ROMAN EMPIRE. 



151 It. (.'. 



C onditions 

 of this 

 treaty. 



Romans in attempting to retake this post, was assailed 

 from tlu top of tin- hill with huge stones, one of which 

 ^^"Y"**' wounded Komulus on the head, and were pursued with 

 great loss to the very gates of Rome. The king, how- 

 Union be. ever, having quickly recovered from the blow, rallied 

 c his retreating forces, and drove the Sabines back into 

 Sabines and the citadel. In this crisis of danger the Sabine women, 

 "" who had been carried off, marched in a body to the 

 camp of their country men, and pleaded the cause of their 

 husbands with such sincerity and force, that an union 

 was instantly effected between the contending nations. 

 The conditions of this treaty were highly favourable 

 to both parties. It was stipulated that the two kings 

 should reside and reign jointly at Rome ; that the 

 name of Quirites, peculiar to the Sabines, should be 

 taken by the Romans, while the city should preserve 

 the name of Rome, and the Sabines enjoy all the 

 privileges of Roman citi/ens. Peculiar marks of dis- 

 tinction were conferred on the Sabine women; and their 

 children were allowed to wear decorations and garments 

 to distinguish them from the rest of the people. 



During the joint reign of Tatius and Romulus, the 

 city of Cameria was reduced, and 4000 of the Came- 

 rini transplanted to Rome. An affray, however, un- 

 luckily arose between the kinsmen of Tatius and the 

 Laurentian ambassadors, and when the king went to 

 an annual sacrifice at Lavinium, the populace rose 

 and put him to death. The Laurentians delivered up 

 the assassins, but Romulus did not think it prudent to 

 inflict upon them any punishment, and he contented 

 himself with renewing the treaty between Rome and 

 Lavinium. 



The Fide- The progressive increase of the Roman state induced 

 nate* attack the inhabitants of Fidenae to disturb its tranquillity. 

 Home. A number of young men suddenly ravaged the country 

 between Fidenae and Rome. Romulus lost no time 

 in repelling this unlooked-for assault. He encamped 

 his army about a mile from Fidenae, and by a skilful 

 ambuscade, with which he deceived the Fidenates, he 

 routed their army and pursued them into the heart of 

 their capital. Having added the country of the Fi- 

 denates to his empire, the Veientes, dreading a similar 

 fate, endeavoured to avert it by force of arms. Romu- 

 lus drew up his army to meet them, and after an ob- 

 stinate engagement he drove them within the walls of 

 Veii, and forced them to sue for peace. Seven small 

 towns on the Tiber, the salt pits near the mouth of 

 the river, and fifty hostages, were the results of this 

 short campaign. 



Being thus freed from all opposition on the part of 

 the neighbouring states, Romulus devoted the rest of 

 his life to the improvement of the laws. He is said, 

 however, to have conducted himself in such an arbi- 

 trary manner that the senate, whose rights he had 

 usurped, resolved to destroy him, and accomplished 

 their purpose during a review of his troops, when a 

 violent storm had dispersed the army and left him in 

 Death of the hands of the senators. The body of Romulus was 

 Romulus, never seen ; and it was found necessary to impose upon 

 115 B.C. the soldiers the easy belief, that the violence of the 

 tempest had carried up their divine sovereign and placed 

 him among the gods. 



During the interregnum which followed the death 



of Romulus, the senate governed the kingdom ; but, 



as all parties wished to be under the rule of a king, it 



was agreed that he should be a Sabine by birth, and 



Numa that the Romans should make the election. 



Pompilius. Numa Pompiiius, who had married Tatia the late 



712 B. C. king's daughter, was unanimously chosen. Devoted to 



VOL. XVII. PABT II. 



It I. jr 



'' 



Horaui 

 Cu- 



'p /. 



philosophy and the superstition of the times, he em- 

 ployed himself in cherishing (he arts of peace. He 

 promoted agriculture, reformed the calendar, divided 

 the citizens into distinct trade*, erected temple?, and 

 regulated the religious condition of the kingdom. 



After a reign o? forty-three years, he was succeeded 

 by Tullus Hostilius, whose impetuous temper proved 

 a striking contrast to that of Xuma. A system of 

 mutual plunder having been for some time carried on 

 among the Roman and Alban peasants, a war ensued 

 between the two nations. The A (bans pitched their 

 tents about five miles from Rome; but feeling that they 

 were descended from the same stock, the contending 

 armies seemed unwilling to fight. Ca-lius, the Alban 

 general, having been found dead in his tent, Mettius 

 Futfetius was chosen his successor. Intelligence, how. 

 ever, having arrived that the Veientc; and Fidenates 

 intended to attack the Romans and Albans after they 

 had been weakened by battle, Fuffetius sent a herald 

 to Tullus and decided upon the eettlement of their 

 differences by single combat. 



In the Roman army there were three brothers born Combat at 

 at one birth, called the Horatii, and in the Alban 

 army there were other three also born at one birth, 

 called the Curiatii. The rival armies agreed to 

 submit their cause to the martial decision of these 

 two families, and a treaty was formally ratified by 

 which that nation whose representative champions 

 came off victorious, should peacefully reign over 

 the other. The arena of the combat lay between 

 the marshalled hosts of the Romans and Alban?. 

 The combatants took their station in the midst of 

 the hopes and anxieties of their countrymen, and the 

 glittering of their burnished swords and the clash- 

 ing of their arms indicated the commencement of that 

 fatal encounter. Three of the Albans were soon 

 wounded, and two of the Romans having fallen dead 

 beneath their blows, the surviving, but unhurt Roman, 

 was soon surrounded by the three wounded Curiatii. 

 Unable to contend with three antagonists, the Roman 

 immediately retreated, and was followed at unequal 

 distances by the three wounded Curiatii. No sooner 

 did he perceive that he had succeeded in separating 

 his enemies, than he turned round upon the nearest, 

 and having slain him at one blow, he flew to encounter 

 the second, whom he dispatched before the third could 

 come to his assistance. The joyful shouts which had 

 so lately resounded from among the Alban legions, were 

 now transferred to the Roman line. The wounded and 

 dispirited Alban became an easy prey to the victorious 

 Roman, and yielded up with his life the sovereignty of 

 Alba. 



The treachery of the Fidenates in the late war, and Tullos coc- 

 their unwillingness to atone for it, called forth the quere the 

 hostility of Tullus. Aided by the Veientes they drew Fidenau*. 

 out their forces, and Tullus, availing himself of the 

 Alban army under Fuffetius, made preparations for a 

 general engagement. The Alban general, however, 

 resolving to side with the conqueror, withdrew his 

 army to an eminence ; but no sooner did Tullus per- 

 ceive this than he pretended that this post was occu- 

 pied by his allies, so that his own army, unacquainted 

 with the defection of their allies, obtained a victory 

 over the Fidenates. After consulting the senate re- 

 specting this act of treachery, he sent Horatius to de- 

 molish Alba, and commanded the Roman and Alban 

 armies to attend him unarmed. The Romans, how. 

 ever, had their swords concealed, and when the treach- 

 ery of Fufletius was explained to the assembled troops, 

 2 c 



