Editing Ancus Marcius

{{short description|King of Rome from c. 640 to 616 BC}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Ancus Marcius
| image        = Ancusmarciuscng10300642obverse.jpg
| image_size   = 250px
| alt          = 
| caption      = Ancus Marcius depicted on a 57 BC ''[[denarius]]''
| succession   = [[King of Rome]]
| reign        = {{circa}} 640–616 BC
| predecessor  = [[Tullus Hostilius]]
| successor    = [[Lucius Tarquinius Priscus]]
| birth_date   = 
| death_date   = 
| issue        = 
| father       = Numa Marcius
| mother       = Pompilia
}}
'''Ancus Marcius''' ({{IPA|la-x-classic|ˈaŋkʊs ˈmaːrkiʊs|lang|link=yes}}) was the [[Roman mythology|legendary]] fourth [[king of Rome]],<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kleijn|first1=G. de|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUrMAQAAQBAJ&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PA59|title=Integration in Rome and in the Roman World: Proceedings of the Tenth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Lille, June 23-25, 2011)|last2=Benoist|first2=Stéphane|date=2013-10-17|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-25667-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dyer|first=Thomas Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V91rG-B4HCsC&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PA222|title=The History of the Kings of Rome: With a Prefatory Dissertation on Its Sources and Evidence|date=1868|publisher=Bell and Daldy|isbn=978-0-8046-1199-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Duncan|first=Mike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZSzDQAAQBAJ&q=Ancus+Marcius|title=The History of Rome: The Republic (Volume 1)|date=2016-12-04|publisher=Lulu Press, Inc|isbn=978-1-365-33131-2|language=en}}</ref> who traditionally reigned 24 years.<ref name=":0" /> Upon the death of the previous king, [[Tullus Hostilius]], the [[Roman Senate]] appointed an [[interrex]], who in turn called a session of the [[Roman assemblies|assembly of the people]] who elected the new king.<ref name="Livy1:32"/> Ancus is said to have ruled by waging war as [[Romulus]] did, while also promoting peace and religion as [[Numa Pompilius]] did.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Vires/Robur/Opes and Ferocia in Livy's Account of Romulus and Tullus Hostilius|last=Penella|first=Robert J.|journal = The Classical Quarterly|year = 1990|volume = 40|issue = 1|pages = 207–213|doi = 10.1017/S0009838800026902|jstor = 639321|s2cid=170735500}}</ref>

Ancus Marcius was believed by many Romans to have been the namesake of the [[Marcia gens|Marcii]], a plebeian family.<ref>Niebuhr, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=PaEUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA301 The History of Rome, Volume 1]'', p. 301</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Evans|first=Jane DeRose|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AsRrF3ej38C&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PA139|title=The Art of Persuasion: Political Propaganda from Aeneas to Brutus|date=1992|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-10282-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ok4pAAAAYAAJ&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PA665|title=Abaeus-Dysponteus|date=1890|publisher=J. Murray|language=en}}</ref>
{{Coin image box 1 double
| header =
| image = Image:L. Marcius Philippus.jpg
| caption_left = '''[[Obverse and reverse|O:]]''' [[diadem]]ed head of Ancus Marcius, [[lituus]] behind
ANCVS
| caption_right = '''[[Obverse and reverse|R:]]''' [[equestrian statue]] on 5 arches of [[Roman aqueduct|aqueduct]] ([[Aqua Marcia]])
PHILIPPVS
A-Q-V-A-(MAR)
| width = 300
| footer = [[Silver]] [[denarius]] struck by [[Lucius Marcius Philippus (consul 38 BC)|Lucius Marcius Philippus]] in [[Rome]] 56 BC.
| position = right
| margin = 4
}}

==Background==
Ancus was the son of [[Numa Marcius (prefect)|Marcius]] (himself the son of Rome's first ''[[pontifex maximus]]'' [[Numa Marcius]]<ref>E. Peruzzi ''Le origini di Roma'' I. ''La famiglia'' Firenze 1970 p. 142 ff.</ref>) and [[Pompilia (daughter of Numa Pompilius)|Pompilia]] (daughter of Numa Pompilius).<ref name="Livy1:32">[[Livy]], ''[[Ab urbe condita libri (Livy)|Ab Urbe Condita]]'', [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 1#32|1:32]]</ref> Ancus Marcius was thus the grandson of Numa and therefore a [[Sabines|Sabine]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bollacasa|first=Dario|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqHohTRJOUsC&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PA25|title=There Was a Time When Rome Was Ruled by Kings|date=2009|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4490-3674-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Livy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=96mSDwAAQBAJ&q=Ancus+Marcius|title=THE HISTORY OF ROME (Complete Edition in 4 Volumes)|date=2018-11-02|publisher=e-artnow|isbn=978-80-272-4456-0|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Livy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLdcGQyqcrcC&q=Ancus+Marcius|title=The Early History of Rome|date=2005-05-26|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-0-14-196307-5|language=en}}</ref> According to [[Festus (historian)|Festus]], Marcius was surnamed Ancus because of his crooked arm (''ancus'' signifying "bent" in Latin).

==First acts as King==
According to [[Livy]], Ancus's first act as king was to order the [[Pontifex Maximus]] to copy the text concerning the performance of public ceremonies of religion from the commentaries of [[Numa Pompilius]] to be displayed to the public on wooden tablets, so that the rites of religion should no longer be neglected or improperly performed.<ref name="Livy1:32"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ihne|first=Wilhelm|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3d3QAAAAMAAJ&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PA43|title=The History of Rome|date=1871|publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company|language=en}}</ref> When Tullus was king, he repealed the Numa-created religious edicts that had been in place before.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Otis |first1=Lise |title=The Numan tradition and its uses in the literature Rome's 'Golden Age' |date=2001 |id={{ProQuest|304770134}} |url=https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/6682x566h }}</ref>

==War==
[[File:Ancus-Martius.jpg|thumb|left|Fictional 16th-century depiction in the ''[[Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum]]'']]
According to [[Livy]], the accession of Ancus emboldened the [[Latin League]], who assumed that the new king would follow the pious pursuit of peace adopted by his grandfather, [[Numa Pompilius]]. The Latins accordingly made an incursion on Roman lands, and gave a contemptuous reply to a Roman embassy seeking restitution for the damage. Ancus responded by [[Roman–Latin wars#First war with Rome|declaring war]] on the Latins. Livy says that this event was notable as the first time that the Romans declared war by means of the rites of the [[fetial]]s.<ref name="Livy1:32"/>
[[File:Numa Pompilius and Ancus Marcius coin 1.gif|thumb|A coin depicting Ancus Marcius and Numa Pompilius side-by-side]]
[[File:Collegio elettorale di Roma-Lido di Ostia 1994-2001 (CD).png|thumb|Ostia on a map of Rome (highlighted in bright red)]]
Ancus Marcius marched from Rome with a newly levied army and took the Latin town of [[Politorium]] (situated near the town of [[Lanuvium]]) by storm. Its residents were removed to settle on the [[Aventine Hill]] in Rome as new citizens, following the Roman traditions from wars with the [[Sabines]] and [[Alba Longa|Albans]]. When the other Latins subsequently occupied the empty town of Politorium, Ancus took the town again and demolished it.<ref name="Livy1:33">[[Livy]], ''[[Ab urbe condita libri (Livy)|Ab Urbe Condita]]'', [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 1#33|1:33]]</ref> The Latin villages of Tellenae and Ficana were also sacked and demolished.

The war then focused on the Latin town of [[Medullia]]. The town had a strong garrison and was well fortified. Several engagements took place outside the town and the Romans were eventually victorious. Ancus returned to Rome with a large amount of loot. More Latins were brought to Rome as citizens and were settled at the foot of the Aventine near the [[Palatine Hill]], by the temple of [[Murcia (mythology)|Murcia]].

Ancus Marcius incorporated the [[Janiculum]] into the city, fortifying it with a wall and connecting it with the city by a wooden bridge across the [[Tiber]],<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Ancus Marcius|volume=1|page=953}}</ref> the [[Pons Sublicius]]. To protect the bridge from enemy attacks, Ancus had the end that was facing the Janiculum fortified.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ogilvie|first=R.M.|title=A Commentary On Livy: Books 1-5|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1965|location=Oxford: Clarendon; Toronto|pages=137}}</ref> Ancus also took over Fidenea to expand Rome's influence across the Tiber.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Griffith |first1=Alison B. |title=The Pons Sublicius in Context: Revisiting Rome's First Public Work |journal=Phoenix |date=2009 |volume=63 |issue=3/4 |pages=296–321 |doi=10.1353/phx.2009.0025 |id={{ProQuest|747236391}} |jstor=25747981 |s2cid=163484984 }}</ref> 
On the land side of the city he constructed the [[Fossa Quiritium]], a ditch fortification. He also built Rome's first prison, the [[Mamertine Prison|Mamertine prison]].<ref name="Livy1:33"/> 

He then extended the Roman territory, founding the port of [[Ostia Antica (archaeological site)|Ostia]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beard|first=Mary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yKL4CQAAQBAJ&q=Ancus+Marcius|title=SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome|date=2015-11-09|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-1-63149-125-2|language=en}}</ref> establishing salt-works around the port,<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Bedoyere|first=Guy de la|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_rZ52tEMgg0C&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PT204|title=The Romans For Dummies|date=2011-02-18|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-99788-7|language=en}}</ref> and taking the Silva Maesia, an area of coastal forest north of the [[Tiber]], from the [[Veii|Veientes]]. 
He expanded the [[temple of Jupiter Feretrius]] to reflect these territorial successes.<ref name="Livy1:33"/> 
According to a reconstruction of the [[Fasti Triumphales]], Ancus Marcius celebrated at least one triumph, over the [[Sabines]] and Veientes.

==Death and successor==
Ancus Marcius is reported to have died of natural causes after a rule of 24 years.<ref name=":0">[[Livy]], ''[[ab urbe condita libri]]'', [[wikisource:From_the_Founding_of_the_City/Book_1|I]]</ref> He had two sons, one of which would likely take the throne. A member of Ancus' court, [[Lucius Tarquinius Priscus]], ensured that Ancus' sons would be out of Rome so he could put together an election where he would gain the support of the Roman people.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Penella |first1=Robert J. |title=The Ambitio of Livy's Tarquinius Priscus |journal=The Classical Quarterly |date=December 2004 |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=630–635 |id={{ProQuest|1035754534}} |doi=10.1093/clquaj/bmh068 }}</ref>

Ancus Marcius was succeeded by his friend Lucius Tarquinius Priscus,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bedoyere|first=Guy de la|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_rZ52tEMgg0C&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PT204|title=The Romans For Dummies|date=2011-02-18|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-119-99788-7|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Schmitz|first=Leonhard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3X0PAAAAYAAJ&q=Ancus+Marcius&pg=PA36|title=A History of Rome: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Commodus, A.D. 192|date=1847|publisher=Allen, Morrill and Wardwell|language=en}}</ref> who was ultimately assassinated by the sons of Ancus Marcius.<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab urbe condita libri (Livy)|Ab Urbe Condita]]''</ref> Later, during the Republic and the Empire, the prominent [[Marcia gens|gens Marcia]] claimed descent from Ancus Marcius.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg | leg }}
{{s-bef | before= [[Tullus Hostilius]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = [[King of Rome]] | years = 642–617 BC }}
{{s-aft | after = [[Lucius Tarquinius Priscus]] }}
{{s-end}}

{{Kings of Rome}}
{{Roman religion}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcius, Ancus}}
[[Category:670s BC births]]
[[Category:610s BC deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:7th-century BC monarchs]]
[[Category:Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid]]
[[Category:Kings of Rome]]
[[Category:Marcii|Ancus]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]