Editing Tullus Hostilius

{{short description|King of Rome from 672 to 640 BC}}
{{Infobox Monarch
| name         = Tullus Hostilius
| title        = 
| image        = Tulius-Hostilius.jpg
| caption      = Portrait from ''[[Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum]]'' (1553) by [[Guillaume Rouillé]]
| succession   = [[King of Rome]]
| reign        = {{circa}} 672–640 BC
| predecessor  = [[Numa Pompilius]]
| successor    = [[Ancus Marcius]]
}}
[[File:Sculptuur van Tullus Hostilius T. Hostilius (titel op object), RP-P-2016-591-40-2.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of Tullus Hostilius]]
'''Tullus Hostilius''' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈtʊlːʊs (h)ɔsˈtiːliʊs|lang|link=yes}}; r. 672–640 BC) was the [[Roman mythology|legendary]] third [[king of Rome]]. He succeeded [[Numa Pompilius]] and was succeeded by [[Ancus Marcius]]. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who, according to the Roman historian [[Livy]], believed the more peaceful nature of his predecessor had weakened Rome. It has been attested that he sought out war and was described in Roman sources as even more warlike than the legendary founder [[Romulus]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 1, chapter 22|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0026:book=1:chapter=22|access-date=2020-12-12|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> Accounts of the death of Tullus Hostilius vary. In the mythological version of events Livy describes, he had angered [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] who then killed him with a bolt of lightning.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome 1.31|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0026:book=1:chapter=31|access-date=2020-12-12|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}; Plin. ''HN'' 1.54.140; Plut. ''Numa'' 22.7; Eutrop. 1.4; cf. Dion. Hal. 3.35.1-6; Sen. ''De Clem''. 1.7.1</ref> Non-mythological sources on the other hand describe that he died of plague<ref>Penella, Robert J. (1990/05). "Vires/Robur/Opes and Ferocia in Livy's Account of Romulus and Tullus Hostillus". ''The Classical Quarterly.'' '''40''' (1): 207–213.</ref> after a rule of 32 years.<ref name=":0">[[Livy]], ''[[History of Rome (Livy)|History of Rome]]'', [[wikisource:From the Founding of the City/Book 1|I]]</ref>

Tullus Hostilius was the grandson of [[Hostus Hostilius]], who had fought with [[Romulus]] and died during the [[Sabines|Sabine]] [[Battle of the Lacus Curtius|invasion of Rome]].<ref name=":4">[[Livy]], ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab urbe condita]]'', [[wikisource:From the Founding of the City/Book 1#22|1:22]]</ref> According to [[Plutarch]], when Numa Pompilius died after a reign of forty-three years, his [[Pontifex maximus|Pontifex Maximus]] [[Numa Marcius]] contended with Tullus Hostilius for the throne, but being defeated, he starved himself to death. Marcius's son, also named Numa Marcius, would serve as {{lang|la|[[praefectus urbi]]}} under Tullus, and would be the father of Ancus Marcius, Tullus's successor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Plutarch |title=The Life of Numa |pages=21}}</ref>

The principal feature of Tullus' reign was the [[Alba Longa#War with Rome|defeat]] of [[Alba Longa]]. After  Alba Longa was beaten (by the [[Horatii|victory]] of three Roman champions over three Albans), Alba Longa became Rome's vassal state.

During his reign, Hostilius created the college of the [[Fetiales]] that concluded all treaties in the name of Rome.

==Historical events==
Two distinctive events are traditionally ascribed to Tullus's reign. Historians regard the events as having taken place during the early regal period, but the question of whether the events should be directly associated with Tullus is debatable.

The first event is the destruction of Alba Longa. The historical record shows that the [[Alban Hills]] were the site of a large settlement and that this settlement fell under Roman power during the regal period. Details are uncertain about when and by whom Alba Longa was destroyed. It was almost certainly subjugated at a later date than that given by Livy and it may have been destroyed by the Latins and not by the Romans (which some scholars suggest may have been considered impious, given Alba Longa's status as a traditional ancestral city).{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

===Wars with Alba Longa===
The battle of Alba Longa was settled by having two sets of triplets, one born in Alba Longa and one in Rome, fight for their city. The last person standing alive would be the winner, and his city would win the war without having their armies engage in battle. The story states that these triplets were singled out as champions of both cities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 1, chapter 24|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0026:book=1:chapter=24|access-date=2020-12-08|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> According to Livy, the triplets were named [[Horatii and Curiatii]], and the majority believed that the Horatii belonged to Rome and the Curiatii to Alba Longa, though this is not certain.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 1, chapter 24|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0026:book=1:chapter=24|access-date=2020-12-12|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> After battling for a long time, one of the Roman brothers was victorious, and in the legend, Rome, under Tullus Hostilius, was said to have emerged victorious.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 1, chapter 25|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0026:book=1:chapter=25|access-date=2020-12-12|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

The Alban dictator [[Mettius Fufetius]] betrayed Rome during the war with the Etruscans, where Rome requested Alban military assistance, which Mettius agreed to, but also had a secret agreement with the Etruscans to desert Rome in the heat of battle, leaving Tullus alone to fight the battle. Mettius also betrayed the Etruscans by not joining in the battle at all.<ref name=":022">{{Citation|last=Neel|first=Jaclyn|chapter=Alba Longa|date=2015-06-30|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History|pages=1–2|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah25024|isbn=978-1-4443-3838-6}}</ref> Tullus won the battle despite the betrayal.  Mettius was taken prisoner by Tullus.<ref name=":4" />

Roman tradition holds that Tullus ordered Alba Longa to be destroyed and forced the migration of the Alban citizenry to Rome, where they were integrated and became Roman citizens. According to Livy, Tullus ordered Mettius Fufetius to be executed by being torn apart between two chariots, a method described as unprecedented and never repeated in Roman practice.<ref name=":022"/> According to Livy, this was the first and last time the Romans used this method of execution.<ref name=":022"/>

===Construction of the Curia Hostilia===
Tullus's second alleged historical accomplishment was the construction of the original Roman Senate house, the [[Curia Hostilia]]. After the incorporation of leaders from Alba Longa into the senate, it became necessary to erect a new building to accommodate the now much bigger Roman Senate. Thus the Curia Hostilla was built.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 1, chapter 30|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0026:book=1:chapter=30|access-date=2020-12-12|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> It was universally held by tradition to have been built by—and named in honor of—Tullus, and its remains on the northwestern edge of the [[Roman Forum|Forum]] have been dated to around 600 BC.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Cornell|first=T. J.|title=The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000–264 BC)|publisher=Routledge|year=1995|location=London and New York|pages=71}}</ref> Although that date falls well outside the traditionally-ascribed period of Tullus Hostilius' reign, scholars are dubious regarding the tales of the overly-long reigns of the Roman kings—with an average reign of 34 years per king, the traditional chronology would be without historical parallel (the English monarchy, where monarchs have reigned for an average of 21 years{{or|reason=By what definition? Does this include British (post-1707) monarchs? Pre-Conquest kings? Does it count kings who were deposed and later restored (Æthelred the Unready, Henry VI, Edward VI) as one reign or two? Does it count the Interregnum as part of Charles II's reign? Does it factor in co-monarchs (Mary I/Philip, William/Mary II)? Who chose these definitions?|date=January 2024}}). Recent archaeological research supports historian [[Tim Cornell]]'s proposal of a more plausible chronology which contracts the regal period from 240 years to around 120 years. This places the historical accomplishments of the kings between 625 BC—the date that the archaeological record shows the first signs of Rome's [[urbanisation]] and unification—and 500 BC.<ref name=":2" /> Using this timeframe, the construction of the Curia Hostilia is possible during the reign of Tullus Hostilius. It would also explain things which are otherwise puzzling: Tullus's name being attached to the building, and how, as Roman traditions attest, Tullus could have led Rome's successful wars against the [[Roman-Etruscan Wars#Second War with Fidenae and Veii.2C under Tullus Hostilius|Fidenae and Veii]] and the [[Roman-Sabine wars#War with Tullus Hostilius|Sabines]].

==Myth==
[[image:La Victoire de Tullus Hostilius sur les forces de Veies et de Fidena.jpg|thumb|Tullus Hostilius defeating the army of [[Veii]] and [[Fidenae]]. Cavalier d'Arpin, oil on wood (detail), c. 1601.]]

As with those of all the early kings of Rome, the events ascribed to the reign of Tullus Hostilius are treated with scepticism by modern historians. Part of this is due to obvious flaws in the literary tradition describing the kings: much like the confusion the Ancients exhibited in attributing identical accomplishments to both [[Tarquinius Priscus]] and [[Tarquinius Superbus]], the accomplishments of Tullus Hostilius are thought by many scholars to be rhetorical [[Doublet (linguistics)|doublet]] of those of Romulus. Both are brought up among shepherds, carry on war against Fidenae and Veii, double the number of citizens, and organize the army. Additionally, Tullus Hostilius' warlike and ferocious character seems to be little more than a contrasting stereotype to that of the peaceable, devout [[Numa Pompilius]]; the first Roman annalists may merely have imputed aggressive qualities to Hostilius by naively parsing his gentile name (''Hostilius'' meaning "hostile" in Latin).

Hostilius was probably a historical figure, however, in the strict sense that a man bearing the name Tullus Hostilius likely reigned as king in Rome. The most compelling evidence is his name: "Tullus" is an unusual [[praenomen]] in Roman culture, and his gentile name was too unimportant in later times to have been inserted for the purpose of glorifying one of the great houses of the Roman Republic.

Dominique Briquel proposes that Livy was historicizing an ancient pattern of Indo-European legend, in which a single violent figure is followed by a single peacemaker, in this case Ancus Marcius. More mythological examples of this legend involve [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]] and [[Mars (god)|Mars]], [[Odin]] and [[Týr]], and [[Indra]] and [[Mitra]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Briquel |first1=Dominique |title=A Companion to Livy |date=28 October 2014 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-118-30128-9 |pages=153–166 |edition=1 |url=10.1002/9781118339015.ch12 |language=en |chapter=Livy and Indo‐European Comparatism}}</ref>

==Death==
According to [[Livy]], Tullus paid little heed to religious observances during his reign, thinking them unworthy of a king's attention.  However, at the close of his reign, Rome was affected by a series of prophecies including a shower of stones on the [[Monte Cavo|Alban Mount]] (in response to which a public religious festival of nine days was held – a ''[[Roman funerary practices#Novendialis|novendialis]]''), a loud voice was heard on the summit of the mount complaining that the Albans had failed to show devotion to their former gods, and a pestilence struck in Rome. King Tullus became ill and was filled with superstition. He reviewed the commentaries of Numa Pompilius and attempted to carry out sacrifices recommended by him.  However, Tullus did not undertake the ceremony to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter Elicius]] correctly, and both he and his house were struck by lightning and reduced to ashes as a result of the anger of Jupiter.

There are two stories concerning the death of Tullus Hostilius and his family. The first is that his house was hit by lightning and burned to the ground with no survivors. The second is that Ancus Marcius and some of his followers went to Tullus Hostilius's home with swords hidden under their robes. Once inside the home, the party killed Tullus, his family, and their servants and razed the property to ensure there would be no heir to the throne. <ref>{{Cite book|title=Dionysius of Halicarnassus (lll.35.3-4.)}}</ref><ref name=":022"/>

== In fiction ==
Incidents from legends surrounding Tullus Hostilius were used as the basis of [[Libretto|opera librettos]] during the baroque period in music, beginning with a ''Tullo Ostilio'' opera performed in Rome in 1694 with music of [[Giovanni Bononcini]]. Operatic pastiches with the title ''Tullo Ostilio'' performed in [[Prague]] in 1727 and [[Brno]] in 1735 included music of [[Antonio Vivaldi]]. Consistent with contemporary conventions, the stories concentrate on concocted love stories involving members of the principal character's family.

Tullus Hostilius was played by [[Robert Keith (actor)|Robert Keith]] in the 1961 film ''[[Duel of Champions]]'', which centered around the [[Horatii]].

Tullus is briefly mentioned twice in the ''[[Aeneid]]. Once, [[Anchises]] named him when he list the descendance Romulus where he is said to rouse untriumphit men to major succes. Again,'' in the description of [[Aeneas]]' shield. He is described as hauling away the remains of the liar Mettius through the brush.

He is a character in [[Philip José Farmer]]'s novel ''[[To Your Scattered Bodies Go]]'', the first of the ''[[Riverworld]]'' series. After the Resurrection, he has teamed up with [[Hermann Göring]] to run a slave state.

==See also==
* [[Hostilia gens]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg | leg }}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Numa Pompilius]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[King of Rome]]
| years = {{circa}} 673–642
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Ancus Marcius]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Kings of Rome}}
{{Roman religion}}
{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:640s BC deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:7th-century BC monarchs]]
[[Category:Kings of Rome]]
[[Category:Hostilii]]
[[Category:Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid]]