Tarquinius Superbus, Lucius
Tarquinius Superbus, Lucius,traditionally the last king of Rome (534–510 BC). According to the oldest sources (Fabius Pictor fr. 11 Peter) he was the son of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, although on the traditional chronology that is impossible (Dionysius Halicarnassius 4. 6–7). It follows either that Superbus was in fact the grandson of Priscus (thus Piso fr. 15 P. = Dionysius Halicarnassius 4. 6–7), or, more probably, that the traditional chronology of the regal period is unsound. Tarquin is said to have pursued an aggressive foreign policy; he captured several Latin towns and reorganized the Latin League into a regular military alliance under Roman leadership (Livy 1. 52), a state of affairs that is reflected in the first treaty between Rome and Carthage (Polybius 3. 22: 509 BC). The text of the treaty he made with the Latin town of Gabii is supposed to have survived until the time of Augustus. He is also famous...
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