Battle in c.509 BCE between the Roman Republic and Etruscan Tarquinii and Veii forces
The Battle of Silva Arsia was the Roman Republic's first major military victory, repelling the deposed king Tarquin the Proud's attempt to reclaim Rome with Etruscan allies.
Key Facts
- Date
- 509 BC
- Roman source
- Livy, History of Rome, Book 2
- Outcome
- Roman Republican victory
- Notable duel
- Consul Brutus and Aruns Tarquinius killed each other
- Location
- Silva Arsia (Arsian forest), exact site unknown
- Part of
- Roman-Etruscan Wars
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last king of Rome, was expelled from the city around 509 BC with the founding of the Roman Republic. Unwilling to accept his removal, he sought military support from the Etruscan cities of Tarquinii and Veii to retake the throne by force.
Republican Roman forces met the Etruscan army of Tarquinii and Veii, led by the exiled king Tarquin the Proud, in battle in the Silva Arsia forest near the border of Roman and Veientine territory. Roman consul Lucius Junius Brutus and Tarquin's son Aruns killed each other in single combat during the engagement, which ended in a Roman victory.
The Roman Republic successfully repelled this attempt by Tarquin to regain power, consolidating its early independence. The battle is regarded as one of several failed efforts by Tarquin to reclaim the throne and forms part of the broader series of conflicts between Rome and Etruscan cities known as the Roman-Etruscan Wars.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Lucius Junius Brutus.
Side B
1 belligerent
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud), Aruns Tarquinius.