...Tarquin’s grandfather (the fifth king) dies… his widow names Servius Tullias king, since she liked him more than her own sons… S.T.’s daughters marry two brothers (one is Tarquin)… one of the daughters (Tullia) kills her husband and her own sister… this leaves her free to marry Tarquin but wait, there’s more... Tullia persuades Tarquin to seize the throne from her father… he sits on the throne and declares himself king… S.T. objects, and Tarquin throws him down the steps and into the street, then has him assassinated… Tullia hails Tarquin as the new king, but he sends her home for safety… on her way home she sees the body of her father in the street, seizes the reins, and drives her chariot over his corpse...Tarquin refuses to bury his body, and assassinates senators who object years later, Tarquin’s son Sextus and his friends are drinking when Sextus tries to force himself on a matron, Lucretia… she refuses, and he threatens to kill her and says he will say he found her ...
Etruscans came from north-central part of the peninsula metalworkers, artists, architects two foundation myths: Virgil’s Aeneid (where Aeneas escapes from Troy - sound familiar?) the story of Remus and Romulus Greeks they had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea Romans borrowed ideas from them, such as: religious beliefs alphabet much of their art military techniques and weaponry the Latins! descendants of Indo-Europeans settled on the banks of the Tiber situated so trading ships - but not war fleets - could navigate as far as Rome, but no further a commercial port, but not susceptible to attack and... built on seven hills (esp. Palatine) many streams flowed into the Tiber there was a marshy area called the Forum, between Palatine and Capitoline Hills Tarquin the Proud’s grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the Tiber urban legend says Washington DC was built on a swamp - ...
how did the patricians dominate? plebs had to serve in the army, but could not hold office plebs were threatened with debt slavery plebs had no legal rights plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial trials Rome had no actual laws, just unwritten customs patricians could interpret these to their own advantage So, plebs refused to serve in the military until… laws were written out (The Law of the Twelve Tables) these laws (on tablets) were posted in public (in 450 BCE) tribunes (“tribal leaders”) were elected SPQR - Senatus Populusque Romanum designates any decree or decision made by “the Roman Senate and People” brand new republic, ready to run democracy (the people’s assembly and the tribunes aristocracy (the Senate - approx. 300 members) plus monarchy (the consuls) not a tyranny (eww… too scary… a mistake the Romans did not care to repeat) originally, the US modeled their new governm...
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