The Tarquinian conspiracy was a conspiracy amongst a number of senators and leading men of ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 in 509 BC to reinstate the monarchy, and to put Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...

 back on the throne. The conspirators were discovered and executed. The story is part of Rome's early semi-legendary history.

Background

In 509 BC the Roman monarchy

Roman Kingdom

The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....

 was overthrown as a result of general resentment at the behaviour of the king Tarquinius Superbus, and especially his son Sextus Tarquinius

Sextus Tarquinius

Sextus Tarquinius was a Roman prince, the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . He is primarily known for his rape of Lucretia, daughter of Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus, wife of Collatinus....

 who had raped Lucretia

Lucretia

Lucretia is a legendary figure in the history of the Roman Republic. According to the story, told mainly by the Roman historian Livy and the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus , her rape by the king's son and consequent suicide were the immediate cause of the revolution that overthrew the...

, a Roman woman of noble background. A coup, led by Lucius Junius Brutus

Lucius Junius Brutus

Lucius Junius Brutus was the founder of the Roman Republic and traditionally one of the first consuls in 509 BC. He was claimed as an ancestor of the Roman gens Junia, including Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Caesar's assassins.- Background :...

, resulted in the expulsion of the royal family. The Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 was established, and consuls

Roman consul

A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...

 were elected to govern the city on an annual basis.

Conspiracy formed, but discovered

Brutus was elected as one of Rome's first two consuls in 509 BC. In that year ambassadors from the royal family arrived in Rome to seek to persuade the senate to return to the royals their personal effects which had been seized during the coup. In secret, while the Roman senate

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

 debated the request, the ambassadors sought supporters of the monarchy in Rome to form a conspiracy to re-admit the royal family to the city. Two brothers of Brutus' wife, of the Vitellii, both of whom were senators, were chief amongst the conspiracy, along with three brothers of the Aquilii, and other leading men whose names are no longer recorded. Two of Brutus' sons, Titus Junius Brutus

Titus Junius Brutus

Titus Junius Brutus was the elder son of Lucius Junius Brutus, who was one of Rome's first two consuls in 509 BC. His mother was Vitellia....

 and Tiberius Junius Brutus

Tiberius Junius Brutus

Tiberius Junius Brutus was the younger son of Lucius Junius Brutus, who was one of Rome's first two consuls in 509 BC. His mother was Vitellia....

 joined them.

However, a slave of the Vitelii, having witnessed a meeting of the conspirators at his master's house, alerted the consuls who immediately seized the ambassadors and the conspirators without great tumult.

Punishment

The ambassadors of the royal family had persuaded the conspirators to confirm their dedication to the royalist cause in writing, and therefore the guilt of the conspirators was not in doubt.

The ambassadors were released, out of respect for the law of nations. However the traitors were condemned to death, including the sons of Brutus.

The consuls sat upon the tribunal to witness the execution. The lictors were dispatched to carry out the punishment. The traitors were stripped naked, beaten with rods, and then beheaded. Brutus the consul is said to have burst forth with emotion at times during the punishment of his sons.

The slave who had revealed the conspiracy was granted his freedom and status as a Roman citizen, and was also awarded a sum of money as reward.