View source for Battle of Lake Regillus

{{short description|Legendary Roman victory over the Latin League and as part of a wider Latin War (c. 496 BC)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| image       = [[Image:BattleOfLakeRegillus.jpg|right|300px]]
| caption     = [[Dioscuri|Castor and Pollux]] fighting at the Battle of Lake Regillus, 1880 illustration by [[John Reinhard Weguelin]] to the [[Lays of Ancient Rome]] by [[Thomas Macaulay]]
| conflict    = Battle of Lake Regillus
| partof      = the [[Roman-Latin wars]]
| date        = {{circa}} 496 BC
| place       = near [[Frascati]] ([[Rome]])
| result      = {{ublist|Roman victory}}
*End of Tarquinian attempts to retake the Roman throne
| combatant1  = [[Roman Republic]]
| combatant2  = [[Latin League]]
| commander1  = [[Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis|Aulus Postumius Albus]]<br/>[[Titus Aebutius Helva]] (master of the horse)
| commander2  = [[Octavius Mamilius]]{{KIA}}<br/>[[Tarquinius Superbus]]
| strength1   = '''Total:''' 24,700<ref name="Dionysius vi 5"/>
----
* 23,700 infantry
* 1,000 cavalry
| strength2   = '''Total:''' 43,000<ref name="Dionysius vi 5">Dionysius, vi. 5.</ref>
----
* 40,000 infantry
* 3,000 cavalry
| casualties1 = 
| casualties2 = 
}}
{{Campaignbox Latin Wars}}
{{Campaignbox First Latin War}}

[[Image:Lake regillus.jpg|thumb|right|250 px|An engraving of Lake Regillus, where the battle took place.]]
[[Image:Prataporci site Img 020.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Prataporci site, where the battle took place, view from [[Monte Porzio Catone]]]]
{{Campaignbox Rome's Early Italian Campaigns}}
{{wikisource|Lays of Ancient Rome/The Battle of the Lake Regillus|Macaulay's The Battle of the Lake Regillus}}

The '''Battle of Lake Regillus''' was a legendary Roman victory over the [[Latin League]] shortly after the establishment of the [[Roman Republic]] and as part of a wider [[Latin War (498–493 BC)|Latin War]].  The Latins were led by an elderly [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus]], the seventh and last [[King of Rome]], who had been expelled in 509 BC, and his son-in-law, [[Octavius Mamilius]], the dictator of [[Tusculum]].  The battle marked the final attempt of the Tarquins to reclaim their throne.  According to legend, [[Castor and Pollux]] fought on the side of the Romans.<ref name=Grant37>Grant, ''The History of Rome'', p. 37.</ref>

==Background==
The threat of invasion by Rome's former allies in Latium led to the appointment of [[Aulus Postumius Albus Regillensis|Aulus Postumius Albus]] as [[Roman dictator|dictator]].

The year in which the battle occurred is unclear, and has been unclear since ancient times.  Livy places the battle in 499 BC, but says some of his sources also suggest the battle occurred during Postumius' consulship in 496 BC.<ref>[[Livy]], [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 2#19|''History of Rome'', ii. 19–21.]]</ref><ref name="Sinnigen 1977, p. 46">William G. Sinnigen, and Arthur E. R. Boak, ''A History of Rome to AD 565'', 6th ed., 1977, p. 46</ref>  The other major source for this historical period, [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], also places the battle in 496 BC.<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/6A.html Dionysius, vi. 2.]</ref><ref>Cornell, ''The Beginnings of Rome'', p. 216</ref>  Some modern authors have suggested 493 BC.<ref name=Grant37/> or 489 BC.<ref name="Sinnigen 1977, p. 46"/>

[[Lake Regillus]] was located in the remains of a volcanic crater between Rome and Tusculum. The lake was drained in the fourth century BC.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}

According to Livy, the [[Volsci]] (a neighbouring tribe to the south of Latium) had raised troops to send to the aid of the Latins against Rome; however, the haste of the Roman dictator in joining battle meant that the Volscian forces did not arrive in time.<ref>Livy, [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 2#22|''History of Rome'', ii. 22.]]</ref>

==Battle==
The dictator Postumius led the Roman infantry, while [[Titus Aebutius Elva]] was ''[[Magister Equitum]]'' (Master of the Horse).  Tarquin was accompanied by his eldest and last remaining son, [[Titus Tarquinius|Titus]].{{efn-lr|Dionysius has the king accompanied by Sextus Tarquinius, who according to Livy had been slain at Gabii.  When he saw that the battle was lost, he threw himself into the thickest fighting, and perished bravely.}}  It was said that the presence of the Tarquins caused the Romans to fight more passionately than in any previous battle.

Early in the battle, the king was injured attacking Postumius. The ''magister equitum'' charged at Mamilius, and both were wounded: Aebutius in the arm, and the Latin dictator in the chest. The ''magister equitum'' had to withdraw from the field and direct his troops from a distance. The king's soldiers, including many exiled Romans, began to overpower the republican forces, and the Romans suffered a setback when [[Marcus Valerius Volusus]] was killed by a spear while attacking Titus Tarquinius. However, Postumius brought in fresh troops from his own bodyguard and halted the exiles' progress.

Meanwhile, [[Titus Herminius Aquilinus]], who had won fame fighting alongside [[Horatius Cocles|Horatius]] at the [[Pons Sublicius#Horatius Cocles at the bridge|Sublician bridge]], and served as consul in 506 BC, engaged Mamilius and slew him; but while attempting to strip his fallen enemy and claim the spoils, Herminius was killed by a javelin. As the outcome of the battle seemed in doubt, Postumius ordered the cavalry to dismount and attack on foot, forcing the Latins to retreat and capturing the Latin camp. Tarquin and the Latin army abandoned the field, resulting in a decisive Roman victory. Postumius returned to Rome with his army, and celebrated a [[Roman triumph|triumph]].<ref>Livy, [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 2#19|''History of Rome'', ii. 19–20.]]</ref><ref>[[Fasti Triumphales]]</ref>

A popular legend reported that the [[Dioscuri]], Castor and Pollux, fought alongside the Romans, transfigured as two young horsemen. Postumius ordered a [[Temple of Castor and Pollux|temple]] built in their honour in the [[Roman Forum]], in the place where they had watered their horses. According to [[Plutarch]], the battle was the young [[Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus|Coriolanus]]’ first military engagement, for which received an oak garland.

In the 19th century, the battle was celebrated in [[Thomas Macaulay]]'s ''[[Lays of Ancient Rome]]''.

==Notes==
{{notelist-lr}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
===Primary sources===
*{{cite wikisource |title=From the Founding of the City |author=Livy |translator=Canon Roberts |year=1905}} (print: ''Book 1 as The Rise of Rome, [[Oxford University Press]], 1998, {{ISBN|0-19-282296-9}}'')

===Secondary sources===
*{{cite book|authorlink=Michael Grant (author)|last=Grant|first=Michael|title=The History of Rome|publisher= [[Faber and Faber]]|year=1993|isbn=0-571-11461-X}}
*[[Livy]]: [[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab urbe condita]] [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 2#19|Book II cap. 19]]; [[s:From the Founding of the City/Book 2#20|20]].
*[http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/liv.html Ab Urbe Condita (Latin)]
*[http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/regillus.html ''The Battle of Lake Regillus''] poem from Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome".
*Cornell, Tim, ''The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars, C.1000-263 BC'', Routledge, 1995. {{ISBN|0-415-01596-0}}.
*Drago, Massimo, ''The battle of Lake Regillus'', Ancient Warfare magazine, 2013. {{issn| 2211-5129}}.

{{Ancient Roman Wars}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Lake Regillus}}
[[Category:490s BC conflicts]]
[[Category:496 BC]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Roman Republic|Lake Regillus]]
[[Category:5th century BC in the Roman Republic]]
[[Category:Castor and Pollux]]