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Historiae Romanorum
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Rome Fights For SurvivalRome now had liberty, but its survival was very much in doubt. Tarquinius Superbus was still alive and had very powerful friends among the Etruscan kings. At first, however, Superbus did not try to retake Rome by force. He sent envoys to Rome, ostensibly to recover his property, which remained there still. While the Senate discussed the matter, these envoys sought out a number of the citizens, who were still loyal to Superbus, and wished to see the Republic fail. Among these dissidents were the sons of Brutus himself, who was now a consul of Rome. A slave overheard their plans, and reported it to the consuls. The consuls arrested the conspirators. They, including Brutus' own sons, were beheaded. The property of Superbus was confiscated and his crops, located in the Campus Martius, were thrown into the river. The grain floated downstream, and in a shallow part of the river it formed and island, the Tiber Island. (Livy attempts to lend credence to this highly dubious story by writing that the Romans must have strengthened the island later on, since large building at temples were located on the island in his own time.) The slave, named Vindicius, was given a large sum of money and made a Roman citizen. From this time on, all freed slaves would be granted citizenship. Since his plot had failed, Superbus now decided to wage open war upon Rome. In the Etruscan towns of Veii and Tarquinii he found support, and soon had a large army. They invaded Roman territory, and a Roman army, led by the two consuls, was sent to oppose them. In the ensuing battle, a son of Superbus, named Arruns, recognized Brutus. He spurred on his horse and rode against him. Brutus saw this and charged against him. The two men met at full gallop and each ran his spear through the other. The battle itself was indecisive, and the Etruscan army retreated from the field. Superbus was not disheartened by his second set-back in regaining his throne. He now went to the most powerful city of the Etruscans, Clusium. The king of Clusium, Lars Porsena, was convinced by Superbus to now attack Rome with his great army. When the army of Porsena approached, the Romans abandoned their fields and retreated behind the walls of the city. On three sides, Rome was protected by walls. The other side was guarded by the Tiber River, with a lone bridge spanning it at the Tiber River. It was on this side that the Etruscans appeared. Upon seeing this great army most of the Romans soldiers fled headlong back to Rome. Only one man, Horatius Cocles, kept his wits about him. He stopped at the middle of the bridge, and ordered his fleeing companions to destroy the bridge behind him. As Cocles fought on alone, Romans from behind began to destroy the bridge. He held back the enemy for a while, and just when it seemed he was about to be overwhelmed by their sheer numbers, the bridge at last gave way and they all plunged into the river. Miraculously, the fully-armored Cocles managed to swim back to the Roman side, as Etruscan arrows fell all around him. For his efforts, Cocles was later given all the land he could drive a plow around in one day, and a statue of him was placed in the forum. The Etruscans had been prevented from entering Rome itself, but Rome was still in dire straits. Lars Porsena now set about besieging the city. He stationed his soldier around the city and his navy upon the Tiber, so that no provisions could reach the city of Rome. The Romans were starving. At this time, a young aristocrat named Gaius Mucius volunteered himself before the Senate to infiltrate the enemy lines and assassinate Porsena. The Senate approved of his plan and infiltrated the Etruscan camp. Inside, he found two well-dressed men side by side, each of whom could possibly be the king. One man was very busy, and the other idle. Assuming the busier one to be the king, Mucius attacked and killed the man with a dagger. Mucius, however, chose wrong and killed not the king, but the king's secretary. Mucius was grabbed as he tried to flee and taken before Lars Porsena. Enraged, Porsena ordered Mucius to be burned alive. Before being placed in the fire, Mucius cried, 'See how cheap men hold their bodies when they care only for honor!' He then thrust his right hand into the fire and left it there to burn, as if he felt no pain at all. Horrified by this act, Lars Porsena cried that he could go free. Before he left the Etruscan camp, Mucius gold Porsena that there were 300 more Romans, just like him, waiting for their turn to try and assassinated the king. After this day, Mucius was always known by the cognomen Scaevola, or "Lefty." Disturbed by what he had seen from Mucius Scaevola, Lars Porsena now attempted to make peace with the Romans. In return for the lifting of the siege, the Romans were forced to hand over many hostages to the Etruscans. Among the hostages was Cloelia, a Roman maiden. She admired the courage shown by Mucius, and wanted to show that women were also capable of such courage. As the captives were being taken away, Cloelia escaped from her guards and, swimming across the Tiber under a hail of arrows, led several of the other girls to safety. Lars Porsena was at first furious, but after a while his anger changed to admiration for the girl and her audacity. He declared that if she were returned to him, he would allow her to go safely back to Rome, along with several more hostages. The Romans agreed, and Porsena did as he had promised. For her bravery, Cloelia was honored with a statue of her riding a horse, placed upon the Sacra Via in Rome. Tarquinius Superbus had once again failed in an attempt to regain Rome. In his final attempt, Superbus did not turn to his fellow Etruscans for help, but instead to the people of Latium, who had grown concerned about Rome's increasing dominance in the area. The Latin army met the Romans at the Battle of Lake Regillus in 496 BC. After a long battle, in which Superbus himself was wounded, the Romans achieved victory. Shortly after, the last king of Rome died. Source(s):
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This page was last updated on July 21, 2004. |