NUMINISM
Roman History
Founding
According to legend Rome was founded by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus 753 years
before the Common Era. Romulus and Remus were sons of the God, Mars, and Rhea Silvia, the
daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa. After the sack of Troy by the Greeks, a small group of
survivors, led by Aeneas, travelled to Italy to found this new Trojan city. Numitor, a descendent
of Aeneas, was king of this city until his brother Amulius grabbed power and drove him into exile.
When Romulus and Remus were born, Amulius feared they would be a threat to his power and
ordered them killed. They were set adrift in a basket on the river Tiber and left for dead. On the
bank of the river, in an area where the Tiber passed by seven hills, they were rescued and cared
for by a female wolf. After a few days, they were found and reared by a shepherd named
Faustulus and his wife. Thus, the twins survived, and grew up to found Rome. After the founding
of Rome, Romulus killed Remus during a quarrell. Romulus became the first king of Rome and
gave the city its name.
(Read the story of Romulus and Remus)
Roman history can be divided into three main sections: the Kingdom(753-509 BCE), the
Republic(509-31 BCE), and the Empire(31 BCE- 476 CE).
The Kingdom
For more than 200 years, Rome was ruled by kings. The first king was Romulus. The second
king, Numa Pompilius, was a very important man in Roman history. Numa was a benevolent king.
He had the laws of Rome written down on the Twelve Tablets and posted in the Forum, Rome's
towncenter, for all to see. He was also responsible for organizing the state religion and instituting
many of the celebrations and rituals which made up public worship for the rest of Rome's Pagan
history. Even today, the highest ranking member of the Catholic Church is called by a name
initiated by Numa, Pontifex Maximus.
The other kings of Rome, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, Tarquinius Priscus, and Servius Tullius
were not as noteworthy. Nevertheless, they became progressly oppressive until the last king of
Rome, an Etruscan named Tarquinius Superbus, Tarquin the Proud. Tarquin was a tyrant and
treated his subjects so badly that, in 509 BCE, they rose up and overthrew his government. With
the last king driven from Rome's gates, the people of Rome created a new form of
government.
The Republic
The second period of Roman history began with the creation of the Res publica, the "public thing".
During this time, Rome was ruled by representatives of the people. An assembly called the
Comitia Centuriata was elected by Roman citizens. This assembly, made up of the heads of
Rome's aristocratic families, elected two heads of state, the Consuls, and a variety of other
government officials. A council of elders, called the Senate, was appointed by the Consuls as an
advisory body. Through the years, the lower classes added their voice in the form of the
Concilium Plebis and the Tribunes of the Plebs.
During the Republic, Rome went through a lot of growth during. With this growth came
governmental reforms. From 133 BCE to 49 BCE, civil unrest and civil war led to various power
struggles which, finally, came to an end with Julius Caesar's defeat of Pompey in 49 BCE. Caesar
was soon afterwards assassinated. His assassination led to a new civil war, which left Caesar's
adopted son, Octavius, victorious. Octavius assumed IMPERIUM, absolute power, in 27 BCE
and was give the agnomen "Augustus", majestic and the title Imperator, Emperor.
The Empire
The reign of Caesar Augustus lasted until 14 CE and was filled with peace, prosperity, and reform.
The first 200 years of the Empire were known as Pax Romana, Roman peace. Prosperity
reached its hieght in the 100's CE with the rule of the "Good Emperors", Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian,
Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. As time went on, Roman peace was again replaced with
warfare. Rome had to defend her borders against barbarian tribes to the east and west. The size
of this great empire became too much for the central government to control. In 293 CE, the
empire was divided into 4 prefectures and a second capital established in Asia Minor. The empire
was again united by Constantine in 324 CE. Constantine legalized Christianity and ruled the entire
empire form Byzantium, now Istambul, in Turkey. After Constantine's death in 337, the empire
split again into the Christian Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. From here on out the
Germanic tribes in the West whitled away the empires borders until in 476 CE Romulus
Augustulus was deposed by Odoacer, a German chieftan.
Though, the Roman Empire is gone, its legacy lingers on. Rome's governmental structure has been
the model for many of the worlds republic even today. Roman ideas about codification of law,
about justice, about construction, about art, etc. are still visible throught the world today. Roads
and bridges built by Roman engineers up to 2000 years ago are still in use in parts of Europe.
Latin, the language of Rome, was used by the educated up until the latter part of last century and
still forms the basis for scientific vocabulary throughout the world. The most languages of Western
Europe have either descended directly from Latin or have adopted a large Latin vocabulary. We
in the Western world are all descendents of Rome's greatness. May we always honor our Patria
and the ideals that made her great.
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