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King of Rome
Servius Tullius
578 B.C. - 535 B.C.
Some say he was the first king to
accede without the election by the
Senate, having gained the throne
by popular support, at the
contrivance of his mother-in-law.
Livy depicts Servius’ mother as a
captured Latin princess enslaved by
the Romans; her child is chosen as
future king after a ring of fire is seen
around his head.
Servius was a popular king, and one
of Rome’s most significant
benefactors.
He expanded the city to include the
Quirinal, Viminal and Esquiline
hills. He is credited to building of
temples of Fortuna and Diana, and
the invention of Rome’s first true
coinage.
Servius had two daughters, Tullia the
younger and Tullia the elder. He
arranged their marriages to the two
sons of his predecessor, Lucius
Tarquinius Priscus.
Tullia the younger and Lucius
Tarquinius shared a fierce and
ambitious temperament, and were
drawn together in conspiracy.
They were married to the opposite
siblings, they procured their murders
and married, and conspired to
remove Servius Tullius.
Tarquinius went to the senate house
with a group of armed men to incite
the senators against Servius.
When Servius arrived to defend
himself, Tarquinius threw him down
the steps and Servius was murdered
in the street by Tarquin’s men.
Soon after, Tullia drove a chariot over
her father’s body.
For the author Livy, Tarquinius’
refusal to permit his father-in-law’s
burial earned him the name Superbus,
(arrogant or proud).
Servius’ death was a tragic crime, a
dark episode in Rome’s history and
just cause of the abolition of the
monarchy.