Thegens Tarquinia was aplebeian family atancient Rome, usually associated withLucius Tarquinius Priscus andLucius Tarquinius Superbus, the fifth and seventhKings of Rome. Most of the Tarquinii who appear in history are connected in some way with this dynasty, but a few appear during the laterRepublic, and others from inscriptions, some dating as late as the fourth century AD.
The legendary origin of the Tarquinii who reigned at Rome begins withDemaratus of Corinth, a member of the house of theBacchiadae atCorinth, which was expelled in 657 BC.[1][2][3][4] Demaratus settled atTarquinii inEtruria, where he married anEtruscan noblewoman, and had two sons,Lucius andArruns, who took the surnameTarquinius after the town of their birth. Denied political advancement due to his father's foreign birth, Lucius, encouraged by his wife,Tanaquil, determined to settle at Rome, where he could hope to attain high station based solely on his merits. He fell into the retinue ofAncus Marcius, the fourth Roman king, becoming his trusted advisor. Since the Roman monarchy was elective, rather than strictly hereditary, when Marcius died, Tarquinius successfully argued that he should be named the next king, in preference to the sons of Marcius.[5][6]
Family tree showing relations to Lucretia and Brutus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last Roman king, was said to have been the son or grandson of the elder Tarquin, whileLucius Tarquinius Collatinus, one of the firstRoman consuls, was his cousin.[7] Other Tarquinii are mentioned as part of this family, although it is not entirely clear how some of them were related. It is likely that there were additional kings and perhaps other members of the Tarquin dynasty during this period.[8]
It is not clear whether the early Tarquinii should be regarded aspatricians orplebeians. The consul Collatinus is generally regarded as a patrician,[9] but as Cornell explains, none of the families that claimed descent from or kinship with the Roman kings were considered patrician in later times, while none of Rome's leading patrician families is represented among the kings. The patricians may have chosen the king, but were probably not eligible for the office, and it is unlikely that the kings themselves were admitted to the patriciate once chosen.[10] It may be that Collatinus was granted patrician status on the overthrow of the Roman monarchy; but as he then accepted exile according to the demand of his colleague,Lucius Junius Brutus, the matter becomes academic, as there was no tradition of patrician Tarquinii at Rome in later times. The Tarquinii of the later Republic were plebeians.
ThenomenTarquinius appears to be theLatin form of theEtruscanTarchna, apparently the same as theTarchunies named in one of thefrescoes in the famousFrançois Tomb atVulci.[11][12] The nomen is certainly derived from the city of Tarquinii, in EtruscanTarchna orTarchuna, after its legendary founder, the folk-heroTarchon, although in historical times the Tarchna family had branches at both Tarquinii andCaere.[13]
This list includes abbreviatedpraenomina. For an explanation of this practice, seefiliation.
SirLawrence Alma-Tadema,Tarquinius Superbus (1867). The king suggests to his son, Sextus, how to bring the city ofGabii under his control, by silently lopping the heads off the tallest poppies in his garden.
Arruns Tarquinius, the elder son of Demaratus, died shortly before his father, who accordingly left his entire fortune to his younger son, Lucius, unaware that the wife of Arruns was pregnant, and that his first grandson would inherit nothing.[14][15]
Arruns Tarquinius Ar. f. Collatinus, the first grandson of Demaratus, was deprived of his inheritance when his grandfather died shortly after his elder son, unaware that his daughter-in-law was pregnant. According to tradition, young Arruns became known asEgerius, the needy one.[ii] However, when he was grown, and his uncle had become King of Rome, he received the command of the Roman garrison atCollatia, thereby obtaining the surnameCollatinus.[15][20]
Tarquinia L. f., daughter of the elder Tarquin, married Servius Tullius, and was the mother of the two Tulliae.[21][22]
Arruns L. f. Tarquinius, the brother of Tarquin the Proud, marriedTullia, the younger daughter of Servius Tullius. His wife was ambitious, while he was not; his equally ambitious brother had married Tullia's demure elder sister. Lucius and Tullia murdered their spouses, and married one another.[26][27]
Lucius Tarquinius Ar. f. Ar. n. Collatinus, one of the commanders in the army of his cousin, Tarquin the Proud. He boasted of the fidelity of his wife,Lucretia, which excited the passions of the king's son, Sextus. Sextus' rape of Lucretia set in motion the events that led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, but Lucretia took her own life out of shame. Collatinus was elected one of the first consuls, but was called upon to resign and enter into exile by his cousin and colleague,Lucius Junius Brutus, so that none of the hated Tarquins would rule at Rome, and to this demand he reluctantly consented.[28][29][30][31]
Tarquinia L. f., the sister of Tarquin the Proud, married Marcus Junius Brutus, and was the mother of Marcus, whom the king put to death, perceiving in him a potential threat, andLucius, who survived by feigning stupidity, later becoming one of the first consuls.[32]
Sextus Tarquinius L. f. L. n., the youngest son of Tarquin the Proud, whose rape of Lucretia led to the downfall of the Roman monarchy. He took refuge at Gabii, which his father had conquered after Sextus had put its leading men to death, but was soon assassinated.[35]
Publius Tarquinius, a native ofLaurentum, together with his brother, Marcus, were among the leaders of a conspiracy in 500 BC to seize a number of defensible positions at Rome, and open the city gates to the king and his allies. Tormented by visions in their sleep, the two brothers revealed the plot to the consulServius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus, and were rewarded when the other conspirators were apprehended. It is unknown how they were related to the king.[36]
Marcus Tarquinius, the brother of Publius, together with whom he revealed a plot to restore the Tarquins in 500 BC.[36]
Tarquinia, one of theVestal Virgins, said to have dedicated a field adjacent to theCampus Martius toMars, at some time following the expulsion of the kings. The freshly reaped wheat was thrown into theTiber, where it came to anchor a new island, theInsula Tiberina, sacred in later times.[37]
Tarquinia P. f. Ingenua, buried atCirta in Numidia, aged sixty-five.[47]
Lucius Tarquinius Januarius, named in a devotional inscription fromBeneventum inSamnium.[48]
Tarquinia Modesta, daughter of Modestus and Lasciva, and the young wife of Lucentius, buried at Beneventum, aged fifteen years, six months, and six days, having been married for six months and seven days.[49]
Tarquinia L. l. Paederos, wife of Lucius Tarquinius Amianthus, with whom she is buried at Rome.[43]
Publius Tarquinius Philodespotus, buried at Cirta, aged twenty-five.[50]
Tarquinius Q. f. Priscus, named in an inscription from Tarracina.[41]
Lucius Tarquinius Salutaris, buried with his brother, Publius Vibuleius Primus, atCasilinum inCampania, aged fifteen years, one month, and six days, with a tomb from their parents.[53]
Tarquinia Secunda, the wife of Quintus Pompeius Crispus, and mother of Marcus Pompeius Victor, who becamequaestor, and built a tomb for his parents atBagacum inGallia Belgica.[54]
Gaius Tarquinius M. f. Stra[bo?], named in an inscription from Caere in Etruria.[55]
Tarquinia Tertulla, buried at Castellum Elefantum, aged eighty-two.[56]
Tarquinia Titosu, buried at Castellum Elefantum, aged forty.[57]
Tarquinius Valens, one of the heirs of Lucius Cattius Viator, a veteran soldier for whom Valens built a tomb atMisenum in Campania.[58]
Tarquinius Vitalio, aneques named in a late imperial inscription fromAbella in Campania.[59]
^Usually said to have been namedLucumo prior to coming to Rome; butLucumo is thought to be a misunderstanding of the Etruscan titlelauchme, a chief or king, a parallel to how the Etruscans apparently took the Latin titlemagister for a personal name,Macstarna. Moreover, the Etruscans were familiar with the Latin praenomenLucius, which they borrowed, along with many others, so it may be that the Etruscan name ofLucius Tarquinius was simplyLucie Tarchunies. Some scholars have attempted to identify him with theCneve Tarchunies, orGnaeus Tarquinius depicted in theFrançois Tomb, but without any positive evidence that they were the same person.
^There is some doubt about the true meaning ofEgerius, as there was a nymphEgeria, said to have been the counselor ofNuma Pompilius the second King of Rome; her name is given different meanings. There is also some reason to believe thatEgerius may have been an oldpraenomen.
^Livy notes the uncertainty, but states that the weight of authority makes the younger Tarquin a son of Tarquinius Priscus; Dionysius, basing his opinion on that of the earlier historianPiso rejects this tradition on chronological grounds, as do many modern scholars, noting that according to the traditional dates, the elder Tarquin became king in 616 BC, and died in 578; the younger Tarquin seized the throne in 534, and died in exile in 495. While this does not make it absolutely impossible for them to have been father and son, it seems highly improbable. Dionysius notes that Tanaquil, also an adult before 616, was still alive when Priscus died, thirty-eight years later, when she must have been well over fifty, while Superbus was strong enough to fight in the Battle of Lake Regillus,circa 498 BC.
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