Lucius Tarquinius Superbus - Reign, Deposition

Tyrannical king of Rome, possibly of Etruscan extraction, whose overthrow (510 BC) marked the end of monarchy at Rome, and the beginning of the Republic. Most of the details about his life are probably fictional.

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (also called Tarquin the Proud or Tarquin II) was the last of the seven legendary kings of Rome, son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, and son-in-law of Servius Tullius. Tarquin ruled between 535 BC and 510 BC, in the years immediately before the founding of the Roman Republic. Tarquin was upset that he did not inherit the throne from his father, and to add insult to his perceived injury, his predecessor Servius Tullius was the son of a slave. To further his grip on power, Tarquin orchestrated the murders of key senators who supported Tullius and proceeded at once to repeal the recent reforms in the constitution, seeking to establish a pure despotism in their place.

Reign

When king Tarquin was approached by the Cumaean Sibyl, she offered him nine books of prophecy at an exorbitant price. Tarquin refused abruptly, and the Sibyl proceeded to burn three of the nine. The Sibyl then burned three more books and again offered Tarquin the three remaining Sibylline Books at the original price.

Tarquin's authority over the city was confirmed by three actions:

his leveling of the top of the Tarpeian Rock that overlooked the Forum and the removal of its ancient Sabine shrines the completion of the fortress temple to Jupiter on the nearby Capitoline Hill the fortunate marriage of his son to the daughter of Octavius Mamilius of Tusculum, an alliance that secured him powerful assistance in the field

Deposition

Tarquin's reign was characterised by bloodshed and violence; his son Sextus Tarquinius's rape of Lucretia precipitated a revolt, led by Lucretia's kinsman Lucius Junius Brutus (himself a member of the Tarquin dynasty) and Lucretia's widowed husband. The uprising resulted in the expulsion of most of the royal family, after Tarquin had reigned for twenty-five years, and Brutus became one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic.

After his exile, Tarquin attempted to gain the support of other Etruscan and Latin kings, claiming that the republicanism would spread beyond Rome. Even though the powerful Etruscan lord Lars Porsenna of Clusium (modern Chiusi) backed Tarquin's return, all efforts to force his way back to the throne were in vain. Tarquin's death ended the time of the Kings, the Roman people would no longer trust sole power in one ruler and so a Republic was formed.