Latin kings of Alba Longa

King of Alba Longa

Ferdinand Bol's 17th-century mythological painting shows Aeneas, in armor, awarding laurels to the winner of a race; he rules jointly on the same dais with Latinus.
Details
First monarch Ascanius
Last monarch Gaius Cluilius
Formation ca. 1151 BC
Abolition mid-seventh century BC
Residence Alba Longa

The Latin kings of Alba Longa (Latin: rex Albae longae), also referred to as the Latin kings of Rome, or Alban kings of Rome, are a series of legendary kings of Latium ruling mainly from Alba Longa. In the mythic tradition of the founding of Rome, they fill the 400-year gap between the settlement of Aeneas in Italy and the establishing of the city walls of Rome by Romulus and Remus.[1] It was this line of descent to which the Julii claimed kinship.[2] After the defeat and destruction of Alba Longa and the incorporation of Latium into the Roman state, the Alban kingship is succeeded by the series of kings usually called "Etruscan," though only a few members of this line were brought in from neighboring Etruria to reign.

Background

In Roman mythology, the Latin kingdom of Alba Longa was an ancient monarchy located in the present-day region of Latium in Italy.[3] It was founded by king Ascanius as a colony to reduce crowding in Lavinium and later chosen to be the capital of his Latin kingdom.[4] It incorporated the former capitals, Lavinium and Laurentum, with Lavinium as the second capital, and Laurentum the original.[5] Archaeology has confirmed that Rome was founded as a colony of people from Alba Longa,[6] although Rome was a kingdom in it's own right.

According to legend, after the fall of Troy, the Trojan Prince Aeneas led a band of refugees in search of a new home, eventually arriving in Italy near Lanuvium. The traditional date of the war was established by Eratosthenes as 1183 BC,[7] leaving a gap of some four centuries until the traditional founding of Rome in 753 BC. The genealogy of the Alban kings justified the close ties between Rome and its Latin communities, and enhanced the status of Latin families who could claim descent from a legendary ancestor. Such was the eagerness to claim a Trojan pedigree in the Late Republic that 15 different lists of the Alban kings from Aeneas to Romulus survive.[8]

Statue of Ascanius from Emerita Augusta.

Ascanius, also known as Iulus,[note 1] was the legendary founder of Alba Longa. His successor was Silvius, his half-brother and the son of Aeneas and Lavinia, and the grandson of Latinus. They never ruled from Alba Longa but resided in Lavinium. Although the exact location of Alba Longa remains difficult to prove, there is archaeological evidence of Iron Age settlements in the area traditionally identified as the site.[9]

History

King of the Aborigines

For more details on this topic, see Aborigines.

Latinus was the fourth king of the Aborigines at the time Aeneas and his Trojans landed on the shore of Latium.[10] The third king of the Aborigines was Latinus' maternal grandfather, Faunus. The second king was Jupiter and the first is supposed to have been Saturnus,[10][11] whose reign was a sort of golden age for the Aborigines. Other sources[12] include any of Janus, Evander, Faunus, or Picus as kings of the Aborigines.[note 2]

After Aeneas arrived, he married Latinus' daughter, Lavinia, and joined Latinus in war against the Rutulians.[13] Later in the war, Latinus dies, making Aeneas sole ruler of both the Trojans and the Aborigines. The two groups would assume the common name of Latini, or Latins.[14] Aeneas soon dies in battle leaving his son, Ascanius, as king of the Latins. Ascanius founds the city of Alba Longa becoming the first Latin king of Alba Longa.

House Silvia

The Silvian dynasty begins with Ascanius, but it's his younger half-brother Silvius, who succeeds him and whose name is lent to the royal bloodline (Silvius comes from Latin, Silva, meaning woods).[15] The descendants of Silvius held sovereignty in Alba Longa at least until the death of Numitor, grandfather of the mythological twins, Romulus and Remus. Ancient sources[16] say that after the death of Numitor, Romulus refused to succeed him as king of Alba Longa, and instead handed sovereignty to the people of Alba Longa who would elect an annual magistrate to rule Alba Longa.[17] While this is doubtful, Romulus, as a member of the royal family, would have had the power to appoint magistrates in Alba Longa.[17] Those magistrates must of shared a role similar to that of a Roman dictator or praetor.

List of Latin kings

The following uses information from Livy[18] and Dionysius of Halicarnassus,[19] who is the source for the length of each reign.

Name Reign began Reign ended Rule
Latinus1217 BC1180 BCKing of the "Aborigines", who gave his name to the new state of the Latins to be ruled from Laurentum by Aeneas and his own daughter Lavinia, given in marriage to Aeneas.
Aeneas1180 BC1177 BCA noble Trojan leading a force fleeing from the collapse of Troy. Listed as the first Latin king by both Livy and Dionysius. He founded Lavinium in 1181 BC, who would rule the Latins until his death on the battlefield 5 years later.
Ascanius (in Dionysius) or Iulus1177 BC1139 BCThe son of Aeneas and his Trojan wife Creusa, also known as Iulus, from which the gens Iulia was said to derive.[20] Founder of Alba Longa (1151 BC, 30 years after the founding of Lavinium). Reigned for 38 years.
Silvius1139 BC1110 BCA son of Aeneas and Lavinia, younger half-brother of Ascanius. Reigned for 29 years.
Aeneas Silvius1110 BC1079 BCA son of Silvius. Reigned for 31 years.
Latinus Silvius1079 BC1028 BCPossibly a son of Aeneas Silvius. Reigned for 51 years.
Alba Silvius1028 BC989 BCPossibly a son of Latinus Silvius. Reigned for 39 years.
Atys (in Livy) or Capetus (in Dionysius)989 BC963 BCPossibly a son of Alba. Reigned for 26 years.
Capys963 BC935 BCPossibly a son of Capetus. Reigned for 28 years.
Capetus Silvius or Calpetus935 BC922 BCPossibly a son of Capys. Reigned for 13 years.
Tiberinus Silvius922 BC914 BCPossibly a son of Capetus II. Reigned for 8 years. Reportedly slain in battle near the Albula river and his body was carried away by it. The river was renamed Tiber.
Agrippa914 BC873 BCPossibly a son of Tiberinus. Reigned for 41 years.
Romulus Silvius (in Livy) or Alladius (in Dionysius)873 BC854 BCPossibly a son of Agrippa. Reigned for 19 years. Reportedly a tyrant and contemptuous of the Gods. He frightened the people by throwing thunderbolts at them, until he himself was murdered by one and his house was submerged in the Alban Lake.
Aventinus854 BC817 BCPossibly a son of Alladius. Reigned for 37 years. The Aventine Hill was reportedly named after him.
Procas or Proca817 BC794 BCPossibly a son of Aventinus. Reigned for 23 years.
Amulius794 BC752 BCA younger son of Procas who reportedly usurped the throne. Reigned for 42 years. Slain by his grand-nephews Romulus and Remus.
Numitor752 BC? BCThe older brother of Amulius. Reportedly succeeded him a year before the foundation of Rome.
Gaius Cluilius? BC? BCLast king of Alba Longa who dies of natural causes while in camp during the siege of Rome under the kingship of Tullus Hostilius.
Mettius Fufetius? BC? BCElected dictator of Alba Longa by Cluilius' forces following his death. Mettius agreed to become vassal to the Romans for fear of the Fidenates and Veienates. Was executed by Tullus hostilius for committing perfidy. (mid seventh century BC)

Later influence

The Julii

For more details on this topic, see Julia (gens) § Origin.

It was popular in the late Roman republic for the more distinguished families to claim divine origin, and it was believed that Iulus (Ascanius) was the mythical ancestor of the gens Julia.[20][21] A notable member of the family, Julius Caesar, is said to have gone to Mount Alba to preside over the Feriae Latinae,[22](Latin rites originally celebrated by the kings of Alba Longa). In doing so he confused the Roman people who hailed him as king upon his return to Rome,[23] a title he rejected. While it is doubtful that the gens Julia are descent from Julus, it is believed that they are of Alban origin.[24][25]

Roman mythology

Kings of Alba Longa would have claimed to be descendents of Jupiter as Virgil demonstrates in the Aeneid. He represents the Alban kings as being crowned with a civic oak-leaf crown.[26] The Roman kings then adopted the crown, becoming personifications of Jupiter on earth.[27] Latinus was thought to have become Jupiter Latiaris[28] after "vanishing" during a battle with Mezentius, (king of Caere). So too, Aeneas disappeared from a battle with Mezentius or with Turnus, and became Jupiter Indiges.[29] Romulus (not unlike his Alban predecessors) became Quirinus, the "Oak-god",[28] when he was called up to heaven.

Historicity

The ancient historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus is believed to have invented the Alban chronology to fill the gap of centuries between the fall of Troy and the founding of Rome. This could have been achieved by him taking the Roman history as it was, comparing it with the Greek, and inserting Greek Olympiads or Athenian archons.[30] This method would have made the Greek histories seem contemporary with the people and events in the Roman history of his time.

The names of the kings are often based on places around Rome, such as Tiberinus, Aventinus, Alba, and Capetus. Others are rationalizations of of mythical figures, or pure inventions to provide notable ancestors for status-seeking families.[8] Despite possibly being a later invention, the Silvian house or gens Silvia, likely did exist.[31]

Family tree

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The name Iulus was invented by the writer Virgil to enhance the prestige of his patron, Augustus, whose family (the gens Julia) was said to be descent from.
  2. ↑ Virgil in book VII of the Aeneid lists the kings as: Saturn, Picus, Faunus, and Latinus in that order.

References

  1. ↑ C. F. L'Homond Selections from Viri Romae p.1
  2. ↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus Roman Antiquities I.70.4
  3. ↑ Donna Rosenberg. World Mythology. NTC Pub. Group, 1994. Pp. 111.
  4. ↑ Livy, Valerie M Warrior (ed). The History of Rome, Books 1-5. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2006. Pp. 8.
  5. ↑ Ed. William Smith Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) accessed April 29 2015
  6. ↑ Jane F. Gardner. Roman myths. British Museum Press, 1993. Pp. 31.
  7. ↑ Eratosthenes Chronographiai fragment
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gary D. Farney, Ethnic Identity and Aristocratic Competition in Republican Rome (Cambridge University Press, 2007), pp. 55–56.
  9. ↑ Mommsen Book I Chapter iii
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 M. Junianus Justinus Historiarum Philippicarum liber XLIII, 1 translated by Rev. John Selby Watson 1853
  11. ↑ Origo Gentis Romanae Canisius College Translated Texts 2004
  12. ↑ Sir George Cornewall Lewis An inquiry into the credibility of the early Roman history Vol. I chapter IX
  13. ↑ William Smith A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
  14. ↑ Barthold Niebuhr The History of Rome, Volume 1 1871
  15. ↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus Roman Antiquties 1.70
  16. ↑ Livy Ab urbe condita 1.23.4, Dionysius of Halicarnassus Roman Antiquities V.74.4, Plutarch Life of Romulus 27.1
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Thomas Henry Dyer The History of the Kings of Rome 1868 p.185-186
  18. ↑ Titus Livius. "Book I". History of Rome.
  19. ↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus. "I.66 ff". Roman Antiquities.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Fitzgerald (translator) Aeneid 1983 6.1058-1067
  21. ↑ Sir William Smith (Editor) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology vol. II 1882 p. 642
  22. ↑ Bruce Lincoln Authority: Construction and Corrosion p.41
  23. ↑ Suetonius Life of Julius Caesar 79.2
  24. ↑ Barthold Georg Niebuhr, History of Rome, vol. 1, note 1240, vol. 2, note 421
  25. ↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus 3.29 and Publius Cornelius Tacitus Annales 11.24
  26. ↑ Virgil Aeneid VI. 772
  27. ↑ James George Frazer The Golden Bough chapter XIII
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Arthur Bernard Cook The European Sky-God III. The Italians
  29. ↑ Livy I. 2, 6 and Pliny Natural History 3. 56,
  30. ↑ Thomas Henry Dyer The History of the Kings of Rome p. 75-76
  31. ↑ William Smith Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography 1854

External links