Servio Tulio

Tarquinius was very badly wounded and could not recover from the wounds received, therefore Servius Tulio occupied the throne.

Servio was a great legislator. He devoted himself to putting order on the duties and obligations of citizens towards the state. It introduced the obligation to contribute to public expenditure according to its birth hierarchy and the income earned. This would be part of the Taxes

It also introduced Compulsory Military Service. So when there was war and in those days there were many, no one could excuse himself.

The inhabitants were divided into ranks or hierarchies. The Patricians, were the descendants of the first inhabitants, the noble relatives of princes and kings, the Plebeians, people of the village dedicated to crafts and agriculture and the poor. The Patricians and the Nobles were left with all kinds of privileges and freedoms. They neither paid taxes nor were they obliged to go to war.

All kinds of Obligations fell upon the Plebeians, and to the Poor, who also had, much could not be demanded of them because they had nothing to give.

Although it seems unfair to us, it was a principle of order in Roman society.

Servio had two daughters named Tulia. The eldest was quiet and placious and the youngest was intolerant and violent.

He served his eldest daughter, of a gentle character with a son of Tarquinius, also called Tarquinius, who had a violent and warlike character. And, to his youngest daughter, who was violent to a cousin of Tarquinius who was calm and good-natured.

Servio, after a lot of cavitation thought it was best to cross temperaments so as not to create explosive marriages. But soon something inexplicable happened: At the same time Tulia, the eldest and cousin of Tarquinius died.

The widowers decided to marry each other and this lit the fuse that would end poor Servio Tulio's peace of mind, as Tulia, her own daughter, soon began to incite her new husband against her own father.

Tarquinius, through deception and bribery, managed to get accomplices who gave him the majority of votes in the Senate. From that moment on, Tarquinius already imagined occupying the throne and began to mistreat Servius.

Faced with this attitude, Servius ran to the Senate and asked him for explanations, and Tarquinius, neither sluggish nor lazy, said to him: “I am king by right of birth, you cannot say the same thing, for you are the son of a slave.

These words divided the opinion of the senators who watched the discussion, and shouted to take sides for one or the other of the candidates.

When the Roman people learned of the scandal, they piled up at the doors of the Senate to see what was happening and ask for explanations.

In the middle of the brawl, Tarquinius brought up Servio and threw him in the middle of the street. There, a group of Romans, allies of Tarquinius dragged poor Servius to death and left him lying in the street.

Tarquinius was made king of Rome. After the Assembly, as they returned to their mansion in a splendid carriage, pulled by a chariot, they ran over Servio's body and his blood sprinkled the dress of their evil daughter Tulia, but she didn't care about me.

por Mirta Fernandez