Lucius Tarquinius Superbus - Overthrow and Exile

Overthrow and Exile

Tarquinius next went to war with the Rutuli. According to Livy, the Rutuli were, at that time, a very wealthy nation and Tarquinius was keen to obtain the booty which would come with victory over the Rutuli in order, in part, to assuage the anger of his subjects.

Tarquin unsuccessfully sought to take the Rutulian capital Ardea by storm, and subsequently began an extensive siege of the city.

Meanwhile, the king's son, Sextus Tarquinius snuck away from the camp to Collatia, and raped Lucretia, a beautiful noblewoman, who consequently committed suicide. Lucretia's kinsman Lucius Junius Brutus (himself a member of the Tarquin dynasty) and Lucretia's widowed husband, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus (grand-nephew of Tarquinus Priscus and thus also a member of the dynasty) led the revolt, along with Publius Valerius Poplicola, and Lucretia's aging father, Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus. That uprising resulted in the exile or Regifugium, after a reign of twenty-five years, of Tarquin and his family, and the establishment of the Roman Republic, with Brutus and Collatinus as the first consuls.

It is unclear what was the outcome of the siege of Ardea, or indeed the war against the Rutuli.

Tarquin and his two eldest sons Titus and Aruns went into exile in Caere.

After his exile, Tarquin made a number of attempts to regain the throne. At first he sent ambassadors to the Senate to request the return of his family's personal effects which had been seized in the coup. In secret, while the Senate debated his request, the ambassadors met with and subverted a number of the leading men of Rome to the royal cause, in the Tarquinian conspiracy. The conspirators included two of Brutus' brothers-in-law, and his two sons Titus and Tiberius. The conspiracy was discovered, and the conspirators executed.

Although the Senate had initially agreed to Tarquin's request for a return of his family's effects, the decision was reconsidered and revoked after the discovery of the conspiracy, and the royal property was given over to be plundered by the Roman populace.

Tarquin next attempted to regain Rome by force of arms. He first gained the support of the cities of Veii and Tarquinii, recalling to the former their regular losses of war and land to the Roman state, and to the latter his family ties. The armies of the two cities were led by Tarquin against Rome in the Battle of Silva Arsia. The king commanded the Etruscan infantry. Although the result initially appeared uncertain, the Romans were victorious. Both Brutus (the consul) and Aruns (the king's son) were killed in battle.

Tarquin's final attempt relied on military support from Lars Porsenna, king of Clusium. The war led to the siege of Rome, and finally a peace treaty. However, Tarquin failed to achieve his aim of regaining the throne. Tarquinius and his family left Clusium, and instead sought refuge in Tusculum with his son-in-law Octavius Mamilius.

Tarquin died in exile at Cumae, Campania in 496 BC.