Rome Rise and Fall of an Empire: At its greatest strength, almost 2,000 years ago, the Roman empire was the mightiest in the world.
Nearly 60 million people lived under Roman rule in lands stretching from Asia Minor and Africa to Britain, about the same size as the United States.
Intrigued by the remarkable history of Rome? Our first article delves into the beginnings of Rome, so you can get a solid grasp of the foundation that led to the rise and fall of this mighty empire.
With this understanding, you’ll be ready to experience the incredible journey of Rome’s captivating history in our upcoming articles on the “Rome Rise and Fall of an Empire.
How did such a huge empire begin? It all starts with Rome’s humble and mysterious origin, the mighty city that sits on the banks of the Tiber river.
Rome’s history is a fascinating mix of fact and fiction, combining archeological and scientific discoveries with ancient stories about gods and goddesses, mortals and murders, cruel kings, and lost civilizations.
I condensed the most important historical books to ask questions such as
- What was before Rome?
- What caused the rise of the Roman Empire?
- Why did Romulus kill Remus?
- Where are the oldest sights in Rome?
- What was before the Roman Empire?
- How the Romans populated the City?
You can listen this episode on Spotify:
What was before Rome?
A very long time ago, when Rome still didn’t exist, the few area inhabitants were very primitive shepherds.
They lived in wooden huts on top of the hills by the River Tiber.
They came down into the valley for water or to fish.
Slowly, Rome grew into a vast, bustling city with public arenas, beautiful monuments, gardens, and temples.
And fountains: a lot of fountains! When you visit Rome, you will be shocked at how much water is running 24/7 in all the streets (We call these little fountains nasoni).
Early on, it was governed as a republic, with power held by the people. By 27 BCE, the Republic had been overthrown.
Augustus became the first Roman emperor (he was also the adopted son of Julius Caesar).
At its peak, the vast Roman Empire ruled most of Europe and the Mediterranean Region.
Everything is started with legions of soldiers.
Today, we have legions of tourists marching across Europe to see the triumphal arches, gladiator arenas, and the rest of the streets & temples.
All this was left behind by the grandest of civilizations.
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Who ruled before the Romans?
The Romans began as Latins, one of many people living in Italy.
Including Greeks in the south and a mysterious people called the Etruscans in the north.
The Etruscans had a significant influence on the Romans, and I want to talk about them in this episode’s second block.
What caused the rise of the Roman Empire?
Rome rose from a small Etruscan town to become the capital of a vast empire.
The mix of the ingredients for success was simple: conquest, assimilation, and effective administration.
In short, classical Rome lasted for a thousand years.
During the first 200 years, Rome was ruled by seven kings.
For 300, it was a Republic, governed by The Senate, a gathering of Rome’s most important men.
And for the last 500 years, it was an empire.
What were the main factors that led to the rise of Rome?
Rome’s history goes back perhaps as far as 1000 BCE when farming settlements of Latins started to appear in this part of central Italy.
There were many hills in the area, and settlements on two of them: the Palatine hill and Capitoline Hill, grew to become a central part of Rome.
There were other settlements. On the top of the seven hills, all of them came together to form a small kingdom.
Near the Tiber River’s mouth, this position was perfect: it was ideal for trade because this was the narrowest passage between the North Italy of the Etruscans and the Greeks’ South Italy.
Also, on a river, it was possible to sail but far from the Sea full of pirates.
When was the rise of Rome?
But the Romans believed that they were descended from a Trojan prince: Aeneas. He escaped Troy in 1184 BCE with his small son and elderly father, whom he carried on his back.
Aeneas led a group of surviving Trojans through the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily, Carthage, and eventually the Italian Peninsula.
On landing in Italy, he was welcomed by Latinus, king of the early Latins. Soon, Aeneas married king Latinus‘ daughter, Lavinia, and founded the city of Lavinium in her name.
Latinus later fell in war, making Aeneas king of the Latins and his son Ascanius, his successor.
Two of the Aeneas’s descendants were the twins Romulus and Remus.
The twins’ wicked uncle, Amulius, had them set afloat in their cradle on the River Tiber, but they were rescued and suckled by a passing she-wolf.
When the boys grew up, they killed their uncle and decided to build a new city on the Tiber banks’ seven hills.
The Romans, and before them, the Etruscans, relied heavily on the act of auspication: the ability to interpret the future from lightning bolts or the flight of birds.
The sky’s sector where a bird flew was a determining factor to interpret the gods’ will be based on the quadrant in which the relevant deity resided.
The aspiration was an essential part of the politics of Rome. Before any decision of State was made, omens were observed through the flight of birds.
Sinister derives from sinistra, the Latin word for ‘left.’ It was considered an ill omen if the birds flew in that direction.
The negative connotations of being left-handed have continued for centuries.
The founding of Rome itself was based on auspication.
When the two feuding brothers, Romulus and Remus, could not agree on the city’s site, they decided to test their abilities as augurs.
Romulus saw twelve vultures settle on the Palatine Hill while Remus saw only six alight upon the Aventine.
An exciting way to settle an argument, but the dispute escalated quickly, and one brother killed the other.
Romulus then became the first king of the new city, which was named after him.
Why did Romulus kill Remus?
None of this story is true, but it’s essential as a foundation myth.
This story must have seemed an appropriate metaphor for the Romans.
It explained how such a “civilized” people as they considered themselves, could have grown out of such “barbarian” surroundings.
The Romans needed to claim a link with the Trojans, the Greek’ great rivals.
Excavations at the Troy/Ilios have found artifacts that showed the Trojans were, in fact, indigenous to the region and related to the Indo-European people who migrated to the area.
The Roman poet Virgil wrote the Aeneid telling Aneas’ story as a deliberate attempt to provide the Romans with an equivalent of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
The Story of Romulus and Remus shows the Romans as chosen by fate or by the gods. It also shows how far a sibling rivalry can be taken!
3 Remarkable sights for a visit
The areas that I suggest for your visits, when I Rome, it’s composed of 3 walks:
Palatine Hill was the hill where Romulus founded the city. After you visit the Colosseum, with the same ticket, you’ll be able to access the Palatine. Don’t exit from the historical site, but go to:
The Forum. On the ground opposite the Curia, you’ll find the Lapis Niger with the so-called Tomb of Romulus, which was possibly the Temple of Vulcan.
It contains an inscription, which is the oldest Latin writing known, spelled in the ancient boustrophedonic style (in alternating lines going in opposite directions).
It seems to be a protective formula declaring the site’s sanctity, which must have been used for votive offering, possibly connected with events held in the Comitium.
When writing this guide, 2021, this site is closed due to work in progress despite its great interest. But I hope that it will become an accessible part of the Roman Forum Experience in the next future.
The third place is Largo Sant’Omobono, it’s close to the two sites cited above. The zone is free and highly fascinating.
The deeper layers have revealed 9th- to 6th-century BC objects, for both domestic and cult uses, of Roman, Greek, and Etruscan manufacture.
This suggests an inhabited spot that served as a meeting place for some of the ancient peoples who lived here before Rome was founded, and of whom our knowledge hovers between legend and history.
The old name, Vicus Tuscus, given to a nearby street, could refer to an Etruscan settlement.
What was before the Roman Empire?
Gladiators, togas, aqueducts, and chariot races: these all came originally from the Etruscans!
Just before Rome’s rise, the Etruscan people of central Italy had their golden age of prosperity and peace.
They lived in the area between today’s Rome and Florence.
Their mix of Greek art and Roman-style customs helped lay a foundation of civilization for Rome’s flourishing.
They were more technologically advanced than their neighbors. The Etruscans mined gold and crafted it into some of the finest jewelry in the known world.
They exported these crafts around the Mediterranean while importing Greek pottery and customs.
Etruscan cities and trading ports were along the coastline.
Etruscan holdings included a small Latin-speaking tribe on their southern border who lived in a tiny village: Rome.
What are the Etruscans best known for?
We can see, from the many luxury items that have survived, the Etruscans enjoyed the good life.
We can see the well-dressed men and women dining, dancing in gardens, or playing party games from the frescoes.
Etruscan artists celebrated the life and even the flaws of their bodies: instead of crafting perfect statues, they showed the individual people, with their wrinkles, crooked noses, silly smiles, and quirky haircuts.
Thousands upon thousands of surviving ceramic plates, cups, and vases tell us that hosting banquets for your friends was a symbol that you’d arrived!
Much of what We know of the Etruscans comes from their tombs, often clustered in a necropolis, which means “city of the dead.”
The burial was your home in the hereafter, fully furnished for the life after death, complete with all of the deceased’s belongings.
Seven decades of wars with Greeks (547-474 BCE) drained the Etruscans, just as a new Italian power emerged.
Guess who that power? Rome! da-dada-DAAAAA
What did the Romans get from the Etruscans?
Rome’s legions conquered Etruscan cities. The survivors intermarried with Romans.
Their kids grew up speaking Latin, so their culture became Romanized.
But the Etruscan culture lived on in Rome’s religion.
Its pantheon of gods and rituals, its realistic art, its banqueting lifestyle: this is the mix that became our “Western Civilization.”
3 Amazing Places to visit on your Etruscan Tour
If you want to visit something about the Etruscans, in Rome We have the fantastic Villa Giulia.
It’s just 5 minutes away from the Spanish Steps or Central Park.
Villa Giulia is one of the most prestigious museums dedicated to the civilization of the Etruscans.
Another popular activity to do is the day trip. You can rent a car and go to:
- Cerveteri has beautiful Frescoes and Tombs.
- Tarquinia has the Necropolis.
- Orvieto has an incredible Archaeological Museum with coins and sarcophagus. The necropolis and underground tunnels and caves. I’ve been here, and it was amazing! This is the farthest suggestion, and it’s 1.5 hours from Rome.
What happened to the Sabines?
The early Romans felt the lack of female company. So they invited their neighbors: the Sabines.
During this sports festival, they took the chance to run off with all their daughters.
Not a very likely tale, though it does instead reflect the Roman view of women.
Why did Rome get rid of kings?
In the early days, Rome was ruled by seven kings. The last kings were Etruscans, but they were deeply unpopular.
The most hated was Tarquin the Proud, who is supposed to have set up a murderous regime of terror.
In 509, Tarquin’s son, Sextus, attacked and raped a married Roman woman. The Romans decided that they’d had enough.
Her outraged husband, Lucius Junius Brutus, led a revolt, which drove out Rome’s Etruscan masters, gave birth to the Roman Republic, and vowed that they’d never again have a king ruling over them.
From now on, Rome was to be a Republic! This Republic would be ruled by 300 elected senators and a code of law.
The Roman action was a prevalent theme in the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century.
It was much in the Americans’ minds as they set up their own Republic after sending the British King George III packing.
To establish equal treatment, Romans publicly displayed their “Laws of the Twelve Tables” in the Forum.
Even school kids know the procedures for a trial, as well as standard penalties for crimes.
2 Important Sights for the Monarchy in Rome
Circus Maximus. The Sabine Women’s Kidnapping happened during the Consualia, a series of festivals in honor of Consus, a tutelary deity of the harvest and stored grain.
During the celebration, horses and mules were exempted from all labor. People led them through the streets adorned with garlands and flowers. Chariot races were held this day in the Circus Maximus.
In Roman mythology, the Consualia was founded by Romulus as an occasion to gather his Sabine neighbors. (This valley, before becoming the actual Circus Maximus, has been a significant and useful valley for the Romans.
Today it’s almost returned to the original aspect: a valley, since the structure of the Circus, is gone)
Tiber Island. According to ancient tradition, the Tiber Island was formed after the expulsion of the last king, Tarquin the Proud.
The people threw into the river the sheaves of wheat belonging to the king, which they had looted from the Campus Martius (today Campus Martius is the area of the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps).
In actual fact, however, the island must have developed by natural means long before the Romans chased out the Tarquins.
The island was of very great importance because it facilitated the crossing of the river and ensured continuity in the communication that linked the Tyrrhenian seaboard to the north of the river with its counterpart to the south.
The Tiber island was a strategic point and, as such, was one of the causes that brought the city of Rome into being.
Thanks to Hollywood, everyone has an image of the Romans: scarlet cloaks, plummet helmets.
And with this first part of Rome 101, it’s possible to understand how the Romans fitted into the ancient world’s broader picture. Stay tuned for the next episodes.
The Epic Tale of Rome’s Rise and Fall of an Empire
In conclusion, the rise and fall of Rome is a story of power, glory, and tragedy that has captivated people for centuries. As we’ve seen, the empire’s legacy has left an indelible mark on world history, shaping the modern Western world in countless ways.
But our journey through Rome’s past is far from over. In the next episode, we’ll explore the city’s incredible cultural and artistic heritage, taking in the sights and sounds that make Rome one of the most beautiful and enchanting places on earth.
Join us for an unforgettable experience that will leave you with a newfound appreciation for the Eternal City and all that it represents.
I hope you enjoy the first episode of the Rome Rise and Fall of an Empire
Ave!
