2.3 Rome

Overview

Rome was founded by a tribal people living south of the Tiber River on the Italian Peninsula. Although Rome’s actual founding date is unknown, most archaeologists estimate it to be around 750 BCE. Rome was originally a town built amidst seven hills surrounded by swamps in central Italy. Rome itself had a few key geographical advantages. Its hills were easily defensible, making it difficult for invaders to carry out a successful attack. It was at the intersection of trade routes, thanks in part to its proximity to a natural ford (a shallow part of a river that can be crossed on foot) in the Tiber River, leading to a prosperous commercial and mercantile sector that provided the wealth for early expansion. It also lay on the route between the Greek colonies of southern Italy and various Italian cultures in the central and northern part of the peninsula.

The legend that the Romans themselves invented about their own origins had to do with two brothers: Romulus and Remus. In the legend of Romulus and Remus, two boys were born to a Latin king, but then kidnapped and thrown into the Tiber River by the king’s jealous brother. They were discovered by a female wolf and suckled by her, eventually growing up and exacting their revenge on their treacherous uncle. They then fought each other, with Romulus killing Remus and founding the city of Rome. According to the story, the city of Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BCE.

As they developed, the Romans imitated the powerful Etruscans who lived to the north. The Etruscans were active trading partners with the Greek poleis of the south, and Rome became a key link along the Etruscan – Greek trade route. The Etruscans ruled a loose empire of allied city-states that carried on a brisk trade with the Greeks, trading native Italian iron for various luxury goods.

“The History and Influence of the Etruscans.” A Place Called Etruria: Secrets of Archaeology. Films on Demand. 2003. 7:57.

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The mixing of cultures – Etruscan, Greek, and Latin – included shared mythologies and stories. According to Roman legends, the Etruscans ruled the Romans from some time in the eighth century BCE until 509 BCE. The early government of Rome was thus a monarchy wherein the king held a form of absolute power. This royal power was called imperium.

The early Roman concept of imperium was not absolutism (discussed later in the class). Instead, imperium is best understood as a patriarchal family relationship wherein the king and the people hold mutual obligations. In the patriarchal family, all of the (legal) power rested in the father (patriarch), but the patriarch was also obligated to support the family and provide what was needed for life.

Finally, the early Romans do not appear to have been concerned with building a territorial empire. Instead, they were simply concerned with security. The Roman kingdom expanded naturally, however, as the Romans strove to establish this sense of security amidst numerous powerful neighbors. Eventually, their territorial expansion threatened the Etruscans, who then, sometime in the sixth century BCE, took control of the smaller Roman kingdom. The Romans resented this and developed a hatred for monarchy that, in time, fed the rise of the Republic. According the stories reported many centuries later, this resentment came to a head when an Etruscan prince from the Tarquin family raped the “pure” wife of a patrician, Lucretia. The rape of Lucretia in 509 BCE began the revolt that resulted in the expulsion of the Etruscans.

“Rome in the Dark Ages.” Republic of Virtue: Ancient Worlds. Films on Demand. 2010. 4:44.

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