 In this episode we will explore Regal Rome, Rome of the Kings, starting with Romulus and concluding in 509 BC with the start of the Republic. Ancient Rome had seven kings. Rome's regal period covers a period of time beginning with Rome's foundation, traditionally 753 BC by Romulus, and concludes with the traditional date of 509 BC, marked by the expulsion of the last of Rome's kings, the Etruscan Tarquinius the Proud. Who were the kings? What did they do for Rome? How did they develop the city and its infrastructure? Were they successful? And what is the archaeological evidence for the period of Rome's seven kings? We'll investigate this and more in this episode. We start with Romulus, Rome's first ruler. And his dates are 753 BC to 716 BC. In our previous video on the foundation of Rome, we've talked about his birth and the foundation of the city. But we can see sites in Rome that are specifically attributed to his reign. The asylum, that space for accepting runaway slaves and passers-by to become part of Rome. It's the piazza of the Campidolio today on the Capitoline Hill. He created the Pomerium, a magical boundary around the city, in particular around the Palatine Hill, and associated with it is the Mundus. It's the legend that he dug a circular pit in the forum and placed the first roots of the year as a sacrifice, also as a way of placating the gods of the underworld and the Mundus still stands in the forum today in its imperial manifestation right next to the Arch of Septemius-Separus. But tradition takes it all the way back to Romulus. And right next to it, this cut piece of tuf is known as the Volcanol, which is a shrine to Vulcan constructed by Titus Taceus, the eventual co-ruler with Romulus after the Sabine War. The rape of the Sabine women. This is a famous story told in the reign of Romulus. He needed women for his new city, so a festival was created in the valley that becomes the Circus Maximus between the Aventine Hill and the Palatine Hill. Maidens were stolen away. Those that had come from outlying villages, including those of the Sabines, afterwards the Sabines go to war against the Romans. We can see this action, the rape of the Sabine women, in the freeze from the Basilica Emilia in the Roman Forum. And as a result, there is a war and the confrontation takes place, in part, in what becomes the Roman Forum before there's the Roman Forum. And that story is shown on this panel that is Augustine in date of the Lackus Cursus. So one of the traditions, again, tying the activities to the life of Romulus is the Sabines warring against the Romans in the swampy land that eventually will be drained out to become the Roman Forum. And one of the physical manifestations of that is this spring which has a balustrade and the artwork is attributed to the reign of Augustus. Finally a large abyss opened up that couldn't be filled in until one of the Romans by the name of Cursus sacrificed himself. That large gaping abyss closed up and what was left behind was a spring. Another way to tell the story of why there is a spring in the Forum, a place of bounty, a place of life for the original Romans. Another story that's told in the reign of Romulus is the punishment of Tarpeia. So the Sabines attack the Romans that are fortified up on the Capitoline Hill. Tarpeia, the Roman, tried to betray the Romans to let in the Sabines but she is punished by the Sabines themselves. Here is that scene depicted from the Basilica Emilia Fries. And as a result, to remember those that tried to betray Rome would be punished, the entire hill became known as Mons Tarpeus. Ultimately the war between the Sabines and the Romans ends and there is a treaty and that settlement took place in what becomes the Roman Forum and it's marked by another monument in the Roman Forum. It's known as Venus Chloachina because it sits atop the eventual cloaca, the storm drain of the Roman Forum. They used myrtle for purification and myrtle is associated sacred to Venus, hence the name Venus Chloachina. The monument that you see in the Forum today is a gust and in date but tradition took it all the way back to the time of Romulus and the Sabines and Romulus co-ruled with Titus Taceus so expanded the city of Rome in the reign of Romulus. So there are many, many examples of physical locations tied to the oral tradition telling the story of Romulus. We can also go to the Palatine Hill itself and we can see the post holes that are cut into the tuff at the top of the Palatine Hill and famously Augustus builds his house next to the huts of Romulus that were continually rebuilt over the centuries kind of like the tradition of a Shinto shrine that gets continually reconstructed. So we have the archeological evidence of the post holes. We have the archeological evidence of that hut village from primordial Rome which can date to the time of Romulus but also even to the time before Romulus. We know that people were actually living and villages were forming before the founding, the traditional founding date of 753 BC. The second king of Rome was Numma Pompilius. His reign was from 715 BC to 672 BC and he's credited with establishing many of Rome's important religious and political institutions and he introduced the 12 month solar calendar and one of the places where we can really talk about Numma is in the Roman Forum. We have the Regia. We have the temple of Vesta. We have the house of the Vestal Virgins. They're all associated with the reign of Numma. He's giving these traditions, he's giving these structures to the Romans and they are subsequently rebuilt over the centuries but archeologically we know they go back to the 7th century BC then coinciding with that oral tradition and the reign of Numma. The third king of Rome, Tullus Hostilius, reign from 672 to 640 BC is credited with destroying Abba Longa and moving its population to Rome as well as constructing the first Curia in the Roman Forum, the Curia Hostilia. The next king Ancus Marcius was reigning from 640 to 616 BC, famously he defeats the Sabines and famously he founded Ostia. Then we have the Etruscan Kings starting with Turquinius Priscus. He moved to Rome and was selected as the ruler from 616 to 578, leading Rome to victories over the Latins. He drained the Roman Forum so he created that famous space. He constructed some terraces on the Capitoline Hill including the construction of the Clevis Capitolinius Road and he created the Circus Maximus for chariot racing. He was succeeded by Sirius Tullius from 578 to 534 BC who established the four Serbian tribes and he built a temple of Diana on the Aventine. We can see that temple on the former Erbus of the Severin Era. Famously he built a massive wall around the city and today we can see portions of the 4th century circuit, especially at the Turmini train station made of Grotto Oscura Tuff. And finally the last king of Rome, Tarquin Supervis, Tarquin the Proud from 534 to 509 BC. He defeated a number of Latin cities and established Roman colonies and is credited with building the large temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill. He was ultimately deposed and that led to the foundation of the Republic of Rome. The traditional date is 509 BC. We can also talk about Permonial Rome looking at the archaeological evidence on display in the Forum and Aquarium. Like these burials found beneath the pavement of the Forum, they go back to before the time that the Forum was used as a piazza. This is the so-called Doliola of the 2nd quarter of the 7th century BC. Here's a copy of the Lapis Niguer. It's part of a series of dedications by the Comitim in front of the Coria going back to the 7th century BC. This is a copy. This archaic looking Latin is actually on a block of stone of Grotto Oscura that goes back to the 4th century BC. But the original inscription, this is a copy, the original inscription was much older. There's a votive deposit here from the Temple of Vesta and this is the famous image of Hephaestus found in the so-called Volcanol dating to 570 BC. This terracotta plaque is from the Regia dating to 590 BC. This is a Truscan bucaro with the inscription Rex that you can just make out on it. It dates to the end of the 6th century BC. We can travel up to the Palatine Hill and we can admire this massive archaic cistern. We can also see at the foot of the Capitoline Hill the remains of the archaic phases of the temples from the so-called Sant Amobono Sanctuary dating to about 570 BC from the temples of Fortuna and Montemartuta. And finally we can see these terracotta decorations from the original Jupiter Optimus Maximus of the Tarquins. There's so much more to say about Regal Rome. Thanks for joining us. Please look at our courses and online lectures and this video was made possible from a grant from the Mush Antonio Award.