The Tarquinian conspiracy was a conspiracy amongst a number of senators and leading men of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

in 509 BC to reinstate the monarchy, and to put

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I He is commonly known ...

back on the throne. The conspirators were discovered and executed. The story is part of Rome's early semi-legendary history.

Background

In 509 BC the

Roman monarchy The Roman Kingdom (also referred to as the Roman monarchy, or the regal period of ancient Rome) was the earliest period of Roman history when the city and its territory were ruled by kings. According to oral accounts, the Roman Kingdom began wit ...

was overthrown as a result of general resentment at the behaviour of the king Tarquinius Superbus, and especially his son

Sextus Tarquinius Sextus Tarquinius was the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, according to Livy, but by Dionysius of Halicarnassus he was the oldest of the three.Roman Antiquities Book 4.69 According to Roman tradition, ...

who had raped

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: ʊˈkreːtɪ.a died c. 510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subseq ...

, a Roman woman of noble background. A coup, led by

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after ...

, resulted in the expulsion of the royal family. The

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

was established, and

consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

were elected to govern the city on an annual basis.

Conspiracy formed, but discovered

Brutus was elected as one of Rome's first two consuls in 509 BC. In that year ambassadors from the royal family arrived in Rome to seek to persuade the senate to return to the royals their personal effects which had been seized during the coup. In secret, while 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 ...

debated the request, the ambassadors sought supporters of the monarchy in Rome to form a conspiracy to re-admit the royal family to the city. Two brothers of Brutus' wife, of the Vitellii, both of whom were senators, were chief amongst the conspiracy, along with three brothers of the Aquilii, and other leading men whose names are no longer recorded. Two of Brutus' sons,

Titus Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after ...

and

Tiberius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus ( 6th century BC) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic, and traditionally one of its first consuls in 509 BC. He was reputedly responsible for the expulsion of his uncle the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after ...

joined them. However, a slave of the Vitelii, having witnessed a meeting of the conspirators at his master's house (which

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 ...

claims involved a horrific oath by human sacrifice and cannibalism), alerted the consuls who immediately seized the ambassadors and the conspirators without great tumult.

Punishment

The ambassadors of the royal family had persuaded the conspirators to confirm their dedication to the royalist cause in writing, and therefore the guilt of the conspirators was not in doubt. The ambassadors were released, out of respect for the law of nations. However the traitors were condemned to death, including the sons of Brutus. The consuls sat upon the tribunal to witness the execution. The

lictors A lictor (possibly from la, ligare, "to bind") was a Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a magistrate who held ''imperium''. Lictors are documented since the Roman Kingdom, and may have originated with the Etruscans. Origi ...

were dispatched to carry out the punishment. The traitors were stripped naked, beaten with rods, and then beheaded. Brutus the consul is said to have burst forth with emotion at times during the punishment of his sons, although elsewhere he is said to have watched stoically while the punishment was carried out. The slave who had revealed the conspiracy was granted his freedom and status as a Roman citizen, and was also awarded a sum of money as reward.

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 ...

'', 2.5

References

{{Reflist 509 BC 6th century BC in the Roman Republic Attempted coups d'état Roman Kingdom Lucius Tarquinius Superbus