History of The Constitution of The Roman Kingdom - The Late Monarchy

The Late Monarchy

The second epoch saw the reigns of the last three legendary kings. The second epoch was more consequential than was the first, which was in part due to the significant degree of territorial expansion which occurred during this period. In addition, this period saw the development of the "Plebeian" (commoner) class, and their partial incorporation into the political structure of the city. Finally, this period saw the only foreign (specifically, Etruscan) kings, and the only period where kings ascended the throne due to heredity rather than election. Regardless of how true these legends were, it is likely that, as the legends suggest, a series of conquests did occur during the late monarchy. As a result of these conquests, it became necessary to determine what was to be done with the conquered people.

Often, individuals whose towns had been conquered remained in those towns. Their daily lives and system of government remained the same, and they simply lost their independence to Rome. Other such individuals, however, came to Rome. To acquire legal and economic standing, these newcomers adopted a condition of dependency toward either a Patrician family, or toward the king (who himself was a Patrician). Eventually, the individuals who were dependents of the king were released from their state of dependency, and became the first Plebeians. As Rome grew, it needed more soldiers to continue its conquests. The non-Patricians belonged to the same Curia as did their patron, while the army at the time was organized on the basis of the Curia, and as such, these dependent individuals were required to fight in the army. However, when they were released from their dependency, they were released from their Curia. When this occurred, while they were no longer required to serve in the army, they also lost their political and economic standing. To bring these new Plebeians back into the army, the Patricians were forced to make concessions. While it is not known exactly what concessions were made, one result of these concessions was that the Plebeians acquired the right to own land, and thus now had a stake in the success of the city. However, they were not granted any political power, which set the stage for what history knows as the Conflict of the Orders.

To bring the Plebeians back into the army, the army was reorganized. The legends give credit for this reorganization to the king Servius Tullius. Per the legends, Tullius abolished the old system, whereby the army was organized on the basis of the hereditary Curia, and replaced the old system with one based on land ownership. As part of Tullius' reorganization of the army, two new units were created: The army was divided into "Centuries" (centuriae), while future reorganizations were to be made more efficient through the use of "Tribes" (tribus). The Centuries were organized on the basis of property ownership, and any individual, Patrician or Plebeian, could become a member of a Century. The Curia, in contrast, were purely hereditary, and thus only Patricians (or their dependents) could become a member of a Curia. The organization of the army by Curia was replaced with an organization by Century, and these Centuries were to gather in a new assembly called the "Century Assembly". At this time, however, the Century Assembly had no political or legislative powers, but was simply used as a device through which the army assembled for various purposes (such as to hear announcements). In contrast, four Tribes were created, which encompassed the entire city of Rome, and were known as the Palatina, Suburana, Collina, and Esquilina. While new Tribes were to be created in the future, these future Tribes encompassed territory outside of the city of Rome. Membership in a Tribe, like that in a Curia, was hereditary, but the difference was that such membership was open to both Patricians and Plebeians, without regard to property qualification. All Romans were assigned to a particular Tribe on the basis of where they lived, and any individual belonged to the same Tribe as did his father.

The first Etruscan king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus, succeeded the king Ancus Marcius. It has been suggested that Rome had been conquered by the Etruscans, however this is unlikely. The city was located in an easily defensible position, and its rapid growth attracted people from all over the region. The city's liberal policy of extending citizenship probably created an opportunity for a skillful leader to gain the throne. The reign of the first four kings was distinct from that of the last three kings. The first kings were elected. Between the reigns of the final three kings, however, the monarchy became hereditary, and as such, the senate became subordinated to the king. The fact that the monarchy became hereditary is obvious from the shared kinship between those three kings, as well as from the absence of an interregnum between their reigns. The fact that the auspices did not revert back to the senate upon the deaths of those kings constituted a serious breach in the authority of the senate because it prevented the senate from electing a monarch of its choosing. This breach in the senate's sovereignty, rather than an intolerable tyranny, was probably what led the Patricians in the senate to overthrow the last king. The king may have sought the support of the Plebeians, however, the Plebeians were no doubt exhausted from their continued military service, and from their forced labor in the construction of public works. They were probably also embittered by their lack of political power, and therefore did not come to the aide of either the king or the senate.