Roman Civilization

According to Roman Historical Tradition

• Rome ruled by a monarchy before 510 BCE
• The original monarchs were of Latin or Sabine ethnic origin
• The last monarchs were Etruscan who greatly influenced Rome's political and religious traditions.
• The monarchs were driven out by an aristocractic rebellion.
• After a somewhat rocky start, the Romans adopted a republican form of government.
• The most enjoyable account of Roman legends about their kings if found in Livy, Book 1.
• The best evidence of this early period of Roman history remains archeological (although scholars increasingly think that Roman legends are more on target than we thought before, see Alexandre Grandazzi, The Foundation of Rome (1997)).
• Etruria had dominated the central Italian peninsula during the 7th and 6th centuries bce in a military, economic and cultural sense.

• Rome at the time was at best a collection of villages located on or near the hills of Rome that had coalesced into a single society. It's greatest economic resource was salt, obtained from the sea at Ostia.
• The early Roman state divided its population into three tribes and each tribe into ten curiae (much like the modern notion of wards). Each curiae contained a number of gens or family groups.Under the Etruscans, the city was reorganized into 21 tribes, 4 in the city and 17 in the rural regions. The tribes were the basic socially unit for raising an army and collecting taxes.
• The Roman king was advised by a Senatus (council of elders) comprised of 300 men (100 from each tribe) selected by the king. The senators were called patres conscripti - "chosen fathers." Roman male citizens also met in assemblies called comitia - originally for military purposes. After the kings, the comitia would perform political functions (e.g., electing the chief magistrates).
• Etruscan religion, mythology, language, ritual and ceremony had a profound influence on subsequent Roman culture.