Tarquinius
Tarquinius names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Tarquinius LUCIUS, surnamed SUPERBUS ("the proud")
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
LUCIUS, surnamed SUPERBUS ("the proud"), the last of the legendary kings of Rome, was the son of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Tarquin, on reaching man's estate, murdered his father-in-law, King Servius Tullius (the date usually given for this event is 534 B. c.), and assumed the regal dignity. He abolished the privileges conferred on the plebeians; banished or put to death the senators whom he suspected, never filled up the vacancies in the senate, and rarely consulted that body. He continued the great works of his father, and advanced the power of Rome abroad both by wars and alliances. By the marriage of his daughter with Octavius Mamilius of Tusculum, the most powerful of the Latin chiefs, and other political measures, he caused himself to be recognized as the head of the Latin confederacy. After a reign of nearly 25 years a conspiracy broke out by which he and his family were exiled from Rome (510 B. C.), an infamous action of his son Sextus being part of the cause of the outbreak (see LUCRETIA). He tried repeatedly, without success, to regain his power, and at length died in Cumæ in 495 b. c.
Tarquinius LUCIUS, surnamed PRISCUS (the first or the elder)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
LUCIUS, surnamed PRISCUS (the first or the elder), in Roman tradition the 5th King of Rome. The family of Tarquinius was said to have been of Greek extraction, his father set- Demaratus being a Corinthian who tled in Tarquinii, one of the chief cities of Etruria. Having removed with a large following to Rome, Tarquinius became the favorite and confidant of the Roman king, Ancus Martius, and at his death was unanimously elected his successor. According to Livy he made war with success on the Latins and Sabines, from whom he took numerous towns. Tarquinius also distinguished his reign by the erection of the Cloaca Maxima, the Forum, the wall round the city, and, as is supposed, he commenced the Capitoline Temple. After a reign of about 36 years he was killed by assassins employed by the sons of Ancus Martius in 578 b. C.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's already hedged in 1921, calling Tarquinius Superbus "the last of the legendary kings" while still repeating Livy's precise dates — 578 B.C. for the murder of Priscus, 510 for the expulsion of Superbus. Modern historians keep the narrative outline but treat those figures as tradition rather than record: the reign lengths of the seven kings are too long to be credible, and some scholars argue the monarchy fell rather later than the traditional 509 B.C. What has genuinely been added is archaeology. Excavations in the Forum, at the Regia and the Sant'Omobono sanctuary, and on the Capitol have confirmed that Rome in the later sixth century really was a substantial city with monumental building, drainage of the Forum valley and a great temple of Jupiter — the works the tradition assigns to the Tarquins, even if it cannot prove the men themselves existed.
Written for this edition, 2026.