Romulus (Romulus in Latin, born in Albalange on March 24, 771 BC, and died in Rome on July 5/07, 716 BC), is the twin brother of Remus, and also a mythical figure. According to the chronicles, he created Rome and the original main political system of Rome, so he was the first king of Rome, and Rome was named Romulus. The historical debate about Romulus began in the 19th century, when his character began to appear in traditional literature.
Romulus is of Latin descent. He is the son of Mars, the god of war, who was born after he forced him to have a relationship with Leia Silvia. Silvia is the daughter of Numitore. He is the king of Albalange. According to legend, he founded Rome and divided the holy boundary pomerium/pomoerium on April 21, 753 BC. Just because his twin brother Remus crossed the sacred border with weapons, Romulus killed him, and the killing of his brother was also regarded as an indispensable symbol of violence in the royal power. After Rome was founded on the Paladinus, he invited criminals, escaped slaves and other exiles to join his forces and promised them asylum. In this way, five of the seven hills in Rome became popular. After that, he also robbed Sabin women to be his wife to the man in Rome, which triggered a war between the two countries. Finally, he peacefully settled with Sabin people and promised that Sabin people could settle down on the nearby Collis Quirinalis with their king Titus Tatius, and shared the five year rule with Roman king Romulus.
Romulus divided the people into two types: the warrable and the non warrable. Among them, he chose one hundred noble citizens to form the Senate, so that their descendants would become the nobles of the Republic. He created the Comitia Populi Curiata, whose task was to approve laws. Therefore, he also launched many expeditions. He divided the people into three tribes, namely Tities, Ramnes and Luceres, and each tribe was divided into ten curias. In case of danger, they were obliged to provide the Roman army with a military contingent consisting of 100 infantry and 10 cavalry, so the total number of thirty curias was 3000 infantry and 300 cavalry. According to legend, Romulus was swept into the sky in a storm after more than 37 years of rule. Following his own will, he was honored as the deity of Quirinus after his death, and was worshipped by the Sabines on Mount Quirinale.
Family origin
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus are the sons of Mars and Leia Silvia, the god of war. Silvia is a priestess and the daughter of Numiture, the king of Albalange. Numiture is a direct descendant of Aeneas, so Romulus' matriarchy is the real family of Albalange. Plutarchus said that there was a mathematician who was also an astronomer, and a friend of Marcus Terentius Varro, named Lucius Taruntius Firmanus, who calculated the birth date of the twins, that is, March 24, 771 BC.
After Aeneas left Troy, he fled to Lazio and was favored by the Latin King, who introduced him to his daughter, Lauinia. Aeneas fell in love with her, but the girl had been promised to King Turnus of Rudhuli. Lavinia's father understood Aeneas's idea, but he was afraid that breaking the contract would lead to the hatred of Tulenus. Therefore, the dispute about the girl turned into a war, in which most Italians, including Etrusci and Vols, participated. So Aeneas decided to join hands with the Greeks who lived in the city of Paras in the Palatine Mountains. At that time, the ruler of the city was Euander and his eldest son Pallas. The war was very bloody. Pallas was soon killed by Tulenus. In order to prevent more people from sacrificing, he finally decided to let Aeneas duel with Tulenus. In the end, Aeneas won, so he successfully married Lavinia and established Lavinium City. However, Titus Livius put forward another version in the first chapter to the second chapter of his History of Rome, saying that the Trojans arrived in Rome in the process of pilgrimage. After a struggle, Aeneas and the Latin king reached an alliance agreement and married Lavinia, the latter's daughter, to establish Lavinium City in the name of his wife. They had a son named Ascanius. Tulenus, who was repented of his marriage, therefore declared war on the Latins. In the end, the Latins won, but Aeneas died in the war.
Childhood experience
Thirty years later, Ascanio established a new city called Albalange, where his descendants continued to multiply. After a long time, Numitore became the king of Albalange, but his brother Amulius usurped the throne and overthrew Numitore, and forced his daughter Lavinia to become a priestess. He also had to keep his virginity for life. But Mars, the god of war, raped her and made her pregnant with twins, namely Romulus and Remus. Amliusler ordered to kill the twins, but his servants felt sorry for them and did not have the courage to kill the two babies, so they put them in a basket and let them float away along the Tiber River. The basket containing the two babies floated to the shore beside a marsh between the Mons Capitolinus and the Palatine Mountains, and was found by a female wolf who fed the two babies (although it may also be a prostitute, because prostitutes were also called lupa in the past, with the same sound as the female wolf). A woodpecker also protected them all the time. These two animals were sacred symbols at that time. After that, a herdsman named Faustulus and his wife, Acca Laurentia, adopted them together and raised them like their own sons. When the two brothers grew up and learned about their life experiences, they returned to Albalange, killed Amlius, and then helped their grandfather Numitore to the throne again.
Creation of Rome
Romulus and Remus knew that they could not rule Albalanger during their grandpa's term of office, so they decided to leave and rebuild a new city where they grew up after getting permission. Romulus wanted to build it on Mount Palatine and name it Rome, but Remus wanted to build it on the Mons Aventinus and name it Remoria.
During the term of office
Plutarchus tells that after Romulus buried his brother Remus, who died in the struggle caused by the founding of the Roman City, Romulus invited experts in the preparation of laws from Etrulia and introduced holy scriptures, all of which are to understand the ritual that needs to be held. A round pit was dug near Comidium, where sacred objects were offered to gods for asylum. But Romulus, in order to make his city prosperous and prosperous, needed more people, and invited Latin and Itrascan herdsmen, some even from the other side of the sea, as his people.
Each resident took a small piece of soil and threw it with others into a big pit called mundus, which became the center of the city. Around the city, there is a circle of furrows called primagenius, whose boundary is called pomerium, representing the area enclosed by the "Holy Wall".
After that, he asked his people what kind of government system they wanted. The latter said that they were willing to accept Romulus as their king, but Romulus accepted the title after the bird occupation instructed by the gods. The way of display was a lightning from left to right.
After Romulus became the king of Rome, the first thing he started was to build a fortress for the city of Rome. As passed down from Euander, he offered sacred things to Hercules according to the traditional ceremonies of Alba and Greece. Later, he established the first legal system of Rome and was accompanied by twelve axe men.
With the passage of time, Rome gradually expanded. As Tito Levy [1-2] described in his book, "Rome is so strong that its military strength can rival any other nation around it". Women were few at that time. If the Romans could not find women to reproduce, the prosperity of the city might only last for one generation, so they had to adopt a coercive method. Romulus claimed to hold a solemn and sacred competition in the name of Neptunus, which was called Consumalia, and this tradition lasted until the era of Strabo. So he ordered his men to invite people from different ethnic groups around him to participate, from Ceninensi, Antemnati, Crustumini to Sabinus. Romulus's goal was to rob their women during the performance of the competition. At that time, there were many people present, most of whom took their children and spouses, mainly to visit the new city.
After the performance, most of the girls' parents ran away on their own. They accused the Romans of not abiding by the peace treaty they had drawn up at the beginning. But it seems that the anger of the girls has been erased over time, and they have feelings for them in the process of getting along with the Romans in the future. Romulus' wife was also one of these girls. Her name was Ersilia. They gave birth to a son and a daughter named Avilio and Prima.
All these actions became the fuse of the next war. For example, the Sennensis tried to attack Rome, but finally they were defeated by the Roman army. Their leader, Acrone, was killed by Romulus himself, and his body was sent to the temple of Jupiter as a trophy. This is the first temple in Rome, located in the Mons Capitolinus. After the Sennensis' leader was killed, Romulus led his troops to attack their city directly. The first time he attacked the other side, he surrendered. Later, they were incorporated into Rome and enjoyed the rights of Roman citizens. This victory was recorded by the fasti triumphales in 752/751 BC.
According to Plutarchus, according to the records of Quintus Fabius Pictor, this happened three months after the founding of Rome (the Roman city was built in July 753 BC).
After defeating the Sennensis, Romulus turned the arrow to the Antemnati. Their city was occupied in an attack, which brought Romulus the glory of a second victory. This event was recorded in the year 752/751 BC.
The rest of the Crustumini people insisted even less than others and were soon occupied. After the successful completion of the expedition, the Roman king established a colony on the land he captured. The most populous city is Crusumerium, because it has more fertile soil than other places.
At the same time, many conquered nations, as well as the parents and relatives of the girls who were robbed before, also came to Rome to take root.
The last enemy Rome had to face was the Sabin of Mount Quirinale. It is said that a priestess named Tarpeia was the daughter of the defense commander Spurius Tarpeius. She was bribed by Titus Tatius with a gold armband to let the enemy's armed forces enter the Roman defense blockhouse on Mount Capitolio. Due to the occupation of the Sabins, the two troops had to face off at the foot of the Palatine Mountains and the Capitolio Mountains, where the later ancient Roman square was built. The leaders of both armies are encouraging their soldiers to fight. The Sabin leader is named Metius Curtius, while the Romans are named Hostus Hostilius. The latter fell to the ground in the war, but immediately became excited and withdrew to the old city gate of Mount Palatine with the Roman army. Romulus asked for Cupid's blessing and promised that if he won the war, he would build a new temple in the ancient Roman square in his name. After praying, he rushed into the battlefield and successfully led the army to reverse the situation and gain the upper hand. It was at this time that Sabin women who had been robbed earlier also joined in, trying to calm the conflict between the two sides and solve the misunderstanding.
Because of this action of Sabin women, the two armies stopped fighting, decided to form an alliance, and signed a peace treaty. Both nations had the same rights, recognized the existence of the two kings (Romulus and Titus Tatius), and agreed that the city would continue to be named Rome, even though all Romans were called Cuirites at that time, because the reason was to comply with the Sabin people's memory of Titus Tatius' hometown, Its name is Cures/Curi. At the same time, a lake beside the ancient Roman square was named Lacus Curtius to commemorate the war between the Romans and Sabins. However, the place where the confrontation between the two sides ended was called Comisium, which changed from the verb "Comire" and implied "hand to hand".
A few years later, Titus Tatius was killed in Lavinium, and Romulus became the real king. After that, he successively conquered Medulla and Fidenae, and put 2500 people here as colonies, defeated the people of Cameria, finally successfully defeated the powerful Etruscans, and won seven villages named "septem pagi". These villages are located in the west of Tiber Island. In order to compensate the Romans, he signed a hundred year armistice treaty with them, This was the last war Romulus fought.
On the Roman System
Romulus drew up the original rules and regulations of Rome. From the outside, the first thing he did was to organize the army, whose members were all people who could use weapons. After that, he set up a congress composed of 100 nobles, named Senatus, which was named by senex, implying seniority.
For those who left or fled to the surrounding cities, he formulated the exile law, which is related to the needs of the urban population. There has been a noble system since the reign of Romulus. These nobles can become guarantors or protectors of civilians in exchange for their services. This relationship is called Clientelism.
Tito Levy recorded that after the signing of the peace agreement between the Romans and the Sabins, due to the population growth, not only did the Sabins elect 100 nobles, but the number of troops doubled (consisting of 6000 infantry and 600 cavalry), and all the people were divided into three tribes, namely Tities, Ramnes and Luceres. Each tribe was divided into ten curias, named after thirty women.
According to Plutarch's records, the two kings did not have a common government council. Each king would only discuss with his own hundred nobles first, and then they would gather together for discussion.
Romulus was too proud to win many battles. He deviated from the original democratic system and began a series of autocratic monarchies. He was oppressive and paranoid. He wore a purple cloak and a purple Roman robe. He always listened to his subordinates on the throne, surrounded by a group of bodyguards and hatchets named celeres, who used some sticks to protect the king's safety in the crowd. In fact, this form has already existed in the cities of the Etruscans, and the Romans may have borrowed it from their culture.
In addition, it is said that after the death of Romulus' grandfather Numiturai, the throne of Albalange was waiting for him to succeed, but he chose to elect an official to manage Albalange every year, which made his citizens accustomed to living in a free environment without king rule.
In fact, after Romulus turned Rome into an autocratic country, the nobles only had a vacant title and did not hold real power. They gathered in the Senate more to cope with the apparent etiquette, but in fact they had no right to express their own opinions. Everyone had to yield to Romulus, who became the man in charge of all rights. Plutarch added that Romulus had become an embarrassment for the Senate, because he had allocated the land he conquered in the war to his soldiers without consulting the senators, and returned the hostages to the Veii
Early Forms of Roman Private Law
It was Romulus who introduced private land property rights. After Rome built the city, he distributed 1 heredium (the land area unit in Rome at that time, 1 heredium was about 5039.8 square meters) to each family. The right to use this land can be passed on to the next generation in the family.
Romulus also issued a law that a wife has no right to divorce her husband, but on the contrary, if she intentionally wants to poison her children, change the keys of her home or have an affair, she will be punished. If she is punished for other reasons, her husband needs to compensate her for part of his family property and contribute to the temple of the god Demeter. If a man punishes his wife privately, he will be sacrificed to the god of hell.
Festivals and religious ceremonies
The Sabin and the Romans formed an alliance in the era of Romulus and Titus Tatius. They would both celebrate and participate in each other's national festivals and ceremonies, and would not exclude each other's unique customs. They will even launch some new festivals, such as Matronalia (March 1), Carmalia (January 11 to January 15) and Lupercalia (February 13 to February 15). Romulus decided to accept the festival about Hercules, although it did not originate in Rome. During his reign (or the reign of Numa), Rome also added a new god of fire named Virgo Vestalis.
Romulus Calendar
According to the records of Roman tradition, Romulus was the first person to formulate the Roman calendar. From the full moon in March, there are 10 months in total, including 30 days in 6 months, 31 days in 4 months, and a total of 304 days in a year. The remaining 61 days belonging to winter are not included in any month. Although this statement has always been a controversial issue among historians, because some believed that the calendar at that time had a chaotic distribution of dates, and each month consisted of 20 to 35 days.
Death and decryption
After 38 years in office, according to traditional records, Romulus, 54, was swept into the sky by a storm when he was patrolling the army near the Campus Martius and hid in the clouds of the lunar eclipse. In the face of the sudden disappearance of the lord, the Roman people had to deify him and worship him in the name of Quirinus, the son of Mars, the king and leader of Rome. In Plutarch's time, there were many ceremonies about him. On the day Romulus disappeared, it was about July 5 or 7, 716 BC.
It seems that in order to confirm the reliability of this statement, it is said that after his disappearance, he once appeared in front of his Albanese partner, Proculus Iulis, who is a famous elder in the family of Ulius.
Because of the similarity of tradition, many historians think that this story has much in common with the resurrection of Jesus. In real history, it is more likely that Romulus was murdered by nobles at a Volcanal meeting. The reason is that the monarch's independence in Romulus became even worse after the death of Titus Tatius, which caused dissatisfaction and anger among the nobles who had been deprived of their rights. After Romulus died, his character was too harsh, so his body was dismembered by the Senate and buried in different areas of the city.
The existence of Romulus has always been a topic of debate among historians. However, in the view of a historian named Theodor Mommsen, the original Romulus family in Rome, which was mentioned by Titus Tatius, was once proved to be the descendants of Romulus, and some ancient territorial tribes were also named after Romulus. It is more certain that Paulus Diaconus also mentioned the existence of Romelian family in ancient Rome in his book. However, some other writers believe that Romulus's story is a fabrication, just adding real geographical, political and religious elements.
For the linguist Carlo de Simone, Rome and Romulus both evolved from "ruma", which means "breast". The etymology of this word may be Etruscan, because its root was not found in the Indo European language family. At that time, only the Etruscan language did not belong to the Indo European language family. So it is possible that the word was borrowed and added into Latin by the Romans at that time, and its original form should be "Ruma", which later evolved into "Roma". At that time, the affix "Rume" became "Romus", and "Rumel (e) na" became "Romulis". Another linguist, Villar, believed that the word "Roma" was probably the name of the Tiber River in the early Indo European language at first, and was later used as the name of the city it flows through. This naming method was very popular in ancient times.
Others say that the original kings of Rome were virtual symbolic figures, especially Romulus and Numa.
After the archaeologist Andrea Carandini excavated the slopes of the Palatine Mountains, he reassessed the real existence of Romulus as the founder, legislator and king priest of Rome. In the palace of Romulus, which is the area enclosed by the sacred boundary in legend, relics that can be identified as belonging to the seventh century BC were found to confirm the origin of Rome.
According to literary records, a relic containing black marble (lapis niger) was found in 1899, and it is likely that it was Romulus' tomb or the place where ancient ceremonies were held for him. About this possibility, in February 2020, archaeologists found a monument about Romulus in the stone staircase area leading to the underground of Curia, which can be traced back to the sixth century BC. There was a sarcophagus about 1.5 meters long in it. Some scholars speculated that it might be Romulus' tomb, while others ruled out this possibility. However, the length of the sarcophagus corresponds to the average height of men at that time, which implies that there will be complete corpses rather than partial burials.
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