![]() Curia Hostilia in red with the Republican Comitium diagram | |
Location | Region VIII Forum Romanum |
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Coordinates | 41°53′35″N 12°29′07″E / 41.89306°N 12.48528°E |
Type | Government building |
History | |
Builder | Tullus Hostilius |
Founded | 7th century BC |
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Ancient Rome and the fall of the Republic |
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The Curia Hostilia was one of the original senate houses or "curiae" of the Roman Republic. It was believed to have begun as a temple where the warring tribes laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (r. c. 771–717 BC). During the early monarchy, the temple was used by senators acting as a council to the king. Tullus Hostilius (r. 673–641 BC)[1] was believed to have replaced the original structure after fire destroyed the converted temple. It may have held historic significance as the location of an Etruscan mundus and altar.[citation needed] The Lapis Niger, a series of large black marble slabs, was placed over the altar (known as the Volcanal) where a series of monuments was found opposite the Rostra. This curia was enlarged in 80 BC by Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his renovations of the comitium. That building burned down in 52 BC when the supporters of the murdered Publius Clodius Pulcher used it as a pyre to cremate his body.