Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome

Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome

After five years of joint rule, Tatius was assassinated by foreign ambassadors and Romulus became the sole king of the Romans. Romulus introduced legislation that prevented adultery and murder. As the king of Rome, Romulus was not only the commander-in-chief of the army but also the city’s chief judicial authority. His judgements of many crimes were held in place for over six hundred years without a single case being reported in Rome of his judgements being questioned.

Under Romulus' administration, the people of Rome were divided into three tribes: one for Latins (Ramnes), a second for Sabines (Tities), and a third for Etruscans (Luceres). These three tribes became the Romans. Each of these tribes had a tribune who represented their respective tribes in all civil, religious, and military affairs. When in the city, they were the magistrates of their tribes, and performed sacrifices on their behalf, and in times of war they were Rome's military commanders. The Ramnes derived their name from Romulus, the Tities derived their name from Titus Tatius, and the Luceres derived their name from an Etruscan title of honor.

After creating the three tribes, the Comitia Curiata was instituted. To form the basic of the Comitia Curiate, Romulus divided each of the three tribes into ten curiae, with the thirty curiae deriving their individual names from thiry Sabine women whom Romulus and his followers had kidnapped. Each of the individual curia were then subdivided into ten gentes, which formed the basis for the nomen in the Roman naming convention. When Romulus would convene the Comitia Curiate and lay proposals from either himself or the Senate before the Curiate for ratification, the ten gentes within each curia would cast a vote, with the collective vote of the curia going to the majority of the gentes. This formed the basis for the modern Electoral College.

Romulus, being a martial man, formed for himself a personal guard called the Celeres. The Celeres consisted of Rome's three hundred finest horsemen who were under the command of the Celerum Tribune, who was also the Tribune for the Ramnes Tribe. The Celeres derived their name from their leader, a close friend of Romulus named Celers who helped him slay Remus and found the city of Rome. This special military unit functioned very much like the Praetorian Guard of Augustus as it was responsible for Romulus' personal safety and for the security of Rome while the legions were on her boarders. The relationship between Romulus and his Tribune is also similar to the relation between the Roman Dictator and his Magister Equitum. Celer, as the Celerum Tribune, occupied the second place in the state, and in Romulus' absence he had the rights of convoking the Comitia and commanding the armies.

From the founding of Rome until his death, Romulus waged wars and expanded his territory, thus Rome’s territory, for over two decades. He conquered many of the neighboring cities, namely Etruscan cities, and gained unequaled control over the area of Latium, Tuscany, Umbria, and Abruzzo. In what would become the traditional Roman style of warfare, though Romulus may have lost some battles along the way, he never lost a single war in which he fought.

After his final wars against the Etruscans, the king of Alba Longa, Numitor, Romulus’ biological grandfather, died. The people of Alba Longa freely offered the crown to Romulus, believing he was the one rightful ruler of the city as the blood heir to Numitor. Romulus accepted dominion over the city, but gained much favor with the city’s populus by placing the government in the hands of the people within the city. Once a year, Romulus appointed a governor over the city from a man selected by the people of Alba Longa.

In his elderly state, Romulus grew to rely less and less upon the Senate. Though this was entirly legal, it went against tradition. The Senate became just for show, holding no say in the administration of the city. The Senate could only be convened when Romulus called for it, and once assembled, the Senators merely sat in silence and listened to his edicts. The Senators soon found that their only advantage over the common man was that they learned what Romulus decreed sooner then the commoners did. On his own authority, he divided the territory acquired in war among his soldiers, and without the consent or wish of the Patricians. The Patricians thought he was insulting their Senate outright. Although the Senators grew to hate, they feared him too much to defy him openly and show him their displeasure.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Life After the Founding of Rome", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki