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The city of Rome came from humble beginnings as a small village community that occupied a group of hills overlooking the Tiber River. The hills acted as natural fortifications and made defense easy. Rome’s location along the salt marshes of Italy also provided abundant food and resources.

Rome began to grow into a city-state in the eighth and seventh centuries BC. Its founding is traditionally dated to 753 BC by twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who were fathered by the god Mars and raised by a she-wolf. According to legend, Romulus killed Remus for stepping over the sacred boundary (pomerium) and became the first king of Rome. The monarchic system survived for only seven kings. In 509 BC, the Tarquins were expelled from Rome after the rape of Lucretia and the Roman Republic was established under consuls Brutus and Collatinus.

The Republic was based upon shared power between the Senate and the people of Rome. During the next 450 years, Rome expanded its growing empire far beyond Italy and effectively became the central power in the Mediterranean world. In spite of this, the Late Republic was a time plagued by social unrest, instability, and civil war, as generals were able to amass massive amounts of wealth, power, and soldiers to fight on their behalf. Some Romans also believed that the Republic was in a state of moral decline.

The Republic formally came to an end after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and was transformed into an empire by Caesar’s heir Octavian, who became Emperor Augustus in 27 BC. Many dynasties later, the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Constantinople in 324 AD by Emperor Constantine. From this point on, Rome ceased to be the center of Roman civilization.

Written by stevenfife_06.

Articles

  • Vestal Virgins of Rome: Privileged Keepers of Rome's Home Fires

    The fires of the hearth of the Roman home were symbolic of its stability: Keep the home fires burning, and keep the home thriving. The daughter of the household often held the vital responsibility of tending these fires, making sure they constantly burned. This concept of continuity extended out into the civic arena, where at the Temple of Vesta, a group of chosen women known as the Vestal Virgins stoked the home fires of the people of Rome, whose message paralleled that of the Roman household: stability and permanence. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth, and her role in public religion was obviously crucial (in a metaphorical sense) to the strength of the ties among the citizens of the "Roman family". The College of the Vestal Virgins is a potent example of how politics and religion were intertwined in Rome, and another example of how some Roman women were afforded the opportunity to participate in the civic functions of Roman life.
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  • Vestal Virgins of Rome: The Price of Civic Duty and Privilege

    Being a Vestal Virgin was a lifetime committment that required certain promises be made to the powerful position. Breaking a promise made in honor of the priesthood spelled certain disaster. For example, breaking the vow of celibacy usually meant execution for the former Virgin. Over the course of Roman history, the technique of execution that was employed varied. The final punishments inflicted upon the offending priestesses included (and were probably not limited to) being buried alive, being thrown into the Tiber River, and being publicly whipped. It was a strong incentive for a Virgin to keep her tunic down. Additionally, and most importantly, if a Vestal Virgin let the ceremonial fire at the Temple of Vesta burn out, she was also punished by execution.
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  • The End of Pompeii: The Death and Eventual Resurrection of an Ancient Roman City

    On August 24, 79 AD, a small town in the Roman province of Campania, on the western shore of Italy, was stopped dead in her tracks by the violent eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The city, Pompeii, along with her sister city Herculaneum, were buried beneath several feet of ash and mud, forever memorializing the towns and their people. It wasn't until Pompeii was again discovered in the mid 18th century that the world was able to discover this town, and it inner workings. Not only did the discovery and subsequent excavations at Pompeii uncover a city frozen in time, but it also provided a wealth of information for scholars about the various aspects of Roman life, politics, art, and society. Pompeii was literally an open book to be studied.
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  • Augustus' Political, Social, and Moral Reforms

    Augustus is well known for being the first Emperor of Rome, but even more than that, for being a self-proclaimed “Restorer of the Republic.” He believed in ancestral values such as monogamy, chastity, and piety (virtue). Thus, he introduced a number of moral and political reforms in order to improve Roman society and formulate a new Roman government and lifestyle. The basis of each of these reforms was to revive traditional Roman religion in the state.
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  • Caesar As Dictator: His Impact on the City of Rome

    During his reign as dictator from 49-44 BC, Julius Caesar had a number of notable impacts on the city of Rome.
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Illustrations

Hadrian's Wall Gate Hadrian's Wall Roman Agora in Tyre Roman Toga Pont Du Gard Aqueduct Augustus Map of Hannibals Route into Italy Carthage during the Punic Wars Map of 2nd Century Roman Expansion Forum Romanum

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