-third from each tribe. This was a national guard, with people keeping their day jobs.When Romulus died in 717 BC, the two main tribes, the Romans and the Sabines, couldn't decide how to pick a king. Finally it was decided that the Romans would pick a Sabine king. They picked Numa Pompilius. This is what Plutarch had to say about him:"He banished all luxury and softness from his own home, and... in private he devoted himself not to amusement... but to the worship of he immortal gods." (Nardo 19)One of Pompilius' notable achievements was rearranging the calendar so it had twelve months instead of ten.The third king, Tullus Hostilius, was a war monger. He believed his subjects would grow soft if they weren't engaged in a war. Conquering neighboring people, including Alba Longa, he extended Rome's rule out to twelve miles. Supposedly the gods got angry with him and killed him with a lightning bolt (Burrell, 12).The fourth king, Ancus Martius, was a Sabine. He extended Rome's boundary to the sea and built the Pons Sublicus, the firstbridge across the Tiber. He also captured the Janiculum hill on the far bank.The fifth king, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, was the first Etruscan king. He got the throne when he persuaded Martius to send his sons away. He was an architect king. He built the capitol temple, drained the marsh between the Paletine and Aventine Hills, built the Cloaca Maxima, or great sewer, and designed the Circus Maximus.The sixth king was Servius Tullius, another Etruscan. He divided the citizens into five social classes, from richest to poorest. All but the poorest had to provide soldiers.The seventh, and final, king was Tarquinius Superbus. He was a bad king. He got the throne by marrying Tullius' daughter, Tullia. He then pushed Tullius down a flight of stairs. He sent men to finish him off, but Tullia ran over her father with a cisium, Latin for a light, two-wheeled carriage. As king, he paid absolutely no attention to what the ...
