The Etruscans reached their high point in the 500s b. c. Meanwhile, Rome itself was growing, with a population composed of native Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines (SAY-bynz). The latter were another group of people in central Italy, about whom the Romans later developed a legend.
Supposedly in the years after Romulus, Rome had far more men than women. Many of the men were cutthroats and murderers. Few women wanted to live in such a place. In order to get themselves wives, the Romans tricked the neighboring Sabine men into leaving their towns. Then the Romans charged in, raping and kidnapping the Sabine women. Naturally, the Sabine men were furious when they learned what had happened. Only the Sabine women—many of whom, willing or not, now had Roman husbands—were able to stop the two sides from going to war. They proposed an agreement whereby Rome would be ruled by alternating Latin and Sabine kings.
This legend, which is certainly revealing in its portrayal of the early Romans as savage brutes, probably contains some truth. It is quite likely that the Latins shared leadership of Rome with the Sabines, though with the interwoven layers of myth and fact that make up the city's history prior to the founding of the republic, it is hard to tell. Beginning with Romulus, who supposedly reigned from 753 to 718 b. c., there were seven legendary kings of Rome. Romulus was followed by a Sabine, then a Latin, then the Sabine ruler Ancus Marcius (ANG-kuhs MAHR-shuhs), who allegedly reigned from 639 to 616 b. c.
The latter date saw the rise of Tarquinius Priscus (tahr-KWIN-ee-uhs PRIS-kuhs), whose reign supposedly lasted from 616 to 578 b. c. He allegedly waged war against a combined force of Sabines, Etruscans, and Latins, which would indicate that the people of Rome were beginning to see themselves as an entity distinct from their neighbors.
The other three legendary kings after Tarquinius Priscus were all Etruscan. The last of these was Tarquinius Superbus (soo-PUHR-buhs), son of the earlier Tarquinius, who reputedly took the throne in 534 b. c. Legend holds that he was a proud, cruel king with an unruly son, Tarquinius Sextus. The latter is said to have raped Lucretia (loo-KREE-shuh), the beautiful and virtuous wife of a Roman. Lucretia was so overcome
World History
