Ancus Marcius, Rome’s Fourth King
When we last left the Roman Kingdom, its third king, Tullus Hostilius, lay dead along with his entire household, slain by Ancus Marcius. So what happened next?
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Ancus Marcius, Rome’s Fourth King
A quick recap: the warlike Romulus, an ethnic Latin, was succeeded by the pious and peaceful Numa Pompilius, a Sabine. When the second king died, Tullus Hostilius had beaten his rival, Rome’s High Priest, Numa Marcius, to the kingship, bringing another Latin to the fore.
Hostilius turned out to be a bloodthirsty tyrant. In addition to conducting wars on Rome’s neighbors, he offended the gods by neglecting his religious duties. Unpopular and increasingly paranoid, Hostilius was eventually murdered by the grandson of both his predecessor, Pompilius, and his former rival, Marcius.
Following these events, the interrex nominated the Sabine Ancus Marcius to the kingship, who was then duly elected by the Senate and the People’s Assembly. Lastly, Ancus Marcius’ election was confirmed by the gods.
Thus, Rome got its fourth king and continued the ethnic alternation between the Latins and the Sabines.
What kind of king Ancus Marcius would be? Despite having a physical handicap (ancus means “bent,” probably the man had a crooked arm), Marcius murdered his predecessor and his whole family, so you’ll be excused to expect the worst of him. Yet, he was the grandson of Pompilius, the wisest and most pious of Rome’s leaders.
Pacifying the Gods
In line with the people’s will, Marcius’ first act was to reinstate his grandfather’s religious legacy. Numa Pompilius’ writings regarding the proper ceremonies were publicly displayed on wooden tablets. This way, no Roman dignitary could mess up the rites and anger the gods as the previous ruler did.
Religious considerations notwithstanding, Marcius knew that the forms must be obeyed so the State could prosper. Any civilized society would collapse without a shared view of acceptable behavior. Nothing lasting can be built on whim and fancy, as history has proved time and time again. Modern politicians on all sides forget this fundamental truth at their own peril.
War with the Latin League
Despite the destruction of Alba Longa by the Romans, the Latin League was alive and kicking. Judging Ancus Marcius as a weak ruler focused on the gods rather than earthly matters, they raided Roman territory. When the Romans demanded reparations, the Latin League treated the emissaries with content.
In response to the Latin League’s hostile behavior, the Roman king did what he did best: Ancus Marcius introduced a new religious ritual, the rerum repetitio. Yet, there was an unexpected twist to it.
In short, the fetiales, a priestly college dedicated to Jupiter, appointed one of them as a herald, or pater patratus. Next, the herald announced Rome’s demands using prescribed ritual phrases as he made his way to the enemy’s capital.
First, he announced the demands at the border, then after crossing the border, then to the first man he met in enemy territory, then at the gates of the enemy city, and lastly at the forum of the enemy city in front of all the magistrates.
If Roman demands were not met within 33 days, the pater patratus declared war and returned to Rome to await the King’s and Senate’s resolution. Once the State officially declared war, one of the fetiales returned to the border and threw a javelin dipped in blood into enemy territory.
Let the war begin!
Conquest of Politorium
Ancus Marcius assembled the Roman army, marched on the Latin town of Politorium, and stormed it. Following the successful formula of forced assimilation of kindred populations, the Romans deported the inhabitants of Politorium to Rome, settled them in the Aventine Hill, and made them Roman citizens.
Instead of being impressed by the fate of Politorium, other Latins jumped on the opportunity to settle into the now-deserted settlement. Ancus Marcius retook the town and demolished it. Since he was in the area, the Roman king sacked and destroyed a couple of other Latin villages, namely Tellenae and Ficana.
Medullia
Next, the action moved to the Latin town of Medullia. Although it had strong walls and a large garrison, the Romans eventually defeated the Medullians in a pitched battle outside the walls.
At the conclusion of the war, Ancus Marcius returned to Rome with significant loot and another batch of unwitting Roman citizens. The new inhabitants were settled at the foot of the Aventine Hill, near the Palatine Hill.
War with the Sabines
After putting the Latin League in its place, Ancus Marcius waged a victorious war against the Sabines in the north. We don’t know the details, but records suggest Marcius celebrated a triumph over the Sabines.
Janiculum, Pons Sublicius and Silva Maesia
As we saw in the previous posts, subsequent Roman kings settled new citizens in the Seven Hills area during the first century of Roman history. Romulus built the city on the Palatine, the Sabines of Titus Tatius settled on the Capitoline, Tullus Hostilius moved the Albans to the Caelian, and Ancus Marcius brought more Latins to the Aventine.
In a bold move, Ancus Marcius decided to expand beyond the Tiber to the Janiculan Hill. The Romans erected a bridge, the Pons Sublicius. In case you forgot, the right side of the river was in Etruria, the land of the Etruscans. Understandably, Marcius fortified his new bridge, just in case the locals would mind the intrusion.
Moreover, to consolidate Rome’s position across the Tiber, the king garrisoned the town of Fidenae.
Lastly, he conquered a forested coastal region from the Veientes called Silva Maesia. Perhaps in honor of this victory, Ancus Marcius celebrated a triumph over the Etruscans from Veii.
Ostia
Marcius also realized that Rome needed a seaport in order to become a serious regional player. Moreover, salt was in great demand in the times before the refrigerator.
Thus, he ordered the construction of Ostia, Rome’s famous window to the Mediterranean Sea, and they established salt pans around the new-found port.
The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius and the Tullianum
As befitting a pious ruler, Ancus Marcius expanded Rome’s first temple, the one dedicated to Jupiter Feretrius. Still, rituals and ceremonies are meaningless if they are not adequately enforced.
Thus, Ancus Marcius built Rome’s first dedicated jail, the infamous Tullianum. It was dug into the Capitoline Hill. It was a kind of “behave or else…”
Death
After 24 good years as king, Ancus Marcius died of natural causes. Although Rome wasn’t a hereditary monarchy, the late king expected one of his sons to succeed him. Yet, one of Ancus Marcius’ friends and advisors made sure that didn’t happen. What are friends for, eh?
However, that’s a tale for another time.
Legacy of Ancus Marcius
Some expected Ancus Marcius to be a vicious ruler, the same as his predecessor. After all, he became king after the bloody purge of Tullus Hostilius’ household, family and servants included.
Others hoped the new king would resemble his grandfather: wise, pious, and peaceful. The Latin League mistook these traits for weakness and paid the price for it.
In the end, Ancus Marcius was a practical king.
He made peace with the gods and reinforced the rituals and ceremonies that bound the Romans together.
At the same time, Marcius defeated those who messed with Rome and didn’t shy away from expanding into Etruscan territory. He even challenged and defeated Rome’s archenemy, the town of Veii.
Lastly, he invested in Rome’s economy. Establishing a seaport and salt pans will prove to be a wise long-term investment.
In conclusion, Ancus Marcius was an even-keeled ruler: he developed Rome economically and socially while not balking at confronting its rivals and enemies.
