The
King of Rome was the
chief magistrate of the
Roman Kingdom. According to
legend, the first king of Rome was
Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the
Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for an average of 35 years. Since Rome's records were destroyed in
390 BC when the city was sacked, it is impossible to know for certain how many kings actually ruled the city, or if any of the deeds attributed to the individual kings, by later writers, are accurate.