104- An Interregnum and a Divine Acclamation

Between 716 and 715 BCE, Rome undergoes what becomes known as an interregnum- an inter regnum, or period between kings. Senators take five-day turns ruling the country, and then one year into it, Numa Pompilius becomes elected king! However, our Sabine protagonist just refuses to become monarch until all sorts of hoops have been jumped through...

Time period: 716- 715 BCE

Relevant individuals:

• Numa Pompilius, 2nd King of Rome

Sources for this episode:

• Cassius Dio (1961), Dio's Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.
• Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
• Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Plutarch (1938), Plutarch's Lives (Volume I). London and New York: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. and E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc.
• Sextus Aurelius Victor (1825), Galerie Romaine, ou les Hommes Illustres de Rome et les Cesars. Translated by A. Caillot. Paris.
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Olympiad (online) (Accessed 27/10/2025).