Editing Roman Kingdom (section)

===Lucius Tarquinius Superbus===
[[File:Map Italy around 500 b.C. - Touring Club Italiano CART-TRC-40.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Map of Italy around 500 BC]]
The seventh and final king of Rome was [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus]]. He was the son of Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius, whom he and his wife had killed.<ref>Matyszak 2003, p. 40.</ref>

Tarquinius waged a number of wars against Rome's neighbours, including against the [[Volsci]], [[Gabii]] and the [[Rutuli]]. He also secured Rome's position as head of the [[Latin League|Latin]] cities. He also engaged in a series of public works, notably the completion of the [[Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus]], and works on the [[Cloaca Maxima]] and the [[Circus Maximus]]. However, Tarquin's reign is remembered for his use of violence and intimidation to control Rome and his disrespect for Roman custom and the [[Roman Senate]].<ref>Matyszak 2003, p. 41.</ref>

Tensions came to a head when the king's son, [[Sextus Tarquinius]], raped [[Lucretia]], wife and daughter to powerful Roman nobles. Lucretia told her relatives about the attack, and committed suicide to avoid the dishonour of the episode. Four men, led by [[Lucius Junius Brutus]], and including [[Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus]], [[Publius Valerius Poplicola]], and [[Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus]] incited a revolution that [[Overthrow of the Roman monarchy|deposed and expelled]] Tarquinius and his family from Rome in 509 BC.<ref>Matyszak 2003, p. 42.</ref>

Tarquin was viewed so negatively that the word for king, ''[[Rex (king)|rex]]'', held a negative connotation in the Latin language until the fall of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tempest|first=Kathryn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FcfiAAAAQBAJ|title=Cicero: Politics and Persuasion in Ancient Rome|date=2011-01-20|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-5482-8|pages=10|language=en}}</ref>

[[Lucius Junius Brutus]] and [[Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus]] became Rome's first [[Roman consul|consuls]], marking the beginning of the [[Roman Republic]]. This new government would survive for the next 500 years until the rise of [[Julius Caesar]] and [[Augustus]], and would cover a period during which Rome's authority and area of control extended to cover vast areas of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia.<ref>Matyszak 2003, pp. 43–45.</ref> He ruled 25 years.<ref name=":06"/>