Ancient Rome

Rome, ancient

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Ancient Rome grew from a small prehistoric settlement on the Tiber River in Latium, in central Italy, into an empire that encompassed all of the Mediterranean world. The Romans developed a civilization that formed the basis for modern Western civilization. The history of Rome comprises three major epochs: the kingship, from the legendary foundation of Rome to 509 B.C.; the republic, from 509 B.C. to 31 B.C.; and the empire, which survived until Rome finally fell to the German chieftain Odoacer in A.D. 476.

The genius of the Romans lay in the military, in government administration, and in the law. Decisive but cautious imperialists, they valued crafty diplomacy as much as military discipline. The Romans conquered Greece, adopting Greek culture and transmitting it to the medieval world. Unlike the Greeks, they did not develop a philosophical theory of state and society; they were the practitioners of power and law. Roman civil law, which reached its peak under the emperors, excelled in precision of formulation and logic of thought; but it was a law of inequality and social prejudice, and that also became part of the Roman heritage.

Early Rome: the Kingship

According to legend, Rome was founded by descendants of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled to Italy after the fall of Troy. Two of those descendants were Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who were abandoned at birth and suckled by a bitch wolf. The brothers founded a town on the Palatine, one of the seven hills of Rome, and ruled it jointly for a while. They eventually quarreled, and Romulus killed his brother, becoming the sole ruler. According to tradition, Rome was founded on Apr. 21, 753 B.C.; the ancient Romans celebrated the anniversary of that day, and it is still a national holiday in Italy.

The earliest traces of human habitation in the territory of the city of Rome date from the Bronze Age (c.1500 B.C.), but archaeological evidence for continuity of settlement dates only from the 8th century. That evidence indicates the coexistence of Latins and Sabines, two different but closely related peoples. Although the Sabines spoke Oscan, Latin appears to have been the language of Rome from its earliest beginnings.

In the 7th century the Latin and Sabine villages coalesced to form a unified city on the eastern, or left, bank of the Tiber, about 24 km (15 mi) from its mouth. It was protected by strongholds on its hills, and it controlled the Tiber ford and the trade route to the central uplands. Rome soon outstripped other towns in Latium in wealth and power.

The Latin Kings.

According to later historians, who often freely mixed facts with legend, Romulus was succeeded as king by Numa Pompilius (c.715Ð'-673 B.C.). Numa's reign was long and peaceful, and the foundations of Roman law and religious practices are credited to him. The fourth king, according to tradition, was Ancus Marcius (r. 641Ð'-616), who is credited with founding the plebeian class and with building the first bridge across the Tiber; the latter feat allowed the Romans to extend their dominions westward toward the sea.

The Etruscan Kings.

In the late 7th century the Etruscans, an advanced people from Etruria, to the northwest of Latium, placed members of their royal family, the Tarquins, on the Roman throne. The Etruscan kings were Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), Servius Tullius (r. c.578Ð'-535), and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud). The Etruscans are generally credited with expanding the power and influence of Rome. Under their rule the marshes were drained, a large part of Latium was brought under Rome, and the Capitoline temple, the Circus Maximus, and the ancient Forum were built.

According to tradition, it was Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Tarquinius Superbus, who brought down the dynasty. His rape of Lucretia, a virtuous matron, supposedly turned the Romans against the Etruscan rulers. For whatever reason, the father, Tarquinius Superbus, was expelled in 510 B.C. The Roman Senate, which had originated as an advisory body to the monarch, decreed that Rome should have no more kings.

The Republic

The Roman republic, founded, according to tradition, in 509 B.C., had an aristocratic form of government. It was headed by the Senate and by magistrates, later called consulsÐ'--usually two in numberÐ'--who were elected annually by the Senate.

The Patricians versus the Plebeians.

The Senate was made up of the patriciansÐ'--the upper class; the general body of citizensÐ'--the plebeiansÐ'--were effectively frozen out of government. In the early 5th century the plebeians revolted and forced the Senate to accept their representatives, the tribunes, into the government.

In 445 B.C. the ban on intermarriage between the patricians and plebeians was removed. Gradually the plebeians gained admission to virtually all state offices, winning the consulship in 366. The struggle between the orders lasted for 200 years; it came to an end in 287 when the plebiscitesÐ'--the laws voted by the assembly of the plebeiansÐ'--became binding on all people, plebeians and patricians alike. The main benefactors of that development were the few plebeian families that gained riches and offices and mixed with the patricians to form a new governing class, called the nobility.

The Conquest of Italy.

Despite internal political conflict, Rome under the early republic continued to expand. The Romans warred with the Latin League (made up of other cities in Latium), but in 493, Rome concluded an alliance with the league. In time Rome dominated all Latium. With the help of the Latins the republic defeated various mountain tribes that pressed in on Latium. In 396 they destroyed the Etruscan city of Veii. A foreign calamity soon overtook Rome, however: tribes from Gaul crossed the Alps, shattered the Etruscan defenses, and sacked Rome in 390. Through perseverance and luck, combined with military prowess and cunning diplomacy, the Romans were able to reestablish their position. When the other Latin cities tried to assert their independence, Rome defeated them in the Latin War (340Ð'-338) and dissolved their league. The Romans fought intermittent wars (343Ð'-290) with the Samnites.

The Romans profited from the disunity among their adversaries. Although the Samnites, the Umbrians, the Etruscans, and even the Gauls belatedly united forces, they were crushed (295) at Sentinum (present-day Sassoferrato). Conflicts