Tullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius was, by tradition, the third king of Rome, reigning from about 673 to 642 BC, and is presented as the warlike opposite of his predecessor Numa. He is a legendary figure, and the traditions about him come from Livy, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and others writing six centuries later. He was said to be the grandson of a warrior who had fought beside Romulus, and to have regarded Numa's long peace as having made the Romans soft. The central story of his reign is the war with Alba Longa, the older Latin city from which Rome was traditionally founded. Rather than fight a general engagement, the two sides agreed to settle the matter by a combat of three brothers on each side: the Roman Horatii against the Alban Curiatii. Two Horatii fell at once; the survivor fled, separated his three wounded opponents by drawing them out at different speeds, and killed them one by one. Returning, he found his sister mourning her betrothed among the dead and killed her, and was condemned and then acquitted on appeal to the people — a story used to explain the right of provocatio. Alba's dictator later betrayed Rome in a battle against Fidenae and was torn apart between chariots. Tullus destroyed Alba Longa and moved its population to the Caelian hill, enlarging Rome substantially. He is credited with building the Curia Hostilia, the senate house that stood for five centuries. The tradition has him neglect religion, then turn to it in a plague, botch a sacrifice to Jupiter, and be destroyed by lightning.
- Lived: 710 BCE – 642 BCE
- Nationality: Roman
- Roles: king, military_leader
