Autocrat- A Roman History Podcast
Nov 1, 2026 · 18 min · 8 segments
Tarquinius Superbus is king now- and for him, that's going to involve intimidating a bunch of Latins to get them to subordinate themselves to Rome. Let's watch Turnus Herdonius get framed for a crime…
Now, to start with, Tarquin did not consult the Senate on official business.
Gasp.
Gasp.
He wanted to rule just by means of himself and the household associated with him.
Both in war and in peace, in making treaties and alliances and breaking them, he was the only one deciding.
He didn't rule according to the law, but instead ruled on cases according to what it felt like.
You know, how it felt in the minute.
Right.
He hated the patricians and the plebeians alike.
Now Dionysus explicitly says that his nickname of Superbus, so Tarquinius Superbus, refers to the haughty or the proud.
That became his nickname, while the people began referring to his father as Priscus, or the Elder, to distinguish between the two Tarquinius.
At first, the plebs loved the purge of the nobility loyal to Tullius, thinking they'd been rightly punished.
However, Tarquin then removed the laws protecting them from the patricians and each other.
He even removed the tables these laws were written on and destroyed them, also removing Tullius' taxation method and bringing the old system back.
He brought in a spy network who reported those who were dissatisfied, punishing them quickly and relentlessly.
Notably, only the loyal plebs were enrolled in the army, and the disloyal ones were put to work.
In case you're wondering what kind of work, by the way, we'll talk more about his construction project in episode 120.
Okay,
what kind of work?
We'll talk about that more in episode 120.
Okay.
I don't know what you expected from that question.
An answer?
Fair enough.
Now, to start with, Tarquin did not consult the Senate on official business.
Gasp.
Gasp.
He wanted to rule just by means of himself and the household associated with him.
Both in war and in peace, in making treaties and alliances and breaking them, he was the only one deciding.
He didn't rule according to the law, but instead ruled on cases according to what it felt like.
You know, how it felt in the minute.
Right.
He hated the patricians and the plebeians alike.
Now Dionysus explicitly says that his nickname of Superbus, so Tarquinius Superbus, refers to the haughty or the proud.
That became his nickname, while the people began referring to his father as Priscus, or the Elder, to distinguish between the two Tarquinius.
At first, the plebs loved the purge of the nobility loyal to Tullius, thinking they'd been rightly punished.
However, Tarquin then removed the laws protecting them from the patricians and each other.
He even removed the tables these laws were written on and destroyed them, also removing Tullius' taxation method and bringing the old system back.
He brought in a spy network who reported those who were dissatisfied, punishing them quickly and relentlessly.
Notably, only the loyal plebs were enrolled in the army, and the disloyal ones were put to work.
In case you're wondering what kind of work, by the way, we'll talk more about his construction project in episode 120.
Okay,
what kind of work?
We'll talk about that more in episode 120.
Okay.
I don't know what you expected from that question.
An answer?
Fair enough.
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