Regal period

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Ancient Rome

Historical Periods

Regal period (753 – 509 B.C.) Republic (509 – 27 B.C.) Empire (27 B.C. – 395 A.D.) Western Empire (395 – 476) Eastern Empire (395 – 500)

Great Romans

Marius, Cato the Younger, Cicero, Julius Caesar, Pompey, Augustus, Trajan, Diocletian, Constantine, Augustine, Justinian I

Roman Legacy

Ancient Rome in popular culture

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The regal period of Rome extended from the foundation of the city in 753 BC to the expulsion of Tarquin Superbus, the last king, in 509 BC. The legends of this period were well known to Romans of the late Republic and Empire, but historical records are few and unreliable.

Accomplishments attributed to the regal period include the "Calendar of Numa," a precursor to the Julian Calendar, and the Cloaca Maxima, the world's first sewage system.

Romulus and Remus

According to legend, Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of Mars, the god of war. They were rescued from the mighty Tiber River by a mother wolf. She nursed them back to health, and raised the two boys. In 753 BC, Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome. Romulus murdered Remus in a heated debate on where should the base of the city be built. Romulus is considered the city's first king.

Timeline

Rome had seven legendary kings as follows:

• Romulus (753 to 717 BC)
• Numa Pompilius (717 to 673 BC)
• Tullus Hostilius (673 to 642 BC)
• Ancus Marcius (642 to 616 BC)
• Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (616 to 579 BC)
• Servius Tullius (579 to 535 BC)
• Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (535 to 509 BC)

Bibliography

Livy, From the Founding of the City Book 1. Cassius Dio, Roman History, v. 1-2. Thomas Arnold, The History of Rome, v. 1. Theodore Mommsen, History of Rome, v. 1.