Tullus Hostilius
Livy recounts this tale in the first book of his History of Rome. During the Roman king Tullus Hostilius' war with the neighboring city of Alba Longa, it was agreed that fighting a costly war between their armies would leave the door open for an Etruscan invasion. Sabine dictator Mettius Fufetius appealed to Tullus Hostilius that the conflict should be settled by a fight to the death between the Roman Horatii triplets and their Alban counterparts, known as the "Curiatii". They met on the battlefield between the lines as the two armies and their countrymen looked on.