Basic Facts

  1. The City of Rome is thought to have been founded in 753 BC.
  2. Ancient legend tells of how Romulus and Remus, twins who were the sons of Mars (the God of War) were abandoned due to a prophecy that they would overthrow their great uncle Amulius. The infants were nurtured by a she-wolf until a shepherd, Faustulus, found them. Taking the boys as his sons, he raised them until they were adults, at which point they fulfilled their prophecy and killed their great uncle. After this they decide to found a city, however they disagreed over the location and quarrelled, leading to Romulus killing his brother before establishing the city of Rome.
  3. Until 45 BC, the city grew into the Roman Republic. Its leaders were fairly elected and served for a limited amount of time. There were written laws and a constitution, concepts which democratic governments today are still based on.
  4. In 45 BC, Julius Caesar made himself supreme dictator, ending the republic. In 27 BC, Caesar Augustus became the first to hold the title of Emperor and thus the Roman Empire was born. The key difference was that he held ultimate power, with the ability to overrule the elected government.
  5. The Empire grew as its armies conquered surrounding countries with military precision. At its peak, the Roman Empire is thought to have included one fifth of all of the people on earth.
  6. When it became too large to manage from Rome alone, the Empire split in two, with the Western Empire being managed from Rome and the Eastern Empire from Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey).
  7. Although the city of Rome itself fell in 476 AD (considered to be the end of the Western Empire), the Eastern Empire, now known as Byzantium, survived for another 1000 years.
  8. In general, Roman society was highly advanced and it took many other cultures hundreds of years - and in some areas almost two thousand - to catch up.
  9. Many things you see around you today were invented by the Romans, from central heating to running water, government systems, concrete, paved roads and more.
  10. For hundreds of years, the Roman Empire was polytheistic, meaning they worshipped many different Gods. A great number of these appear to have been ‘borrowed’ from Greek beliefs, being named differently but with similar legends. During the fourth century AD, Christianity became increasingly popular, and from 391 was the Empire’s state religion.