Founded in about 753BC, Rome was built on a strategic position at the lowest crossing point on the River Tiber. For most of the sixth century, it was a minor city, ruled by a succession of Etruscan kings. The seventh king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was a cruel tyrant and, in 509, the Romans overthrew him in a popular uprising. Rather than installing a new king, the Romans decided to abandon monarchic government and establish a new system of annually elected magistrates called consuls. The consuls would be advised by an assembly of prominent citizens called the Senate. The Roman Republic was born.