Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
History
Date of Award
8-2026
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
William Douglas Burgess
Committee Members
Leila Al-Imad, Henry Antkiewicz
Abstract
From Romulus through Tarquinius Superbus, Rome’s kings occupied a major place within the collective cultural imagination of the ancient polity long after the office was abolished. For generations, no accusation was as odious as “king” and the entire period was seen as a cautionary tale. While the legacy of the kings remained an essential part of Roman identity, how the people related to that legacy changed eventually resulting in a restoration of kingship. A complete picture of the establishment-rejection-restoration cycle becomes clear through examination of the works of Roman (and Greek) historians. Central questions which guide this study: Why were the kings condemned as tyrants even as their powers were preserved in republican institutions? How did a society that celebrated the overthrow of monarchy come to reconstruct it? By comparing historical and poetic narratives, this paper reconstructs how Romans thought about authority, legitimacy, and their own past.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Hillebrand, Dylan, "The Kings are Dead. Long Live the Kings: The Legacy of Roman Kingship in the Republican and Imperial Periods" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4738. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4738
Copyright
Copyright by Dylan Hillebrand
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, European History Commons, Political History Commons
