[3,31] Ἐν ᾧ δὲ ταῦτ´ ἐγίνετο χρόνῳ, Μάρκος Ὁράτιος ὁ προαπεσταλμένος μετὰ τῶν ἐπιλέκτων ἐπὶ τὴν καθαίρεσιν τῆς Ἄλβας ταχέως διανύσας τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ καταλαβὼν πύλας τε ἀκλείστους καὶ τεῖχος ἀφύλακτον εὐπετῶς γίνεται τῆς πόλεως κύριος. συναγαγὼν δὲ τὸ πλῆθος εἰς ἐκκλησίαν τά τε πραχθέντα κατὰ τὴν μάχην ἅπαντα ἐδήλωσεν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸ ψήφισμα τῆς Ῥωμαίων βουλῆς διεξῆλθεν. ἀντιβολούντων δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ χρόνον εἰς πρεσβείαν αἰτουμένων οὐδεμίαν ἀναβολὴν ποιησάμενος τὰς μὲν οἰκίας καὶ τὰ τείχη καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο κατασκεύασμα ἰδιωτικὸν ἢ δημόσιον ἦν κατέσκαπτε, τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους μετὰ πολλῆς φροντίδος παρέπεμπεν εἰς Ῥώμην ἄγοντάς τε τὰ ἑαυτῶν χρήματα καὶ φέροντας· οὓς ὁ Τύλλος ἀφικόμενος ἀπὸ στρατοπέδου ταῖς Ῥωμαίων φυλαῖς καὶ φράτραις ἐπιδιεῖλεν οἰκήσεις τε συγκατεσκεύασεν ἐν οἷς αὐτοὶ προῃροῦντο τῆς πόλεως τόποις καὶ τῆς δημοσίας γῆς τὴν ἀρκοῦσαν τοῖς θητεύουσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπεμέριζε ταῖς τε ἄλλαις φιλανθρωπίαις ἀνελάμβανε τὸ πλῆθος. ἡ μὲν δὴ τῶν Ἀλβανῶν πόλις, ἣν ἔκτισεν Ἀσκάνιος ὁ ἐξ Αἰνείου τοῦ Ἀγχίσου καὶ Κρεούσης τῆς Πριάμου θυγατρός, ἔτη διαμείνασα μετὰ τὸν οἰκισμὸν πεντακόσια τριῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς δέκα δέοντα, ἐν οἷς πολλὴν ἔσχεν ἐπίδοσιν εἰς εὐανδρίαν τε καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἅπασαν εὐδαιμονίαν ἡ τὰς τριάκοντα Λατίνων ἀποικίσασα πόλεις καὶ πάντα τὸν χρόνον ἡγησαμένη τοῦ ἔθνους, ὑπὸ τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀποικήσεως καθαιρεθεῖσα ἔρημος εἰς τόδε χρόνου διαμένει. Βασιλεὺς δὲ Τύλλος τὸν ἐπιόντα χειμῶνα διαλιπὼν ἔαρος ἀρχομένου στρατὸν ἐπὶ Φιδηναίους πάλιν ἐξάγει. τοῖς δὲ Φιδηναίοις κοινῇ μὲν οὐδ´ ἡτισοῦν βοήθεια ἐξ οὐδεμιᾶς τῶν συμμαχίδων ἀφίκετο πόλεων, μισθοφόροι δέ τινες ἐκ πολλῶν συνερρύησαν τόπων, οἷς πιστεύσαντες ἐθάρρησαν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως προελθεῖν· παραταξάμενοι δὲ καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἀποκτείναντες ἐν τῇ μάχῃ, πολλῷ δ´ ἔτι πλείους ἀποβαλόντες κατεκλείσθησαν πάλιν εἰς τὸ ἄστυ. ὡς δὲ περιχαρακώσας αὐτῶν τὴν πόλιν ὁ Τύλλος καὶ περιταφρεύσας εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην κατέκλεισε τοὺς ἔνδον ἀπορίαν, ἠναγκάσθησαν τῷ βασιλεῖ παραδοῦναι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐφ´ οἷς αὐτὸς ἐβούλετο. γενόμενος δὲ τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς πόλεως κύριος τοὺς αἰτίους τῆς ἀποστάσεως ἀποκτείνας, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἅπαντας ἀπολύσας καὶ τὰ σφέτερα πάντα καρποῦσθαι τὸν αὐτὸν ἐάσας τρόπον τήν τε πολιτείαν, ἣν πρότερον εἶχον, ἀποδοὺς αὐτοῖς διέλυσε τὴν στρατιὰν καὶ παραγενόμενος εἰς Ῥώμην τὴν τροπαιοφόρον ἀπεδίδου τοῖς θεοῖς πομπήν τε καὶ θυσίαν δεύτερον ἐκεῖνον κατάγων θρίαμβον.

[3,31] In the meantime Marcus Horatius, who (p137) had been sent on with the picked troops to destroy Alba, having quickly made the march and finding the gates open and the walls unguarded, easily made himself master of the city. Then, assembling the people, he informed them of everything which had happened during the battle and read to them the decree of the Roman senate. And though the inhabitants had recourse to supplications and begged for time in which to send an embassy, he proceeded without any delay to raze the houses and walls and every other building, both public and private; but he conducted the inhabitants to Rome with great care, permitting them to take their animals and their goods with them. And Tullus, upon arriving from the camp, distributed them among the Roman tribes and curiae, assisted them in building houses in such parts of the city as they themselves preferred, allotted a sufficient portion of the public lands to those of the labouring class, and by other acts of humanity relieved the needs of the multitude. Thus the city of Alba, which had been built by Ascanius, the son whom Aeneas, Anchises' son, had by Creusa, the daughter of Priam, after having stood for four hundred and eighty- seven years from its founding, during which time it had greatly increased in population, wealth and every form of prosperity, and after having colonized the thirty cities of the Latins and during all this time held the leadership of that nation, was destroyed by the last colony it had planted, and remains uninhabited to this day. (p139) King Tullus, after letting the following winter pass, led out his army once more against the Fidenates at the beginning of spring. These had publicly received no assistance whatever from any of the cities in alliance with them, but some mercenaries had resorted to them from many places, and relying upon these, they were emboldened to come out from their city; then, after arraying themselves for battle and slaying many in the struggle that ensued and losing even more of their own men, they were again shut up inside the town. And when Tullus had surrounded the city with palisades and ditches and reduced those within to the last extremity, they were obliged to surrender themselves to the king upon his own terms. Having in this manner become master of the city, Tullus put to death the authors of the revolt, but released all the rest, leaving them in the enjoyment of all their possessions in the same manner as before and restoring to them their previous form of government. He then disbanded his army, and returning to Rome, rendered to the gods the trophy- bearing procession and sacrifices of thanksgiving, this being the second triumph he celebrated.