Most natives of the country lived in villages or small towns, supported themselves by agriculture or animal husbandry (Italia means “Calf Land”), and spoke an Italic dialect belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. The Empire begins to be partitioned into different pieces. From England to Africa and from Syria to Spain, one in every four people on earth lived and died under Roman law. The Western alphabet of 26 letters and the calendar of 12 months and 365.25 days are only two simple examples of the cultural legacy which Rome has bequeathed Western civilization. Several bodies of water surround Italy. Unlike the Greeks, who excelled in intellectual and artistic endeavours, the Romans achieved greatness in their military, political, and social institutions. Senior officials of the Roman Republic derived their insignia from the Etruscans: curule chair, purple-bordered toga (toga praetexta), and bundle of rods (fasces). The Latins are the early ancestors of the Romans. Roman society, during the republic, was governed by a strong military ethos. All of the plains of the Italian peninsula are suitable for farming. In the course of centuries Rome grew from a small town on the Tiber River in central Italy into a vast empire that ultimately embraced England, all of continental Europe west of the Rhine and south of the Danube, most of Asia west of the Euphrates, northern Africa, and the islands of the Mediterranean. , it must be able to support the dietary needs of a growing population. This article discusses the period from the founding of the city and the regal period, which began in 753 bc, through the events leading to the founding of the republic in 509 bc, the establishment of the empire in 27 bc, and the final eclipse of the Empire of the West in the 5th century ad. Italy had many hills and mountains but were easier to travel over than the mountains on Greece. Rome was led by Emperor Trajan at its height. and force the Romans to pay a heavy price for their departure. Small streams ran through valleys. MODERN. The. They are the. Both Greeks and Phoenicians were actively engaged in trade with the Italian natives. The rich volcanic soil in the area proved to be perfect for raising crops. The Temple of Saturn, among the ruins of the Roman Forum, Rome. Greek historians did not take serious notice of Rome until the Pyrrhic War (280–275 bc), when Rome was completing its conquest of Italy and was fighting against the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy. Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? Rome then focused on gaining territory from the Italic and Gallic tribes in order to consolidate their power on the Italian Peninsula. Some say the city of Rome was founded on the Palatine Hill by Romulus, son of Mars, the god of war. Modern historical analysis is making rapid progress in showing how Rome’s early development occurred in a multicultural environment and was particularly influenced by the higher civilizations of the Etruscans to the north and the Greeks to the south.