Ancus Marcius was the

legendary Legendary may refer to: * Legend, a folklore genre * Legendary (hagiography) ** Anjou Legendarium * J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium Film and television * ''Legendary'' (film), a 2010 American sports drama film * ''Legendary'', a 2013 film fea ...

fourth

king of Rome The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...

, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king,

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, bel ...

, the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

appointed an

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was literally a ruler "between kings" (Latin ''inter reges'') during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent. History The office of ''interrex'' was supposedly created follow ...

, who in turn called a session of the assembly of the people who elected the new king. Ancus is said to have ruled by waging war as Romulus did, while also promoting peace and religion as Numa did. Ancus Marcius was believed by the Romans to have been the namesake of the

Marcii The gens Marcia (), occasionally written Martia, was one of the oldest and noblest houses at ancient Rome. They claimed descent from the second and fourth Roman Kings, and the first of the Marcii appearing in the history of the Republic would s ...

, a plebeian family.

Background

Ancus was the son of Marcius (whose father, also named Marcius, had been a close friend of Numa Pompilius, who may be identified with

Numa Marcius Numa Marcius, son of Marcus, was the first Pontifex Maximus of Ancient Rome. He was appointed by the King Numa Pompilius who assigned to him the entire system of religious rites, which system was written out for him and sealed and included the ...

, and Pompilia, daughter of Numa Pompilius.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, '' Ab Urbe Condita'', 1:32 Ancus Marcius was thus the grandson of Numa and therefore a

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

. According to

Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

, Marcius had the surname of Ancus from his crooked arm (''ancus'' signifying "bent" in Latin).

First acts as King

According to

, Ancus's first act as king was to order the Pontifex Maximus to copy the text concerning the performance of public ceremonies of religion from the commentaries of Numa Pompilius to be displayed to the public on wooden tablets, so that the rites of religion should no longer be neglected or improperly performed. He reinstated the religious edicts that were created by Numa that had been removed when Tullus was king.

War

Ancus waged

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

successfully against the Latins, and a number of them were settled on the Aventine Hill.

, '' Ab Urbe Condita'', 1:33 According to

the war was commenced by the Latins who anticipated Ancus would follow the pious pursuit of peace adopted by his grandfather, Numa Pompilius. The Latins initially made an incursion on Roman lands. When a Roman embassy sought restitution for the damage, the Latins gave a contemptuous reply. Ancus accordingly declared war on the Latins. The declaration is notable since, according to Livy, it was the first time that the Romans had declared war by means of the rites of the

fetial A fetial (; la, fētiālis , . la, fētiālēs, label=none) was a type of priest in ancient Rome. They formed a ''collegium'' devoted to Jupiter as the patron of good faith. The duties of the fetials included advising the Senate on foreign affa ...

Collegio elettorale di Roma-Lido di Ostia 1994-2001 (CD)

Ancus Marcius marched from Rome with a newly levied army and took the Latin town of

Politorium Politorium was a town in ancient Latium, Italy. In the early semi-legendary history of Rome, Politorium was one of a number of towns of the Latins who went to war with ancient Rome in the 7th century BC, during the reign of the Roman King Ancus Ma ...

(situated near the town of

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive vie ...

) 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. The Latin villages of Tellenae and Ficana were also sacked and demolished. The war then focused on the Latin town of

Medullia Medullia was a town in ancient Latium, Italy. In Rome's early semi-legendary history, Medullia was one of a number of cities of the Latins who went to war with ancient Rome in the 7th century BC, during the reign of the Roman King Ancus Marcius. Th ...

. The town had a strong garrison and was well fortified. Several engagements took place outside the town and the Romans were eventually victorious. Ancus returned to Rome with a large amount of loot. More Latins were brought to Rome as citizens and were settled at the foot of the Aventine near the Palatine Hill, by the temple of

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

. Ancus Marcius incorporated the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...

into the city, fortifying it with a wall and connecting it with the city by a wooden bridge across the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...

, the

Pons Sublicius The Pons Sublicius is the earliest known bridge of ancient Rome, spanning the Tiber River near the Forum Boarium ("cattle forum") downstream from the Tiber Island, near the foot of the Aventine Hill. According to tradition, its construction was ...

. To protect the bridge from enemy attacks, Ancus had the end that was facing the Janiculum fortified. Ancus also took over Fidenea to expand Rome's influence across the Tiber. 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 The Mamertine Prison ( it, Carcere Mamertino), in antiquity the Tullianum, was a prison (''carcer'') with a dungeon (''oubliette'') located in the Comitium in ancient Rome. It is said to have been built in the 7th century BC and was situated on ...

. He then extended the Roman territory, founding the port of Ostia, establishing salt-works around the port, and taking the Silva Maesia, an area of coastal forest north of the

, from the Veientes. He expanded the temple of

Jupiter Feretrius The numerous epithets of Jupiter indicate the importance and variety of the god's cult in ancient Roman religion. Capitoline cult Jupiter's most ancient attested forms of cult are those of the state. The most important of his sanctuaries in Rome ...

to reflect these territorial successes. According to a reconstruction of the

Fasti Triumphales The ''Acta Triumphorum'' or ''Triumphalia'', better known as the ''Fasti Triumphales'', or Triumphal Fasti, is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a ''triumphus'', or triumph, in recognition of an impor ...

, Ancus Marcius celebrated at least one triumph, over the Sabines and Veientes.

Death and successor

Ancus Marcius is reported to have died of natural causes after a rule of 24 years.

, ''

ab urbe condita libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The wor ...

'', I He had two sons, one of which would likely take the throne. A member of Ancus' court,

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military conqu ...

, 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. Ancus Marcius was succeeded by his friend Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, who was ultimately assassinated by the sons of Ancus Marcius.

, '' Ab Urbe Condita'' Later, during the Republic and the Empire, the prominent gens Marcia claimed descent from Ancus Marcius.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcius, Ancus 670s BC births 617 BC deaths 7th-century BC Romans 7th-century BC monarchs Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Kings of Rome Ancus Year of birth unknown