Beginnings of Rome

1
Beginnings of Rome

• The Mighty Empire is Born

2
Located in the middle of the northern
Mediterranean Sea, Italy is a peninsula that
resembles a high heeled boot. Rome is a city
which is found in central Italy near. the west
coast
3
Rome is nicely situated 20 miles inland along the
eastern banks of the Tiber River. It is located
at a natural fording place of the River. 20
miles was far enough to deter pirates from
attacking.
4
The first people to live in Rome settled on the 7
hills that dominate the landscape. They were
easy to defend.
5
The people who lived in Rome were a group of
Indo-European speakers known as the Latins. They
were surrounded by the Etruscans to the North
the Greeks to the South.
6
The romans built their city upon the hills, but
it was not much to look at, until the Etruscans
conquered them and built it up.
7
In these early days, Rome was a monarchy and many
of the Kings were of Etruscan descent.
8
The Etruscans drained the swampy areas and
cleared land. They also began to build many
things with stone, such as bridges, buildings,
and temples.
9
The Etruscans also gave the Romans ideas for
dress (togas and cloaks) and organization for
their army.
10
The Greek colonies in Italy gave the Romans their
alphabet, the idea for growing grapes olives,
and ideals for art.
11
The popular myth of the founding of Rome is that
2 orphans were raised by a she-wolf. As they
grew, they built Rome then fought to see who
would be king. Romulus killed Remus to be king,
and thus the city is named.
12
Soon Rome began to grow, and it began to conquer
the rest of Italy.
13
Rome stopped its monarchy and adopted a
government based on the democratic model in
Athens, and the ideas of the Philosophy Plato.
They formed a Republic which had a Senate of
elected lawmakers.