On the Campus Martius the citizens met
and decreed that the dignity of king should be forever abolished and
the Tarquins banished. Tullia fled, followed by the curses of men and
women; Sextus found his way to Gabii, where he was slain; and the
tyrant himself took refuge in C?re, a city of Etruria, the country of
his father.
There is a tradition that it had been the intention of Servius to
resign the kingly honor, and to institute in its stead the office of
Consul, to be jointly held by two persons chosen annually. There seems
to be some ground for this belief, because immediately after the
banishment of the Tarquins, the republic was established with two
consuls at its head. [Footnote: The custom of confiding the chief civil
authority and the command of the army to two magistrates who were
changed each year, was not given up as long as the republic endured,
but towards its end, Cinna maintained himself in the office alone for
almost a year, and Pompey was appointed sole consul to keep him from
becoming dictator. The authority of consul was usurped by both Cinna
and Marius. The consuls were elected by the comitia of the centuries.
They could not appear in public without the protection of twelve
lictors, who bore bundles of twigs (fasces) and walked in single file
before their chiefs.
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