Rome

History According to legend, the city of Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus on April 21, 753 BC, but archaeological evidence supports the theory that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill and in the area of the future Roman Forum, coalescing into a city in the 8th century BC. That city developed into the capital of the Roman Kingdom (ruled by a succession of seven kings, according to tradition), Roman Republic (from 510 BC, governed by the Senate), and finally the Roman Empire (from 31 BC, ruled by an Emperor); this success depended on military conquest, commercial predominance, as well as selective assimilation of neighboring civilizations, most notably the Etruscans and Greeks. Roman dominance expanded over most of Europe and the shores of the Mediterranean sea, while its population surpassed one million inhabitants. For almost a thousand years, Rome was the most politically important, richest and largest city in the Western world, and remained so after the Empire started to decline and was split, even if it ultimately lost its capital status to Milan and then Ravenna, and was surpassed in prestige by the Eastern capital Constantinople. 753 B.C. – According to legend, Romulus founds Rome 753-509 B.C. – Rule of the Seven Kings of Rome 509 B.C. – Creation of the Republic 390 B.C. – Gauls invade Rome. Rome is sacked. 264-146 B.C. – Punic Wars 146-44 B.C. – Social and Civil Wars. Emergence of Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar. Latium was a region of ancient Italy, home to the original Latin people. Its area is now part of the (much larger) modern Italian Regione of Lazio, also called Latium in Latin and also occasionally so in modern English. Their language later became the Roman language. Home to the Etruscans Etruscans – known today as the Tuscans. The Etruscan civilization is the English name given today to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy whom ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci. As distinguished by its own language, the civilization endured

from an unknown prehistoric time prior to the foundation of Rome until its complete assimilation to Italic Rome in the Roman Republic. At its maximum extent during the foundation period of Rome and the Roman kingdom, it flourished in three confederacies: of Etruria, of the Po valley with the eastern Alps, and of Latium and Campania.[4] Rome was sited in Etruscan territory. There is considerable evidence that early Rome was dominated by Etruscans until the Romans sacked Veii in 396 BC. Etruria — usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia — was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D.H. Lawrence's Sketches of Etruscan Places and other Italian essays. Etruscans – Came up with Sacral Kingship (the king is a priest). The Etruscan civilization was responsible for much of the Greek culture imported into Republican Rome, including the twelve Olympian gods, the growing of olives and grapes, the Latin alphabet (adapted from the Greek alphabet), and architecture like the arch, sewerage and drainage systems. Gave the Roman kings the title ‘pontifex maximus’ The Etruscans are believed to have spoken a non-Indo-European language. Knowledge of their language is still far from complete. The etymology of Tusci is based on a beneficiary phrase in the third Iguvine  tablet, which is a major source for the Umbrian language.[5] The phrase is  turskum ... numem, the Tuscan name, from which a root *Tursci can be  reconstructed.[6] A metathesis and an e­extension produce E­trus­ci.[7] A  common hypothesis is that *turs­ along with Latin turris, "tower", come from  Greek τύρσις, "tower."[8]. The Tusci were therefore the "people who build  towers"[8] or "the tower builders."[9] This venerable etymology is at least as old  as Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who said "And there is no reason why the Greeks  should not have called them by this name, both from their living in towers and  from the name of one of their rulers."[10] The Bonfantes speculate that Etruscan houses seemed like towers to the simple  Latins. It is true that the Etruscans preferred to build hill towns on high precipices  enhanced by walls. On the other hand if the Tyrrhenian name came from an 

incursion of sea peoples or later migrants (see below) then it might well be  related to the name of Troy, the city of towers in that case. Social Structure of Early Rome: King Patricians Equitates Plebians The kings began to screw the Patricians over.

753 B.C. – According to legend, Romulus founds Rome 753-509 B.C. – Rule of the Seven Kings of Rome 509 B.C. – Creation of the Republic 390 B.C. – Gauls invade Rome. Rome is sacked. 264-146 B.C. – Punic Wars 146-44 B.C. – Social and Civil Wars. Emergence of Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar. The Seven Kings Rome under the kings The reign of Romulus Romulus was not only Rome's first king but also the city's founder. In 753 BC, Romulus began building the city upon the Palatine Hill. After founding Rome, he invited criminals, runaway slaves, exiles, and other undesirables by granting them asylum. In this manner, Romulus populated five of the seven hills of Rome. To provide his citizens with wives, Romulus invited the neighboring Sabine tribe to a festival where he abducted the Sabine women and brought them back to Rome (remembered as the Rape of the Sabine Women). After the ensuing war with the Sabines, Romulus brought the Sabines and Romans under one ruler. Romulus divided the people of Rome between the able bodied men and those unfit for combat. The fighting men became the Roman legions consisting of 6000 infantry and 600 cavalry. The rest became the people of Rome and out of these people,

Romulus selected 100 of the most noble men to serve as senators in an advisory council for the king, the Roman Senate. These men he called patricians, and their descendants would become the republican nobles and elite. With the union between the Romans and Sabines, Romulus added another 100 members to the Senate of Sabine birth. Also under Romulus' reign, the Comitia Curiata was instituted. To form the basis of the Comitia Curiata, Romulus divided the people of Rome into three tribes: one for Romans, a second for Sabines, and a third for all others. Each tribe elected ten representatives, known as curiae, to form a single voting body. Romulus would convene the Curiate and lay proposals from either himself or the Senate before the Curiate for ratification. All proposals passed before the Comitia Curiata were either unanimously supported or unanimously defeated as the majority of curiate voting was viewed as the opinion of the entire Curiate. After thirty-eight years as king of Rome, Romulus had fought in several successful wars, expanding the control of Rome over all of Latium and many of the surrounding areas. Romulus also instituted the augurs as part of the Roman religion. Romulus would be remembered as early Rome's greatest conqueror and as one of the men with the most pietas in Roman history. After his death at the age of fifty-four, Romulus was deified as the war god Quirinus and served not only as one of the three major gods of Rome but also as the deified likeness of the city of Rome. The reign of Numa Pompilius After Romulus' strange and mysterious death, the kingship fell to Numa Pompilius. Though first unwilling to serve as king, his father convinced him to take up the position as a service to the gods. Celebrated for his natural wisdom, Numa’s reign was marked by peace and prosperity. Numa reformed the Roman calendar by adjusting it for the solar and lunar year as well as by adding the months of January and February to bring the total number of months to twelve. Numa instituted several of Rome's religious rituals including the Salii, and a flamen maioris to serve as the chief priest to Quirinus, the Flamen Quirinalis. Numa organized the area in and around Rome

into districts for easier management. He is also credited with the organization of Rome’s first occupational guilds. Numa is remembered as the most religious of the kings (surpassing even Romulus), and during his reign, he introduced the flamens, the vestal virgins of Rome, the pontiffs and the College of Pontiffs. Under his administration, temples to Vesta and Janus were constructed. Also during his reign, it was said that a shield from Jupiter fell from the sky with the fate of Rome written on it. Numa ordered eleven copies of the shield to be created and these shields became sacred to the Romans. As a peace loving and gentle man, Numa planted ideas of meekness and justice within the minds of the Romans. The doors to the Temple of Janus were never open a single day as Numa waged no wars during his entire four decades of rule. He would reign for forty-one years as King and would die a natural, peaceful death. The reign of Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius was much like Romulus in his warlike behavior and completely unlike Numa in his lack of respect for the gods. Tullus waged war against Alba Longa, Fidenae, and Veii, thus granting Rome even greater territory and power. It was during Tullus' reign that the city of Alba Longa was completely destroyed and Tullus enslaved the population and sent them back to Rome. Tullus desired war so much that he even waged another war against the Sabines. With the coming of Tullus’ reign, the Romans lost their desire for peace. Tullus fought so many wars that he completely neglected the worship of the gods. Legend has it that because of this, a plague infected the city, and Tullus himself was among the infected. When Tullus called upon Jupiter and begged assistance, Jupiter responded with a bolt of lightning that burned the king and his house to ashes. Despite his war-like nature, Tullus Hostilius selected and represented the third group of people to make up Rome’s patrician class consisting of those who had come to Rome seeking asylum and a new life. He also constructed a new home for the Senate, the Curia, which survived for over 500 years after

his death. His reign lasted for 31 years. The reign of Ancus Marcius Following Tullus’ mysterious death, the Romans elected a peaceful and religious king in his place. The king they elected was Numa’s grandson, Ancus Marcius. Much like his grandfather, Ancus did little to expand the borders of Rome and only fought war when his territories needed defending. He also built Rome's first prison on the Capitoline Hill. During his reign, Janiculum Hill on the western bank was fortified to further protect Rome, and the first bridge across the Tiber River was built. He would also found Rome’s port of Ostia on the Tyrrhenian Sea and establish Rome’s first salt works. During his reign, Rome's size increased as Ancus used diplomacy to peacefully join some of the smaller surrounding cities into alliance with Rome. Through this method, he completed the conquest of the Latins and relocated them to the Aventine Hill, thus forming the plebeian class of Romans. He would die a natural death, like his grandfather before him, after 25 years as King, and would be remembered as one of Rome’s greatest pontiffs. The reign of Tarquinius Priscus Tarquinius Priscus was not only Rome’s fifth king but also the first of Etruscan birth (through Greek ancestry). After emigrating to Rome, he found favour with Ancus, who later adopted him as his son. Upon becoming king, he waged wars against the Sabines and Etruscans, which doubled the size of Rome and brought great treasures to the city. One of his first reforms was to add one hundred new members to the Senate from the conquered Etruscan tribes, bringing the total number of senators to three hundred. He used the treasures Rome had acquired from the conquests to build great monuments for Rome. Among these were Rome’s great sewer systems, the Cloaca Maxima, which he used to drain the swamp-like area between the Seven Hills of Rome. In the swamp’s place, he began what would become the Roman Forum. He also instituted the

founding of the Roman games. The most famous of his great building projects is the Circus Maximus, a giant stadium used for chariot races which, to this day, remains the largest stadium in the world. Priscus followed up the Circus Maximus by beginning a temple-fortress to the god Jupiter upon the Capitoline Hill. Unfortunately, he was killed after 38 years as King at the hands of Ancus Marcius’ sons before it could be completed. His reign is best remembered for introducing the Roman symbols of military and civil offices as well as the introduction of the Roman Triumph, being the first Roman to celebrate one. The reign of Servius Tullius The City of the Four Regions, roughly corresponding to the city limits during the later kingdom. The division is traditionally, though probably incorrectly, attributed to Servius Tullius. The City of the Four Regions, roughly corresponding to the city limits during the later kingdom. The division is traditionally, though probably incorrectly, attributed to Servius Tullius. Following Priscus’s death, his son-in-law Servius Tullius succeeded him to the throne, the second king of Etruscan birth to rule Rome. Like his father-in-law before him, Servius fought successful wars against the Etruscans. He used the treasure from the campaigns to build the first walls to fully encompass the Seven Hills of Rome, the pomerium. He also brought about reforms within the Roman army. He was renowned for implementing a new constitution for the Romans, further developing the citizen classes. He instituted the world’s first census which divided the people of Rome into five economic classes, and formed the Century Assembly. He also used his census to divide the people within Rome into four urban tribes based upon location within the city, establishing the Tribal Assembly. His reign is also given credit for building the temple to Diana on the Aventine Hill. Servius’ reforms brought about a major change in Roman life: voting rights were now based upon economic wealth, transferring much of the power into the hands of the Roman elite. However, as time passed, Servius increasingly favored the most

impoverished people in order to obtain favors from the plebs. His legislation was very distasteful to the patrician order. Tullius’s reign of forty-four years was brought to an end after his assassination in a conspiracy led by his own daughter Tullia and her husband Tarquinius Superbus. The reign of Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud) The seventh and final king of Rome was Tarquinius Superbus. As the son of Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius, Tarquinius was also of Etruscan birth. It was also during his reign that the Etruscans reached their apex of power. More than other kings before him, Tarquinius used violence, murder, and terrorism to maintain control over Rome. He repealed many of the earlier constitutional reforms set down by his predecessors. He and his lover (his sister in law) plotted to kill their spouses and take over Rome. Tarquinius removed and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars from the Tarpeian Rock, enraging the people of Rome. The people came to object to his rule when he allowed the rape of Lucretia, a patrician Roman, at the hands of his own son. Lucretia’s kinsman, Lucius Junius Brutus (ancestor to Marcus Brutus), summoned the Senate and had Tarquinius and the monarchy expelled from Rome in 510 BC. After Tarquinius’ expulsion, the Senate voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a republican government in 509 BC. Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, a member of the Tarquin family and Lucretia's widower, went on to become the first consuls of Rome’s new government. This new government would lead the Romans to conquer most of the Mediterranean world and would survive for the next five hundred years until the rise of Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus. Even then, the trappings of the republic were not entirely done away with; the republic would survive in a debased form until the Dominate. 753 B.C. – According to legend, Romulus founds Rome 753-509 B.C. – Rule of the Seven Kings of Rome 509 B.C. – Creation of the Republic

390 B.C. – Gauls invade Rome. Rome is sacked. 264-146 B.C. – Punic Wars 146-44 B.C. – Social and Civil Wars. Emergence of Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar. Brutus the Stupid Not really stupid….just acting. Rises up and ousts Tarquinius Superbus and his son, Sextus Tarquinius. Sent Etruscan Kings back to their homeland c. 509 B.C. Counsuls – could only serve 2 years Res publica – Public thing Only elected representatives will rule with imperial power Fasces – Fascism The 12 Tables – Akin to England’s Magna Carta or the U.S. Constitution