Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius | |
---|---|
King of Rome | |
Reign | c. 640–616 BC |
Predecessor | Tullus Hostilius |
Successor | Lucius Tarquinius Priscus |
Father | Numa Marcius |
Mother | Pompilia |
Ancus Marcius (
Ancus Marcius was believed by many Romans to have been the namesake of the Marcii, a plebeian family.[7][8][9]
O: diademed head of Ancus Marcius, lituus behind
ANCVS |
R: equestrian statue on 5 arches of aqueduct (Aqua Marcia)
PHILIPPVS A-Q-V-A-(MAR) |
Silver denarius struck by Lucius Marcius Philippus in Rome 56 BC. |
Background
Ancus was the son of
First acts as King
According to
War
According to Livy, the accession of Ancus emboldened the Latin League, who assumed that the new king would follow the pious pursuit of peace adopted by his grandfather, Numa Pompilius. The Latins accordingly made an incursion on Roman lands, and gave a contemptuous reply to a Roman embassy seeking restitution for the damage. Ancus responded by declaring war on the Latins. Livy says that this event was notable as the first time that the Romans declared war by means of the rites of the fetials.[5]
Ancus Marcius marched from Rome with a newly levied army and took the Latin town of Politorium (situated near the town of Lanuvium) by storm. Its residents were removed to settle on the Aventine Hill in Rome as new citizens, following the Roman traditions from wars with the Sabines and Albans. When the other Latins subsequently occupied the empty town of Politorium, Ancus took the town again and demolished it.[16] The Latin villages of Tellenae and Ficana were also sacked and demolished.
The war then focused on the Latin town of
Ancus Marcius incorporated the Janiculum into the city, fortifying it with a wall and connecting it with the city by a wooden bridge across the Tiber,[17] the Pons Sublicius. To protect the bridge from enemy attacks, Ancus had the end that was facing the Janiculum fortified.[18] Ancus also took over Fidenea to expand Rome's influence across the Tiber.[19] On the land side of the city he constructed the Fossa Quiritium, a ditch fortification. He also built Rome's first prison, the Mamertine prison.[16]
He then extended the Roman territory, founding the port of
Death and successor
Ancus Marcius is reported to have died of natural causes after a rule of 24 years.[4] He had two sons, one of which would likely take the throne. A member of Ancus' court, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, ensured that Ancus' sons would be out of Rome so he could put together an election where he would gain the support of the Roman people.[22]
Ancus Marcius was succeeded by his friend Lucius Tarquinius Priscus,[23][24] who was ultimately assassinated by the sons of Ancus Marcius.[25] Later, during the Republic and the Empire, the prominent gens Marcia claimed descent from Ancus Marcius.
References
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- ^ ab urbe condita libri, I
- ^ Ab Urbe Condita, 1:32
- S2CID 170735500.
- ^ Niebuhr, The History of Rome, Volume 1, p. 301
- ISBN 978-0-472-10282-2.
- ^ Smith, William (1890). Abaeus-Dysponteus. J. Murray.
- ^ E. Peruzzi Le origini di Roma I. La famiglia Firenze 1970 p. 142 ff.
- ISBN 978-1-4490-3674-4.
- ISBN 978-80-272-4456-0.
- ISBN 978-0-14-196307-5.
- ^ Ihne, Wilhelm (1871). The History of Rome. Longmans, Green, and Company.
- ProQuest 304770134.
- ^ Ab Urbe Condita, 1:33
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ancus Marcius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 953. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Ogilvie, R.M. (1965). A Commentary On Livy: Books 1-5. Oxford: Clarendon; Toronto: Oxford University Press. p. 137.
- ProQuest 747236391.
- ISBN 978-1-63149-125-2.
- ISBN 978-1-119-99788-7.
- ProQuest 1035754534.
- ISBN 978-1-119-99788-7.
- ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1847). A History of Rome: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Commodus, A.D. 192. Allen, Morrill and Wardwell.
- Ab Urbe Condita