The Roman Antiquities of Dionysius Halicarnassensis, Volume 2

FTER the death of Numa Pompilius, the fenate, being, again, inverted with the whole power of the commonwealth, refolded to retain the fame form of government; and the people not opposing their refolution, they appointed fome of the oldeft fenators to govern, as Interreges, during a certain number of days; by whom, purfuant to. the unanimous defire of the people, Tullus Hoftilius was chofen king; whofe defcent was as follows: A man of diftinguifhed birth, and great fortune, whofe name was Hoftilius, had removed to Rome from Medullia, a city built by the Albans, which Romulus, after he had poffeffed himfelf of it by compofition, made a colony of the Romans; and married a Sabine woman, the daughter of Herfilius, the fame who advifed her country-women to go in quality of deputies to their fathers in favor of their hufbands, when the Sabines were making war againft the Romans, and who was looked upon as the chief caufe of the alliance then concluded by the leaders of the two nations. This man, having had a fhare in the many wars Romulus was ingaged in, and ‘ performed great adions in the feveral battles with the Sabines, was ilain, leaving an only fon, who was then an infant; and was buried by the kings in the principal part of the forum, and honoured with a pillar, and an infcription, teftifying his valor. His only fon, being arrived to manhood, and, having married a woman of diftindiion, had by her Tullus Hoftilius, a man of adivity, who was chofen king by the votes of the people, given according to law, the gods by favourable auguries confirming their choice. The year, in which he entered upon the government, was the fecond of the twenty feventh Olympiad, in which Eurybates, an Athenian, won the prize of the ftadium, Leoftratus being archon. Immediately upon his acceflion, he gained the hearts of the ^ loweft, and pooreft fort of the people, by an adlion, of all others, the moft magnificent. It was this; The kings, his predeceffors, were poffefled of particular demains, confifting of very fertil lands of a large extent, the revenues of which, not only, fupplied them with vidims for the facrifices, but furnifhed their tables with great affluence: Thefe lands Romulus had conquered, and difpoflefled the former owners of them: And he dying without children, Numa Pompilius, his fuccefibr, had enjoyed them: They were, no longer, public lands, but the demains of the king in poffefiion. Thefe lands Tullus caufed to be divided, equally, among fuch of the Romans, as had none of their own, faying, that his own patrimony was fufficient both for the facrifices, and for the expence of his table. By this ad: of humanity, he relieved the poorer fort, and freed them from the necefiity of being fervants to others. And, to the end that none might want a habitation, he added the Caelian hill to the city, where thoie Romans, who were unprovided with dwellings, had as much ground allotted to them as was fufiicient, and built houfes; and he himfelf fixed his habitation in this place. Thefe are the memorable adlions of this king, relating to his civil adminiftration.