(Porsenna), an Etruscan ruler of the city of Clusium in the sixth century B.C.
According to legend, Porsena led a war against Rome in 508–507 B.C. in order to restore to power the Etruscan Tarquinian dynasty that had been expelled from Rome at the end of the sixth century B.C. Roman tradition surrounding the war extols the heroism of the defenders of Rome, which allegedly compelled Porsena to lift the siege and conclude a peace on terms honorable to Rome. According to another, more reliable, version preserved by the Roman historian Tacitus in his History (III, 72, 1), Porsena took Rome.