Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ~ The Last King of Rome

Ancient accounts of Rome's regal period are an obscure mingling of history and legend. In all, there seven kings of Rome.

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning 25 years until the popular uprising that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.

He is commonly known as Tarquin the Proud, from his cognomen Superbus which is Latin for "proud, arrogant, lofty."

Tarquin was said to have been either the son or grandson of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, and to have gained the throne through the murders of both his wife and his elder brother, followed by the assassination of his predecessor, Servius Tullius. His reign has been described as a tyranny that justified the abolition of the monarchy.