A Brief History Of The Roman Empire, Part 1: The Founding Of Rome

Rome is perhaps the most famous culture of all, perhaps more than any other. The West’s seminal civilization. Over the centuries, a tiny town on the banks of the Tiber would be transformed into the beating heart of the greatest empire of antiquity — a shining city of marble that housed over a million souls with architectural marvels that could not be equalled for over a millennia.

This is to give you some context: The population of London, capital of the British Empire and the greatest imperial power ever, was not one million in the early 19th century. It was decades before indoor plumbing was invented.

Romans had Both The 1st century.

Rome is where all of our political, legal, and religious traditions are rooted: Rome has been home to dictators, republics, and civil law. Roman Catholic Church and its Protestant offshoots, and the Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian … even English, that bastard mutt of a tongue, did not emerge unscathed.) Latin was the West’s liturgical and scientific language from the 16th Century onwards. Latin has been the international language of educated persons since the late twentieth century.

People have often wondered how such a mighty empire fell, but in many ways the more interesting question is — why did it rise in the first place, and why didn’t it fall far sooner? It didn’t collapse in the face centuries of crises that would have brought all civilizations to their knees.

While all empires fall, the Romans’ legendary founding lasted over a millennium (two if you include the Byzantines) and their legacy continues to be strong. It is the extraordinary that needs explanation.

Ignoring Origins

The Romans were a legalistic and martial people who built empires through conquest. Aeneas, their distant ancestor was a refugee from The Trojan War. Romulus was the founder and first of their mythical Kings. He was allegedly the son of Mars, god war, who killed his twin brother for challenging his city’s boundaries. 

Archeological evidence indicates that Rome’s site was continuously inhabited from 12,000 BC onward, but none of these settlements were cities. Small villages of Latin speakers spread across the hills of Rome began to merge into larger urban settlements around the mythical city’s founding in 753 BC.

According to Rome’s own telling, its first inhabitants were brigands, runaways, and the castoffs that no respectable people would deal with — Romulus could supposedly find only 100 out of the entire lot pious enough to perform religious duties without angering the gods — the first patriarchs of what would become the patricians, and the first members of the city’s senate. Romulus lurched the tribes nearby to the city for a festival, ambushed them all, and kidnapped as many of their daughters possible.

This is not the most flattering origin story.

Their neighbors took exception to this, especially the Sabines. Peace was achieved only when the Sabine brides captured begged their husbands and brothers not to kill one another. The state and senator were then incorporated into the Sabine tribes, which doubled its numbers. The early Senate was responsible for choosing and advising the Kings, and after Romulus’s death — and a year of deadlock — the Sabines were granA concession was made: A Sabine would become king, but it was up to the Roman senators to choose.

They chose Numa Pomilius as their choice, an ascetic who didn’t want the job. She went on to establish most of Rome’s major religious institutions and elevated the city to semirespectable status with its neighbors.

The temple of Janus, the god of change, beginnings, and endings, was situated in the city’s heart. This temple is also the namesake for the month January. The Gates of Janus stood in the middle of this temple. The gates were locked when Rome was at peace. However, they were open when Rome was at war. These gates were closed for the whole reign of Numa. But they would remain open in the years that followed.

Most early Roman records are at least semi-mythical and probably wrong — no comparable kingdom ever had a stretch of seven kings reign for an average of 35 years, but there are helpful clues within the myths. Rome is located in the middle the Italian peninsula. It was an important trading point between the Greek colonies to the south (Magna Graecia), and the powerful Etruscan city states to the north.

Getty Images

Aeneas, the bloodline that connected the Latins and the greatest Greek mythology work, was important because Rome would take much of its religion from them. We can’t say much about the Etruscans — we can’t even read all of their language, but the last three kings of Rome came from an Etruscan family so it’s safe to say that the city fell under their dominion at some point. Tarquinius Superb, the city’s final king.Tarquin, the Proud, us Actually His brother was murdered, political opponents were executed, and the treasury was drained dry. However, whatever Rome’s experience in monarchy was at the end of the ordeal, they were done with it.

Thus, in 509 BC (one year before Athenian Democracy was born in 508, conveniently) the world’s first Republic was created — “res publica,” The public thing.

“From A Brief History Of Rome, Part 1: Rome Founding“

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