Mettius Fufetius (died in ~670 BC) was a dictator of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latin city in Central Italy, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was d ...

, an ancient town in central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

near

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 ...

. He was appointed to his position after the death of Alban king

Gaius Cluilius Gaius Cluilius was the king of Alba Longa during the reign of the Roman king Tullus Hostilius in the mid seventh century BC. Alba Longa was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy southeast of Rome. He constructed the Cluilian trench, sometimes ...

. When a full-blown war threatened to erupt between the Albans and the Romans, Fufetius proposed to the third legendary

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 ...

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, believ ...

, that a smaller 3 vs. 3 battle (

Horatii and Curiatii In the ancient Roman legend of the kingdom era, the Horatii were triplet warriors who lived during the reign of Tullus Hostilius. The accounts of their epic clash with the Curiatii and the murder of their sister by Publius, the sole survivor ...

) should decide the fate of their cities. Having lost this duel, the Albans submitted themselves to Roman rule. Disappointed in the outcome, Fufetius later schemed with

Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...

, an Etruscan rival of Rome, to provoke a war with his overlord. In the battle that followed, Mettius retreated to a hilltop with his Alban forces where he waited to see which force would be victorious; he then planned to join the winning side. Hostilius, after miraculously winning the battle, ruled that since Mettius was torn between the two cities, the ''same'' would be done to his body. His arms were then attached to two chariots that then ran in opposite directions; the result was naturally fatal. Hostilius then had Alba Longa demolished and its people moved to Rome, as a warning to all future allies and subjects of Rome not to betray her.

References

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 ...

, ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

'', 1:23-28. Etruscan kings People from Alba Longa Mettii 673 BC deaths {{AncientRome-myth-stub

See also

References