Most people who read ancient history are familiar with the kings of Rome, but the republic and empire get the lion’s share of the attention and the kings are usually relegated to mere anecdotes. Still, it’s interesting to discuss the kings and their part in founding the republic.
Why did Rome have kings, and why did they lose power in favor of the republic? We’ll discuss these questions later, but only peripherally, because the goal of this article is to talk about the kings and what we really know about them.
The Roman kings are shrouded in myth and invention: myth because Rome wanted to create a mythology like the Greeks; invention because much of the history was embellished to support the image of Rome. Here we will discuss what is known and toss the rest.