Tullia (daughter of Servius Tullius)
Encyclopedia
Tullia was the last queen of Rome
. She was the younger daughter of Rome's sixth king, Servius Tullius
, and she married Lucius Tarquinius
. Along with her husband, she arranged the murder and overthrow of her father, securing the throne for her husband. She is a semi-legendary figure in Roman history.
. By Roman custom, both daughters were named Tullia, the feminine form of their father's nomen.
Servius Tullius arranged the marriage of his daughters to the two sons of his predecessor, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. The sons were named Lucius Tarquinius and Aruns Tarquinius
. According to Livy
, the younger of the two daughters had the fiercer disposition, yet she was married to Aruns, who had the milder disposition of the two sons. Livy says that the similar temperaments of the younger Tullia and Lucius Tarquinius drew them to each other, and Tullia inspired Tarquinius to greater daring. Together they arranged the murder of their respective siblings, in quick succession, and Tarquinius and Tullia were afterwards married.
Having acquired the backing of a large number of senators, Tarquinius went to the senate house with an armed guard and seated himself on the throne. When Servius Tullius protested, Tarquinius hurled him bodily into the street, where he was murdered by Tarquinius' assassins, apparently at Tullia's suggestion. Tullia then drove in her carriage to the senate house, where she hailed her husband as king. He ordered her to return home, away from the tumult. She drove along the Cyprian Street and turned towards the Orbian Hill, in the direction of the Esquiline Hill
. There at the top of the Cyprian Street she encountered her father's mutilated remains and, in a frenzy of madness, drove the carriage over his body. Ever afterwards this street was called the "Vicus Sceleratus" (street of infamy, or of wickedness) in memory of her actions. Tullia's act of desecration spattered her with blood that stained her clothes, and in this manner she returned to her husband's house. Livy states that Tarquinius' household gods
were angered by this crime, and determined that a reign begun so badly would also end badly.
ended the Roman monarchy
and King Tarquinius and his family were exiled from Rome, Tullia in particular was cursed by the Roman people as she fled her home, given her role in the murder of her own father.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. She was the younger daughter of Rome's sixth king, Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...
, and she married Lucius Tarquinius
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...
. Along with her husband, she arranged the murder and overthrow of her father, securing the throne for her husband. She is a semi-legendary figure in Roman history.
Family and Marriages
Tullia was the younger of the two daughters of Rome's sixth king, Servius TulliusServius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...
. By Roman custom, both daughters were named Tullia, the feminine form of their father's nomen.
Servius Tullius arranged the marriage of his daughters to the two sons of his predecessor, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. The sons were named Lucius Tarquinius and Aruns Tarquinius
Aruns (son of Tarquinius Priscus)
Aruns Tarquinius was the son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the semi-legendary fifth king of Rome, and was brother to the seventh and last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus....
. According to Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, the younger of the two daughters had the fiercer disposition, yet she was married to Aruns, who had the milder disposition of the two sons. Livy says that the similar temperaments of the younger Tullia and Lucius Tarquinius drew them to each other, and Tullia inspired Tarquinius to greater daring. Together they arranged the murder of their respective siblings, in quick succession, and Tarquinius and Tullia were afterwards married.
Overthrow and Murder of Servius Tullius
Tullia then encouraged her new husband to seek the throne. Tarquinius was convinced, and began to solicit the support of the patrician senators, especially those families who had been given senatorial rank by his father. He bestowed presents on them and vilified Servius Tullius in their company.Having acquired the backing of a large number of senators, Tarquinius went to the senate house with an armed guard and seated himself on the throne. When Servius Tullius protested, Tarquinius hurled him bodily into the street, where he was murdered by Tarquinius' assassins, apparently at Tullia's suggestion. Tullia then drove in her carriage to the senate house, where she hailed her husband as king. He ordered her to return home, away from the tumult. She drove along the Cyprian Street and turned towards the Orbian Hill, in the direction of the Esquiline Hill
Esquiline Hill
The Esquiline Hill is one of the celebrated Seven Hills of Rome. Its southern-most cusp is the Oppius .-Etymology:The origin of the name Esquilino is still under much debate. One view is that the Hill was named after the abundance of holm-oaks, exculi, that resided there...
. There at the top of the Cyprian Street she encountered her father's mutilated remains and, in a frenzy of madness, drove the carriage over his body. Ever afterwards this street was called the "Vicus Sceleratus" (street of infamy, or of wickedness) in memory of her actions. Tullia's act of desecration spattered her with blood that stained her clothes, and in this manner she returned to her husband's house. Livy states that Tarquinius' household gods
Lares
Lares , archaically Lases, were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, hero-ancestors, or an amalgam of these....
were angered by this crime, and determined that a reign begun so badly would also end badly.
Unpopularity and exile
When the uprising led by Lucius Junius BrutusLucius Junius Brutus
Lucius Junius Brutus was the founder of the Roman Republic and traditionally one of the first consuls in 509 BC. He was claimed as an ancestor of the Roman gens Junia, including Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Caesar's assassins.- Background :...
ended the Roman monarchy
Roman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
and King Tarquinius and his family were exiled from Rome, Tullia in particular was cursed by the Roman people as she fled her home, given her role in the murder of her own father.