Attius Tullius was a well-respected and influential political and military leader of the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

in the early fifth century BC: according to Plutarch,

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, ''

Parallel Lives Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

'', xx. 1-3; xxii. 1 who calls him Tullus Aufidius, his home town was

Antium Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conquere ...

. Tullius sheltered the exiled Roman hero

Gaius Marcius Coriolanus Gnaeus (or Gaius) Marcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was ...

, then incited a

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 ...

with

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, in which he and Coriolanus led the Volscian forces. He appears in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's tragedy ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...

'' under the name of Tullus Aufidius.

Background

The alliance between Tullius and Coriolanus had its roots in the first great confrontation between Rome's

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

and

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

classes. In 494 BC, under the weight of crushing debt, the entire body of the plebeians seceded from Rome and took to the

Mons Sacer __NoToC__ The Mons Sacer, Sacer Mons, or Sacred Mount is a hill in Rome, famed as the location of the first secession of the plebs, in 494 BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'', vol. II, p. 871 ("Sacer Mons"). Geography The Mons Sacer is ...

. The patrician envoys negotiated a settlement to the dispute, first by agreeing to debt relief, and then by creating the new and sacrosanct office of the

Tribune of the Plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

, in order to protect the interests of the plebeians. The following year, Gaius Marcius, a young officer in the army of the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

Postumus Cominius, rescued the Roman forces attacking the Volscian town of

Corioli Corioli was a town in ancient times in the territory of the Volsci in central Italy, in Latium adiectum. Etymology Linguist Roger Woodard, based on McCone, suggests the name of the town, ''Corioli'', may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *'' ...

from a desperate situation, in which they were simultaneously attacked by a Volscian relief force and a sortie from the town. Marcius led a company of soldiers through the gates of Corioli before they could be closed, and set fire to a number of buildings, effecting the capture of the undefended populace, and winning resounding fame, as well as the surname of ''Coriolanus''. Soon afterward, Rome was beset by famine, and a large quantity of grain was imported from

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. When the plebeians objected to the high price being charged, Coriolanus took a leading role in the patrician opposition to a reduction in price, demanding that if the people wished to have last year's price, they should agree to surrender their hard-won privileges and give up the tribunate. Notwithstanding his fame and heroic deeds, Coriolanus soon found himself the object of the people's scorn. Believing his life in danger, he fled into exile amongst the Volsci, the very people whom he had helped to defeat, where he was sheltered by the Volscian leader, Attius Tullius. Plutarch says that Coriolanus took refuge from Tullius in Antium.

War with Rome

Sensing weakness on the part of the Romans, and an opportunity for revenge, Tullius pretended reconciliation, and in 491 led a delegation of Volsci to Rome in order to participate in the celebration of the Great Games, which were being celebrated on a grand scale. In order to stir up Volscian resentment, he obtained a private audience with the consuls, and convinced them that he feared some discord might erupt between the Volscian youth and the Romans. The consuls put the matter before the senate, and the senate decided to expel the Volsci from Rome. The panicked Volsci gathered their belongings and hurriedly left the city. As surprise and fear turned to anger, Tullius met them at a grove sacred to the goddess

Ferentina Ferentina was the patron goddess of the city Ferentinum, Latium. She was protector of the Latin commonwealth. She was also closely associated with the Roman Empire. A grove sacred to the goddess was used as the site of a famous meeting of the lea ...

, further inflaming their passions, and inducing the Volsci to declare war on Rome. Command of the Volscian forces was jointly entrusted to Tullius and Coriolanus, who led their army against Roman towns, colonies and allies. Roman colonists were expelled from Circeii. They then retook the formerly Volscian towns of

Satricum Satricum (modern Le Ferriere), an ancient town of Latium vetus, lay on the right bank of the Astura river some SE of Rome in a low-lying region south of the Alban Hills, at the NW border of the Pontine Marshes. It was directly accessible from Ro ...

, Longula,

Pollusca Pollusca was a town in ancient times in the territory of the Volsci in central Italy. It was located south of Rome, north of the Volscian capital Antium, and just west of Corioli. In 493 BC it was captured by a Roman army under the command of the ...

and

. Then the Volscian army took

Lavinium Lavinium was a port city of Latium, to the south of Rome, midway between the Tiber river at Ostia and Antium. The coastline then, as now, was a long strip of beach. Lavinium was on a hill at the southernmost edge of the ''Silva Laurentina'', a ...

, then Corbio, Vitellia, Trebia, Lavici and

Pedum Pedum ( grc, Πέδα) was an ancient town of Latium in central Italy, located between Tivoli, Lazio#Roman%20age, Tibur and Palestrina#Ancient%20Praeneste, Praeneste, near modern Gallicano nel Lazio. The town was a member of the Latin League. H ...

. At last, the Volsci were ready to besiege Rome itself. For this endeavour, the supreme command was entrusted to Coriolanus, rather than Tullius. He set up camp on the Cluilian trench, five miles outside Rome, and ravaged the countryside. The Roman senate twice dispatched delegations to negotiate with the Volscian army, but Coriolanus refused to receive them. A delegation of priests in their ceremonial garments was likewise refused. At last a party of women appeared before the Volscian camp to plead for their city. Coriolanus was still of mind to refuse them, until one of his friends informed him that among the women were his mother,

Veturia Veturia was a Roman matron, the mother of the possibly legendary Roman general Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. According to Plutarch her name was Volumnia. Veturia came from a patrician family and encouraged her son's involvement in Roman politics. Ac ...

, his wife, Volumnia, and his two young sons. Moved by their pleas, Coriolanus agreed to withdraw his army and end the siege. According to

Fabius Pictor Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Gree ...

, he endured a bitter exile for many years.Livy, ii. 40.How & Leigh, ''History of Rome to the Death of Cæsar''
p. 60
According to Plutarch, consequently, having Coriolanus committed acts of

disloyalty Loyalty, in general use, is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another ...

to the Volsci, Tullius raised support to have the Roman first put on trial by the Volsci, and then

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

before the trial had ended.

Afterward

On a subsequent occasion, Tullius arranged for an alliance between the Volsci and the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early his ...

, intending to renew hostilities upon Rome with a combined army. However, the Aequi refused to have Tullius in command of their forces, and a fierce battle between the would-be allies ensued, in which both armies were severely weakened, ending the threat against Rome. This is the last occasion on which Tullius is mentioned, although Rome was frequently engaged in various skirmishes with both the Aequi and Volsci over the next several decades.

References

Bibliography

* Titus Livius (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, 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 traditiona ...

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. * Thomas Arnold, ''The History of Rome'', D. Appleton & Company, New York (1846). * Mrs. Hamilton Gray, ''History of Rome for Young Persons'', T. Hatchard, London (1858). * Henry G. Liddell, ''The Student's Rome: A History of Rome from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire'', John Murray, London (1871). * Wilhelm Ihne, ''The History of Rome'', Longmans, Green, and Co., London (1895)
''s. v.'' "Attius Tullius"
(1871); ''Early Rome: From the Foundation of the City to Its Destruction by the Gauls'', Longmans, Green (1895). * W.W. How, H.D. Leigh, ''A History of Rome to the Death of Cæsar'', Longmans, Green, & Co., London (1898). {{Authority control 5th-century BC people Aufidii Tullii Attii