Of architectural glory and much more Roman Civilisation

Ancient Rome grew from a small village on the bank of Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peak comprised most of continental Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. Among the many legacies of Roman dominance are the widespread use of the Romance languages (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) all derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet, the calendar and the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion.

As to how Rome was founded, there is no concrete historical evidence. It is rather shrouded in mystery. However, there are two popular legends. According to the first legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of Mars, the Roman god of war. The twins were left to drown in a basket on the Tiber River by king Amulius of Alba Longa, from where they were rescued by a female wolf (some accounts also mention her to be a shepherd’s wife instead). The she wolf (shepherd’s wife) raised the twin boys into mighty warriors and they eventually grew up to defeat the king, and founded their own city on the riverbank in 753 BC. The city was built on seven hills - the Aventine Hill, Capitoline Hill, Viminal Hill, Caelian Hill, Quirinal Hill, Esquiline Hill and Palatine Hill. Following an argument about who would rule the city, Romulus killed his brother Remus, and took the throne as the first king of Rome, and the city was named after him. All the kings after Romulus were elected by the Senate, yet they were referred to as ‘rex’, meaning ‘king’ in Latin.

As per the second legend recorded by Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Prince Aeneas led a group of Trojans on a sea voyage in quest of a new Troy, since the original was destroyed at the end of the infamous Trojan War. After quite a long time in the stormy sea, they landed on the banks of the Tiber River but the men wanted to take to the sea again. The women however did not want to leave. One of them, called Roma, hatched the plan to burn the ships to prevent the men from leaving. Although angry at first, the men finally realized that this place was ideal for them to settle down. Hence they named it after Roma because of whom they came to settle here.