Lucumo and Caelius came to the assistance of Romulus, an
allusion to the expedition of Caeles Vibenna, which however belongs to a
much later period. The Sabine king, Tatius, was induced by treachery to
settle on the hill which is called the Tarpeian _arx_. Between the
Palatine and the Tarpeian rock a battle was fought, in which neither
party gained a decisive victory, until the Sabine women threw themselves
between the combatants, who agreed that henceforth the sovereignty
should be divided between the Romans and the Sabines. According to the
annals, this happened in the fourth year of Rome.
But this arrangement lasted only a short time; Tatius was slain during a
sacrifice at Lavinium, and his vacant throne was not filled up. During
their common reign, each king had a senate of one hundred members, and
the two senates, after consulting separately, used to meet, and this was
called _comitium_. Romulus during the remainder of his life ruled alone;
the ancient legend knows nothing of his having been a tyrant: according
to Ennius he continued, on the contrary, to be a mild and benevolent
king, while Tatius was a tyrant.
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