Roman Republic in 509 BC

Rome, 509 BC. The Etruscan king Tarquinius Superbus reigns for a couple of decades already.
He is the archetype of the bad king. Having overthrown his predecessor Servius Tullius, he stayed on the throne using brutal force.
Senators suspected of being loyal to the memory of Servius Tullius were killed, internal and external opponents to his power reduced to silence.

In 509 BC, as Tarquinius was in campaign against the city of Ardea, his son Sextus raped Lucretia, noblewoman from the Roman city of Collatia.
Roman people, already angered by the many wrongs committed by the father, revolted themselves and expelled the Tarquin family.
Sextus was murdered in Gabies later in the year, while his father and brothers used all means to regain power...
Treachery, war... Nothing worked, and Rome was now living under the rule of the Consuls...

The Republic was born...