Roman Kingdom

The Roman Kingdom covers the early centuries traditionally dated from 753 BC to 509 BC, before Rome became a republic. Much of this period is wrapped in legend, including Romulus, the Sabine women, the early kings, and the city’s first religious and civic institutions. Even when the details are uncertain, the stories became central to how later Romans explained their identity.

This phase matters because it gives Rome its origin myths and its first political vocabulary. The fall of the monarchy and the expulsion of the last king, Tarquinius Superbus, became a defining republican memory. Later Romans repeatedly used the fear of kingship to judge ambitious generals, dictators, and emperors.

The Roman Kingdom appears less often than the republic or empire, but it is useful for novels that lean into foundation myth and early Roman identity. Steven Saylor’s Roma and Colleen McCullough’s later Roman material both draw on the legends and inherited memories that later Romans used to explain themselves. This period can also sit behind series pages as the mythical prehistory of Rome, especially when books deal with Romulus, kingship, aristocratic origin stories, or the republican hatred of monarchy.