{"id":10484,"date":"2023-12-08T18:35:10","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T17:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learnancientrome.com\/?p=10484"},"modified":"2023-12-08T18:35:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T17:35:10","slug":"what-would-the-kings-house-be-called-in-ancient-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learnancientrome.com\/what-would-the-kings-house-be-called-in-ancient-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"What Would The Kings House Be Called In Ancient Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Modern society is incredibly different from ancient times. That’s especially evident around the question of what kingship meant in antiquity. In ancient Rome, kings and queens — if there were any — had a similar structure of governance as it exists in monarchies today. Yet the house of the king or queen was called something different. What was it called?<\/p>\n

The answer to that question is not as simple as many would expect. Roman leaders, much like their counterparts from other ancient civilizations, did not have a single palace or residence where they lived, in the same way people would expect today. However, a few structures have been noted. One that has caused the most attention of scholars is called the regia<\/i>, which is the Latin term for “the king’s house”. It was first mentioned in the eighth century BCE and was built on a plot of land at the consulate of the royal family. In the earliest days, the regia<\/i> functioned as a fortification and was believed to be the center of all government activity.<\/p>\n

The earliest regia<\/i> was made of mud and thatch, and was surrounded by a wall and a ditch. This low-powered structure stood in the very center of ancient Rome. Later, the building was replaced with an impressive stone residence, believed to have been constructed after the original king, Tarquin the Elder, passed away in the late sixth century BCE. This new structure was said to have been quite sophisticated for its age. It was divided into four large chambers, and each of them held a specific purpose. The first and largest room served as a meeting house where political and social matters were discussed and decided. The second chamber was the throne room, where the king would conduct private meetings with advisors. Further on, the third chamber was a reception area, while the fourth was a storage area.<\/p>\n

Location of the Regia<\/h2>\n

The regia<\/i>, however, did not always stand in the same spot. The most dramatic relocation of this building took place at the death of Romulus, Rome’s first king, in 753 BCE when it moved to the Forum Roman, where it stood until the end of the kingdom in 509 BCE when it was burned by Marcus Furius Camillus and demolished. Afterward, a temple was erected in its place.<\/p>\n

Function of the Regia<\/h2>\n