Legend has it that Rome was founded in 753 BCE and named after Romulus,
who was son of the God of war and who was rescued by a she-wolf.
Following a line of 7 legendary kings, the city turned from a monarchy into a republic,
a word derived from res publica, or “property of the people.”
The power of the monarch passed to two consuls annually elected by the citizens of Rome.
Real political power gradually became in the hands of the Senate: Although it initially included only
men from the patrician class, the Roman Republic is generally considered one of the earliest
examples of representative democracy. Throughout most of its existence,
the Republic was in a state of war and demonstrated extreme resilience.
After it was sacked by the Gauls in 390BCE, Rome rebounded and conquered
the whole Italian peninsula before waging 3 wars against its greatest enemy, Carthage.
Although it was initially defeated by general Hannibal who famously crossed the alps,
the Roman republic recovered and established itself as the dominant power following
the brutal destruction of Carthage. Continuous warfare led not only to Rome’s
growth but also to its cultural development: Besides the acquisition of Latin language from
Latium and the adoption of several cultural aspects from Etruria,
it was ancient Greece that influenced Rome the most, as apparent in its art and architecture.
Unlike Greek city-states however, which excluded foreigners,
Rome incorporated conquered peoples who adopted Roman ways into its social and political system.
At home, Rome experienced different crises which ended in civil wars,
some of them caused by mass slavery including the one led by Spartacus.
In the context of such internal turmoil, the office of dictator was revived by Sulla
and then later by Julius Caesar who crossed the Rubicon river to defeat Pompey in a civil war.
Julius Caesar emerged as a “dictator for life” but was quickly assassinated
by a group of senators rebelling against his authoritarian reforms.
These assassins were defeated by Caesar’s heir Octavian and Lieutenant Mark Antony,
who then turned against each other.
The defeat of Mark Antony who was based in Egypt alongside his ally and lover Cleopatra
at the decisive Battle of Actium, marked the end of Hellenistic Greece, the demise of the
Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. To avoid meeting his predecessor’s fate, Octavian
cleverly ensured to make his position as absolute ruler acceptable to the public by apparently
restoring the political institutions of the Roman Republic, while in reality maintaining all power.
For example, although we now refer to him as the first Roman emperor,
he never took that title and called himself “princeps”, which means first citizen.
Augustus’ rule brought much-needed stability and was followed by the Pax-Romana,
a 200-year-long Roman golden age of expansion and prosperity.
A series of Roman emperors would rule the Empire for centuries including Nero for
example who committed suicide after a reign of tyranny and extravagance
. With China, the Romans established regular
trade along the Silk Road whereas they were in continuous rivalry against the Persian empire.
Unlike most religions today, approval from the Roman gods did not depend on a person’s behavior,
but on perfectly accurate observance of religious rituals.
The Romans enjoyed public baths, public toilets, underground sewage systems and fountains.
None of these aquatic innovations would have been possible without the engineering marvel
of the Roman aqueduct, which moved water through gravity into cities,
promoting public health and sanitation. The development of Cement and Concrete and
the use of Arches partially explain why massive Roman Structures are still standing today.
Also, advancements in the construction of roads locks and keys, newspapers
and the concept of satire were either invented or improved upon by the Romans.
Following the Roman Crisis of the third Century, Diocletian decided to administratively
divide the very large empire by appointing a senior co-emperor and 2 junior successors.
The Greek-oriented East and Latin West gradually diverged and became rivals
as the Roman empire saw a series of civil wars between its co-emperors:
Constantine I emerged as the sole emperor and made Constantinople the new capital.
Although Jesus had been executed by Rome 3 centuries earlier,
Constantine legalized Christianity, as he became the first Christian Roman Emperor.
This new god, unlike the gods of old, had no special interest in Rome - he was the
god of all people, and this distanced the religion of Rome from the state of Rome.
Due to internal instability and invasions by Germanic tribes,
Rome was sacked multiple times and the once-mighty Roman empire declined forever,
marking the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.
The Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire, survived and remained an effective power for a thousand
years whereas the Holy Roman empire later rose in the west also for a thousand years.
Although both did not much resemble Ancient Rome,
such enthusiasm is a sign of how deep an impression Rome had left on later generations.
During its transformation from a kingdom to a Republic to an Empire,
Rome grew from a small village to dominate most of the known world
by displaying political and military prowess and ability to adapt and evolve.
Among the many Roman legacies are the widespread use of the Romance languages derived from Latin,
the modern Western alphabet and calendar and the
emergence of Christianity as a major world religion.