the great sewers (cloacae), and began the construction of the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol. He carried on war successfully against the Sabines and subjugated Latium. He is said to have raised the number of the senators to 300, and to have doubled the number of the knights (see Navius, Attus). The introduction of many of the insignia both of war and of civil office is assigned to his reign, and he was the first to celebrate a Roman triumph, after the Etruscan fashion, in a robe of purple and gold, and borne on a chariot drawn by four horses. He was assassinated at the instigation of the sons of Ancus Marcius.
The legend of Tarquinius Priscus is in the main a reproduction of those of Romulus and Tullus Hostilius. His Corinthian descent, invented by the Greeks to establish a close connexion with Rome, is impossible for chronological reasons; further, according to the genuine Roman tradition, the Tarquinii were of Etruscan, not Greek, origin. There seems to have been originally only one Tarquinius; later, when a connected story of the legendary period was constructed, two (distinguished as the “Elder” and the “Proud”) were introduced, separated by the reign of Servius Tullius, and the name of both was connected with the same events. Thus, certain public works were said to have been begun by the earlier and finished by the later king; both instituted games, acquired the Sibylline books, and reorganized the army.
For the constitutional reforms attributed to Tarquinius, see Rome: Ancient History; for a critical examination of the story, Schwegler, Römische Geschichte, bk. xv. ; Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Credibility of early Roman History, ch. 11; W. Ihne, History of Rome, i.; E. Pais, Storia di Roma, i. (1898), who identifies Tarquinius with Tarpeius, the eponymus of the Tarpeian rock, subsequently developed into the wicked king Tarquinius Superbus. Ancient authorities:—Livy i. 34–41; Dion. Hal. iii. 46–73; Cic. de Repub., ii 200.
TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS, LUCIUS, son of Lucius Tarquinius
Priscus and son-in-law of Servius Tullius, the seventh and last
legendary king of Rome (534–510 B.C.). On his accession he
proceeded at once to repeal the recent reforms in the constitution, and attempted to set up a pure despotism. Many senators were put to death, and their places remained unfilled; the lower classes were deprived of their arms and employed in erecting splendid monuments, while the army was recruited from the king's own retainers and from the forces of foreign allies. The completion of the fortress-temple on the Capitoline
confirmed his authority over the city, and a fortunate marriage
of his son to the daughter of Octavius Mamilius of Tusculum
secured him powerful assistance in the field. His reign was
characterized by bloodshed and violence; the outrage of his
son Sextus upon Lucretia (q.v.) precipitated a revolt, which led
to the expulsion of the entire family. All Tarquinius's efforts
to force his way back to the throne were vain (see Poesena),
and he died in exile at Cumae.
In the story certain Greek elements, probably later additions, may easily be distinguished. Tarquinius appears as a Greek “tyrant” of the ordinary kind, who surrounds himself with a bodyguard and erects magnificent buildings to keep "the people employed; on the other hand, an older tradition represents him as more like Romulus. This twofold aspect of his character perhaps accounts for the making of two Tarquinii out of one (see Tarquinius Priscus). The stratagem by which Tarquinius obtained possession of the town of Gabii is a mere fiction, derived from Greek and Oriental sources. According to arrangement, his son Sextus requested the protection of the inhabitants against his father. Having obtained their confidence, he sent a messenger to Tarquinius to inquire the next step. His father made no reply to the messenger, but walked up and down his garden, striking off the heads of the tallest poppies. Sextus thereupon put to death all the chief men of the town, and thus obtained the mastery. The stratagem of Sextus is that practised by Zopyrus is the case of Babylon, while the episode of the poppy-heads is borrowed from the advice given by Thrasybulus to Periander (Herodotus iii. 154, v. 92). On the other hand, the existence in the time of Dionysius of Halicarnassus of a treaty concluded between Tarquinius and the inhabitants of Gabii, shows that the town came under his dominion by formal agreement, not, as the tradition states, by treachery and violence. The embassy to Delphi (see Brutus, Lucius Junius) cannot be historical, since at the time there was no communication between Rome and the mainland of Greece. The well-known story of Tarquinius's repeated refusal and final consent to purchase the Sibylline books has its origin in the fact that the building of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, in which they were kept, was ascribed to him. The traditional account of his expulsion can hardly be historical. A constitutional revolution, involving such far-reaching changes, is not likely to have been carried out in primitive times with so little disturbance by a simple resolution of the people, and it probably points to a rising of Romans and Sabines against the dominion of an Etruscan family (Tarquinii, Tarchna) at that time established at Rome.
For a critical examination of the story see Schwegler, Römische Geschichte, bk. xviii. ; Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, Credibility of early Roman History, ch. 11; E. Pais, Storia di Roma, i. (1898); and, for the political character of his reign, Rome: Ancient History. Ancient authorities:—Livy i. 21; Dion. Hal. v. i–vi. 21.
TARRAGONA, a maritime province in the north-east of
Spain, formed in 1833 from the southern part of the province
of Catalonia, and bounded on the S.E. by the Mediterranean,
N.E. by Barcelona, N. by Lerida, W. by Saragossa and Teruel,
and S.W. by Castellon de la Plana. Pop. (1000) 337,964;
area, 2505 sq. m. The Ebro flows through the southern portion
of the province, and the other chief streams are the Gaya and
the Francoli. These three rivers flow south into the Mediterranean.
Below Tortosa, the Ebro forms a conspicuous
marshy delta jutting out into the sea, but elsewhere the even
south-westward curve of the coast-line is unbroken by any
noteworthy headland or indentation. The province, although
mountainous, is naturally fertile. The hills are clothed with
vineyards, which produce excellent wines, arid in the valleys
are cultivated all kinds of grain, vegetables, rice, hemp, flax
and silk. Olive, orange, filbert and almond trees reach great
perfection, and the mountains yield rich pastures and timber
trees of various kinds. The climate is temperate on the coast
and in the centre, cold in the highlands, very warm and damp
in the valleys and on the banks of the rivers as they near the
sea. Manufactures are well advanced, and comprise silk,
cotton, linen and woollen fabrics, velvet, felt, soap, leather
and spirits. There are also many potteries and cooperages,
and flour, paper and oil mills. Silver, copper, lead and other
minerals have been found, and quarries of marble and jasper
are worked in the hills. The fisheries produce more than
£20,000 yearly. There are upwards of 250 m. of railways,
which link together all the large towns, and include the important
main lines along the coast and up the Ebro valley.
The cities of Tarragona (pop., 1900, 23,423) and Tortosa (24,452),
which are the principal seaports, and the towns of Reus (26,681)
and Vails (12,625) are described in separate articles. Montblanch
(5243) is the only other town with a population exceeding
5000. The people of Tarragona are, like almost all the
inhabitants of Catalonia (q.v.), hardy, enterprising and industrious.
Although the birth-rate considerably exceeds the
death-rate, the population tends to decrease slightly, as many
families emigrate.
TARRAGONA (anc. Tarraco), the capital of the Spanish province of Tarragona, a flourishing seaport, and the seat of an archbishop; at the mouth of the river Francoli, 63 m. by rail W.S.W. of Barcelona, in 41 10′ N. and 0° 20′ E. Pop. (1900) 23,423. Tarragona is on the coast railway from Barcelona to Valencia, and is connected with the Ebro Valley Railway by a branch line to Reus. The picturesque old town, with its dark and steep alleys, occupies a rugged hill which rises abruptly
from the sea to an altitude of about 550 ft. Its highest point, where the ancient citadel stood, is crowned by the cathedral, the seminary for priests, and the palace of the archbishop, who shares the title primate of Spain with the archbishop of Toledo. Many of the houses in this quarter are very old, and are built
