Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, 16th-century depiction published by Guillaume Rouillé
King of Rome
Reign534–509 BC
PredecessorServius Tullius
SuccessorLucius Junius Brutus, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus as Consuls
BornRome
Died495 BC
Cumae
Spouse
Issue
FatherLucius Tarquinius Priscus (possibly grandfather)
MotherTanaquil

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.[1] He is commonly known as Tarquin the Proud, from his cognomen Superbus (Latin for "proud, arrogant, lofty").[2]

Ancient accounts of the regal period mingle history and legend. Tarquin was said to have been either the son or grandson of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, and to have gained the throne through the murders of both his wife and his elder brother, followed by the assassination of his predecessor, Servius Tullius. His reign has been described as a tyranny that justified the abolition of the monarchy.

  1. ^ Livy, ab urbe condita libri, I
  2. ^ Cassell's Latin & English Dictionary, s.v. superbus.