How did Servius Tullius die?
Servius Tullius
The details of Servius' servile birth, miraculous conception and links with divine Fortuna were doubtless embellished after his own time, but the core may have been propagated during his reign.[48] His unconstitutional and seemingly reluctant accession, and his direct appeal to the Roman masses over the heads of the senate may have been interpreted as signs of tyranny. Under these circumstances, an extraordinary personal charisma must have been central to his success. When Servius expanded Rome's influence and boundaries, and reorganised its citizenship and armies, his "new Rome" was still centered on the Comitium, the Casa Romuli or "hut" of Romulus. Servius became a second Romulus, a benefactor to his people, part human, part divine;[49] but his slave origins remain without parallel, and make him all the more remarkable: for Cornell, this is "the most important single fact about him".[50] The story of his servile birth evidently circulated far beyond Rome; Mithridates VI of Pontus sneered that Rome had made kings of servos vernasque Tuscorum (Etruscan slaves and domestic servants).[51]