TheRutuli orRutulians were an ancient people in Italy. The Rutuli were located in a territory whose capital was the ancient town ofArdea, located about 35 km southeast of Rome.[1]
Thought to have been descended from theUmbri and thePelasgians, according to modern scholars they were more probably connected with theEtruscan orLigurian peoples.[2]
InVirgil'sAeneid, and also according to Livy,[3] the Rutuli are led byTurnus, a young prince to whomLatinus, king of theLatins, had promised the hand of his daughterLavinia in marriage. When theTrojans arrived in Italy, Latinus decided to give his daughter toAeneas instead because of instructions he had received from the gods to marry his daughter to a foreigner. Turnus was outraged and led his people as well as several other Italian tribes against the Trojans in war. Virgil's text ends when Aeneas defeats Turnus in single combat and therefore confirms his right to marry Lavinia. In some other accounts of the story of Aeneas, Latinus is later killed in a subsequent battle with the Rutuli.[4]
During the 6th century BC, in Rome's early semi-legendary history,Rome's seventh and finalkingLucius Tarquinius Superbus went to war with the Rutuli. According toLivy, the Rutuli were, at that time, a very wealthy and powerful people. Tarquinius was desirous of obtaining the booty that would come with victory over the Rutuli.[5]
Tarquin unsuccessfully sought to take Ardea by storm, and subsequently began an extensive siege of the city. The war was interrupted by therevolution that overthrew the Roman monarchy. The Roman army, camped outside Ardea, welcomedLucius Junius Brutus as their new leader, and expelled the king's sons. It is unclear as to the eventual outcomes of the siege and the war.[6]
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