Kings of Alba Longa
Legendary Latin kings bridging Aeneas and Romulus.
The Alban kings, also called the reges Albani, were legendary rulers of Latium based at Alba Longa. In Roman myth, they spanned the four centuries between Aeneas’ arrival in Italy and Rome’s foundation by Romulus. The Julian family traced its ancestry through this line. The traditional succession ends with Numitor, Romulus and Remus’ grandfather. A later king, Gaius Cluilius, appears in Roman histories, but his connection to the earlier kings is unclear. One generation after Romulus, the city was destroyed by Rome’s third king, Tullus Hostilius, and its people moved to Rome, the daughter city of Alba Longa.
- field
- Legendary kings of Latium
- nationality
- Latin
- known_for
- Filling the 400-year gap between Aeneas and Romulus; claimed as ancestors by the Julii
- capital
- Alba Longa
- founder
- Ascanius
- final_king
- Numitor
Lore & Background
The city of Alba Longa was founded by Ascanius, son of Aeneas, as a colony of Lavinium. There is uncertainty in the tradition as to Ascanius' mother; in some accounts he was the son of Lavinia, in others of Creusa. Ascanius was succeeded by Silvius, whose name derived from his having been born in the woods. According to Dionysius, Silvius was not the son of Ascanius but his half-brother, the son of Aeneas and Lavinia. All subsequent kings bore the name Silvius as a cognomen.
The line of Alban kings continued through Aeneas Silvius, Latinus Silvius, Alba, Atys, Capys, Capetus, Tiberinus, Agrippa, Romulus Silvius (called Allocius by Dionysius), Aventinus, and Proca. Proca had two sons, Numitor and Amulius; his will was that he be succeeded by Numitor. One later king, Gaius Cluilius, is mentioned by Roman historians, though his relation to the original line is unknown. After his death, one generation after the time of Romulus, the city was destroyed by Tullus Hostilius, the third King of Rome.
Reader's Guide
The kings of Alba Longa served a crucial mythological function in ancient Rome, filling the 400-year gap between the settlement of Aeneas in Italy and the founding of Rome by Romulus. This continuous line of descent provided a mythical justification for the close ties between Rome and the rest of Latium, and enhanced the status of Roman and Latin families who claimed descent from the original Trojan settlers or their Alban descendants. The eagerness in the late Republic to claim a Trojan pedigree is evidenced by the survival of fifteen different lists of the Alban kings from Aeneas to Romulus. The Julii, in particular, claimed kinship through this line. The tradition also reflects the process by which the nomen gentilicium developed throughout Italy, as all descendants of Aeneas Silvius bore the name Silvius in addition to their personal names. The Alban kings thus represent a foundational myth that linked Rome to the heroic age of Troy and legitimized its place among the peoples of Latium.
Did You Know?
- Fifteen different lists of the Alban kings from Aeneas to Romulus survive from the late Republic.
- The river Albula was renamed the Tiber after King Tiberinus drowned in it.
- King Romulus Silvius was struck by lightning; Dionysius says he imitated thunder and lightning and was destroyed with his household.
- King Aventinus was buried on the hill that bears his name.
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