Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/40

 In this way, not only the political foundations of Rome, but also the foundations of her foreign dominion, were laid during the royal period.

Abolition of the Monarchy.—In spite of the elective character of the Roman monarchy, the later kings seem to have endeavored to found a dynasty. Tarquinius the elder was, according to tradition, duly elected king, but attempted to make the royal power hereditary in his family. His son-in-law, Servius Tullius, usurped the royal power; and his son, Tarquin the Proud, seized the throne by virtue of his hereditary right, and is represented as a typical tyrant. He disregarded the Servian constitution, did not convene the people, or consult the senate, or decide capital cases with the assistance of counselors, and considered himself the lord and master of the state.

As a result, the patrician clans seized an opportune moment when one of Tarquin's sons had committed an outrage, and with the assistance of the plebeians banished the king and his clan, and abolished the monarchy. It was decreed by law that any one who aimed at royal power should be punished with death and his property be confiscated; and the people were made to swear that they would never allow any one to be a king at Rome.

Tyranny was in Greece and Rome an intermediate stage in the development from a monarchical to a republican constitution.