The Birth and Growth of Rome

Opposite The Face of Caesar

Julius Caesar remains one of the most controversial figures in Roman history. His skills as a military leader expanded the Roman Empire and brought great wealth and political stability. But he also became the first absolute ruler, overthrowing 500 years of democracy and changing Rome forever.

HUMAN LIFE IN WHAT IS NOW ITALY DATES BACK TO AT LEAST 700,000 B. C.E. The Romans did not have evidence of these early hunters and gatherers, so they relied on legends to mark the start of their history. During the rule of Augustus Caesar, the date of April 21, 753 b. c.e., was accepted for the founding of Rome. The founder, Romulus, was said to have been a descendent of Aeneas, a Greek hero who fled his homeland of Troy and settled in Latium. The name of this region in central Italy is the root of the English word Latin, the language the Romans spoke. Latin also refers to one of the tribes of Latium.

The story of Romulus is part of modern legends as well. Students still learn that he and his brother Remus were the sons of Mars, the Roman god of war, and Rhea Silvia, who was related to Aeneas. The two brothers were abandoned, left to die in a basket sent down a river. Instead, a female wolf found them and raised them. As adults the two brothers decided to found a city near the spot where they were rescued as babies. Romulus then killed Remus when they argued over who would rule their new city, which became Rome.

The truth of Rome’s founding lacks the drama and bloodshed of Romulus’s tale. The city began as a series of villages that dotted seven hills near the Tiber River. The hills gave the residents a good view of the countryside and were easy to defend from enemy attack. The river gave the early Romans access to foreign trade.

The Latins dominated the seven hills of early Rome. Their neighbors in the central Italian peninsula included the Sabines, Samnites, Campani, and Volsci. The most important group, however, was the Etruscans, who dominated the central part of the Italian peninsula. The Etruscans’ land,

Etruria, was just north of Rome along the Italian peninsula’s western coast. (Modern Italy’s Tuscany region is named for them.) The Etruscans traded with the Greeks and Phoenicians, who shared their cultures. The Greeks were especially crucial in shaping Etruscan culture. By 750 B. C.E., the Greeks were starting small colonies in parts of the Italian peninsula, as well as trading with the Etruscans and other Italian peoples. The Greeks were part of a thriving system of trade carried out across the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Etruscans offered them and other distant traders a variety of natural resources, including copper, tin, olive oil, and grains. As trade increased, the Etruscans built larger towns and cities, which united in leagues.

The Etruscans

For many years, historians had trouble uncovering details about the Etruscans. Their language used letters similar to the ones in the Greek alphabet, but their words were totally different from the other ancient languages of the Mediterranean re-gion. The Etruscan writings that have been discovered have not yet been translated, although experts have been able to understand enough words to get a rough idea of some of the concepts expressed in these writings. Most information about the Etruscans comes from the art and artifacts they left behind. Ancient Greek and Roman historians sometimes described the Etruscans, but these descriptions were written to serve the interests of the Greeks or Romans and not all of the information is correct.