Rome

A Brief History of Ancient Rome

According to one version of the history of the founding of Rome, the following happened. After the death of ancient Troy, few defenders of the city managed to escape. The very Aeneas, the “engine couple,” headed them. The fugitives roamed the sea for a long time on their ships. And after a long journey, they finally managed to land on the beach. On the shore, they saw the mouth of a wide river flowing into the sea. Along the banks of the river lies a forest and a dense shrub. A little further under the blue sky lies a fertile plain illuminated by the gentle sun.

The Trojans, exhausted by the long road, decided to land on this hospitable beach and settle on it. This coast turned out to be the coast of Italy. Later, the son of Aeneas founded the city of Alba Long

The legend of Romulus and Remus

Decades later, Numitor, one of the descendants of Aeneas, ruled in Alba Long. Numitor was not very lucky with a close relative. His younger brother Amulius fiercely hated the ruler and longed to take his place. Thanks to insidious intrigues, Amuli overthrew Numitor, but left him his life. However, Amulius was very afraid of revenge from the descendants of Numitor. Because of this fear, the first son of the former ruler was killed on his orders. And daughter Ray Sylvia was sent as a vestal to the temple of the goddess Vesta. But, despite the fact that the priestesses should not have offspring, Ray Sylvia soon gave birth to twin boys. According to another legend, their father could be the god of war Mars.

Having learned about everything, Amuli was very angry and ordered to kill Ray Sylvia, and throw the newborns into the Tiber. The slave who carried out the order carried the children to the river in a basket. At this time, there were big waves on the Tiber due to heavy floods, and the slave was afraid to go into the raging river.

He left the basket with the children on the shore in the hope that the water itself would pick up the basket and the twins would drown. But the river only carried the basket below to the Palatine Hill, and soon the flood ended.

She-wolf

The water was gone, and the boys fell out of the fallen basket and began to cry. A she-wolf came out on children's cries to the river, having recently lost her puppies. She approached the children and the maternal instinct overpowered the predator's instinct. The she-wolf licked the children and watered them with her milk. Nowadays, the she-wolf monument is installed in the Capitol Museum, it is a symbol of Rome.

Who raised Romulus and Remus

Later, the king's shepherd noticed the boys. He picked up the children and raised them. The shepherd named the twins Romulus and Remus. Children grew up in nature and became strong and agile warriors. When Rem and Romulus grew up, the named father revealed to them the secret of their birth. Having learned the secret of their origin, the brothers decided to return the throne to Grandfather Numitor. They gathered themselves in a detachment and headed to Alba Long. The indigenous inhabitants of the city supported the uprising of Romulus and Remus, since Amulius was a very cruel ruler. So, thanks to the townspeople, the grandchildren were able to return the throne to their grandfather.

The boys fell in love with their lifestyle and did not stay with Numitor. They headed towards the Palatine Hill, to the place where the she-wolf had once found them. Here they decided to build their own city. However, in the process of deciding: “where to build the city?”, “By whose name should I name it?” and “who should rule?”, a very strong quarrel broke out between the brothers. During the argument, Romulus dug up a moat, which was supposed to surround the future wall of the city. Remus, in mockery, jumped over both the moat and the mound. Romulus became angry and in a fit killed his brother with the words: "Such is the fate of anyone who crosses the walls of my city!"

The foundation of Rome

Then Romulus laid the city in this place, starting with a deep groove marking the borders of the city. And he named the city in his honor - Rome (Roma). In the beginning, the city was just a group of poor clay huts with straw. But Romulus very much wanted to increase the population and welfare of his city. He attracted exiles and fugitives from other cities and made military raids on neighboring peoples. To get married, the Roman had to steal his wife in a neighboring village.

Abduction of the Sabines

Traditions say that once in Rome military games were organized to which neighbors and families were invited. At the height of the games, adult men rushed to the guests and, seizing the girl, fled.

Since most of the abducted belonged to the Sabine tribe, the incident became known in history as the Abduction of the Sabine women. Thanks to the abducted women, Romulus managed to unite the Sabinians and Romans into one, thus expanding the population of his city.

The development of ancient Rome

Years, decades and centuries passed. Rome developed and provided the basis for the most powerful of ancient civilizations - Ancient Rome. When Ancient Rome was at the peak of its power, its power, culture and traditions spread to most of Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. And the heart of this state was Italy.

Ancient Rome laid the foundation for the development of European civilization.

Thanks to him, some unique architectural forms appeared, Roman law and much more. Also, it was on the territory of the Roman Empire that a new creed was born - Christianity.

The capital of Italy more than once experienced periods of both decline and rebirth. In this Eternal City, standing on seven hills, various eras harmoniously combined with their variety of styles. Antiquity and modernity, a certain freedom and religion have created a many-faced image of the great city. In modern Rome, the ruins of ancient temples, majestic cathedrals, magnificent palaces coexist with advertisements of popular companies on billboards and house facades, numerous retail outlets with their noisy merchants.

Watch the video: Ancient Rome in 20 minutes (May 2024).

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