeare's play The Tragedie of Julius Cæsar, (Cassius to Marcus Brutus, Act 1, Scene 2). He pointed out that Superbus had come to rule by the murder of Servius Tullius, his wife's father, next-to-the-last king of Rome. [20] In about 496 BC, Tarquin and his son Titus fought with Mamilius and the Latin League against Rome, but lost, at the Battle of Lake Regillus at which Mamilius perished. [14], After his exile, Tarquinius made a number of attempts to regain the throne. She died in her father's arms, with the women present keening and lamenting. Republic: 510 B.C. Lucius Junius Brutus (/ˈljuːʃ(i)əs, ˈdʒuːniəs ˈbruːtəs/; Classical Latin: /ˈluː.ki.us [ˈɫ̪uː.ki.ʊs] 'juː.ni.us 'bruː.tus/) is the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. According to the Roman poet Virgil, the Romans trace their origins to. The king's wife, Tullia, was in fact in Rome and probably was a witness to the proceedings from her palace near the forum. The overthrow of the Roman monarchy, a political revolution in ancient Rome, took place around 509 BC and resulted in the expulsion of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and the establishment of the Roman Republic. According to legend, Brutus grabbed the dagger from Lucretia's breast after her death and immediately shouted for the overthrow of the Tarquins. For other people with the cognomen "Brutus", see, Lucius Junius Brutus; Father of his Country, The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons, Dionysius of Halicarnassus - Roman Antiquities 5.10, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucius_Junius_Brutus&oldid=1000449370, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 January 2021, at 04:26. Brutus' first acts during his consulship, according to Livy, included administering an oath to the people of Rome to never again accept a king in Rome (see above) and replenishing the number of senators to 300 from the principal men of the equites. Sextus Tarquinius, the king's son, was sent on a military errand to Collatia. There is no scholarly agreement that the oath took place; it is reported, although differently, by Plutarch (Poplicola, 2) and Appian (B.C. Ancient accounts of the regal period mingle history and legend. Yet before Porsenna could establish himself as monarch, he was forced to withdraw, leaving Rome without a king. Seeing herself the target of so much animosity she fled from the palace in fear of her life and proceeded to the camp at Ardea. [9], That uprising resulted in the exile or Regifugium, after a reign of 25 years, of Tarquinius and his family, and the establishment of the Roman Republic, with Brutus and Collatinus (both related by blood to Rome's fifth king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus) as the first consuls. In summation he proposed the banishment of the Tarquins from all the territories of Rome and appointment of an interrex to nominate new magistrates and conduct an election of ratification. The Roman noblemen, led by Lucius Junius Brutus, obtained the support of the Roman aristocracy and the people to expel the king and his family and to institute a republic. Porsenna, the Etruscan king of Clusium, defeated the Romans and expelled Tarquinius Superbus. c. the Trojans. Sextus was received with great hospitality at the governor's mansion, home of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, son of the king's nephew, Arruns Tarquinius, former governor of Collatia and first of the Tarquinii Collatini. The Roman histories tell that while the king was away on campaign, his son Sextus Tarquinius raped a noblewoman Lucretia. a. the Spartans. There are stories about the Roman heroes Horatius, and Gaius Mucius Scaevola, two brave Romans who risked their lives to prevent the Etruscan army and Tarquinius from regaining the throne. The Roman army supported Brutus, and the king went into exile. Once there they heard a further speech by Brutus. [14], Because of the Roman people's revulsion at the name and family of the exiled king, the consul Tarquinius Collatinus was forced to resign from the office of consul and go into exile. Tarquinius and his family left Clusium, and instead sought refuge in Tusculum with his son-in-law Octavius Mamilius. In another break with tradition, he judged capital criminal cases without advice of counsellors, thereby creating fear among those who might think to oppose him. [7], Brutus, leaving Lucretius in command of the city, proceeded with armed men to the Roman army then camped at Ardea. The king, who had been with the army, heard of developments at Rome, and left the camp for the city before Brutus' arrival. Brutus also replenished the number of senators to 300 from the principal men of the equites. [11], According to Livy, Brutus' first act after the expulsion of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was to bring the people to swear an oath (the Oath of Brutus) never to allow any man again to be king in Rome. The conquest of the Greek state of Egypt by Rome (300 B.C. [10], Tarquinius and his two eldest sons, Titus and Arruns, went into exile at Caere. Tarquin was said to have provoked a series of attacks on Rome by its neighbours. Introduced these from Etruria '' to Livy, Brutus grabbed the dagger from Lucretia 's violation. [ ]. Sham designed to protect him against an evil king Veii and the Veientes routed! 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