Editing Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (section)

==Background==

The most ancient sources, such as that of [[Quintus Fabius Pictor]], assert Tarquin was the son of [[Tarquinius Priscus]], but modern historians believe that to be impossible under the traditional chronology, indicating either he was Priscus' grandson or that the traditional chronology itself is unsound.{{sfn|Cornell|2014}}

His mother supposedly was [[Tanaquil]]. Tanaquil had engineered her husband's succession to the Roman kingdom on the death of [[Ancus Marcius]]. When the sons of Marcius subsequently arranged the elder Tarquin's assassination in 579&nbsp;BC, Tanaquil placed [[Servius Tullius]] on the throne, in preference to her own sons or grandsons.<ref>Livy, i. 41.</ref>

According to an Etruscan tradition, the hero Macstarna, usually equated with Servius Tullius, defeated and killed a Roman named [[Gnaeus Tarquinius]], and rescued the brothers [[Caelius Vibenna|Caelius]] and [[Aulus Vibenna]] from captivity. This may recollect an otherwise forgotten attempt by the sons of Tarquin the Elder to reclaim the throne.{{sfn|Cornell|1995|pp=133–41}}

To forestall further dynastic strife, Servius married his daughters, known to history as Tullia Major and [[Tullia Minor]], to Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the future king, and his brother [[Arruns Tarquinius (brother of Tarquin the Proud)|Arruns]].<ref>Livy, i. 42.</ref> One of Tarquin's sisters, [[Tarquinia (mother of Lucius Brutus)|Tarquinia]], married Marcus Junius Brutus, and was the mother of [[Lucius Junius Brutus]], one of the men who would later lead the overthrow of the [[Roman Kingdom]].<ref>Livy, i. 56.</ref>

The elder sister, Tullia Major, was of mild disposition, yet married the ambitious Tarquin. Her younger sister, Tullia Minor, was of fiercer temperament, but her husband Arruns was not. She came to despise him, and conspired with Tarquin to bring about the deaths of Tullia Major and Arruns. After the murder of their spouses, Tarquin and Tullia were married.<ref>Livy, i. 46.</ref> They had three sons: [[Titus Tarquinius|Titus]], [[Arruns (son of Tarquin the Proud)|Arruns]], and [[Sextus Tarquinius|Sextus]], and a daughter, [[Tarquinia (daughter of Tarquin the Proud)|Tarquinia]], who married [[Octavius Mamilius]], the prince of [[Tusculum]].