Etymology

Roman representation of the god Tiberinus, Capitoline Hill in Rome

According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth,[19] the name Roma came from the city's founder
and first king, Romulus.[20]

However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[21] As early
as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma.
Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain
uncertain:[22]

From Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn is supposedly related to the Greek
verb ῥέω (rhéō) 'to flow, stream' and the Latin verb ruō 'to hurry, rush';[b]
From the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either
to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to
the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;
From the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]
History
Main articles: History of Rome and Timeline of the city of Rome
Earliest history
Main article: Founding of Rome
While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome
area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures
Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[9] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to
about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from
pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between
the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, each hill between the sea and the
Capitol was topped by a village (on the Capitol Hill, a village is attested since the end of the 14th
century BC).[23] However, none of them yet had an urban quality.[23] Nowadays, there is a wide
consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("synoecism") of several
villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.[23] This aggregation was facilitated by
the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level, which also allowed the
establishment of secondary and tertiary activities. These, in turn, boosted the development of trade
with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae).[23] These developments,
which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be
considered as the "birth" of the city.[23] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that
Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus
suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.[24]

Legend of the founding of Rome

Capitoline Wolf, a sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus
Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of
their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most
famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a
she-wolf.[19] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and
the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.[25]
This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee
Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the
Julio-Claudian dynasty.[26] This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century
BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that the city was an Arcadian colony founded by
Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by
Greeks.[27][28]

Monarchy and republic

Main articles: Ancient Rome, Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, and Roman Empire
After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,[25] Rome was ruled for a period of 244
years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by
Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus
Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[25]

The Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of palaces located in the Palatine Hill,
express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century.
In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic.
Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and
plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy:
Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, and Marsi.[29] After becoming master of Latium, Rome led
several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto, allied with
Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula, from the central
area up to Magna Graecia.[30]

The third and second century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the
Mediterranean and the Balkans, through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against the city
of Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[31] The first Roman
provinces were established at this time: Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea
and Africa.[32]

From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats:
the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares, which relied on
the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the
small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city.
The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be
more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the second half of the second
century and during the first century BC there were conflicts both abroad and internally: after the
failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,[33] and the war
against Jugurtha,[33] there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious.[33] A
major slave revolt under Spartacus followed,[34][34] and then the establishment of the first
Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[34]

The Imperial fora belong to a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by
the emperors. Also seen in the image is Trajan's Market.
The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a second civil
war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life.
[34] His assassination led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and
heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to another civil war between Octavian and Antony.[35]