ROME

The Roman Forum

Rome is a city of Europe, and the capital of modern Italy, formerly the capital of the Roman Kingdom, republic, and empire. It is situated on the Tiber River, about fifteen miles from the sea, being partly on a plain and partly on the slopes of the famous Seven Hills. Rome is one of the most ancient cities in the world. Rome was more than a city; it was also a kingdom and later one of the most powerful empires that the world has ever seen.

Below is discussed the history of the City of Rome and then the history of its kindom and later empire.

ANCIENT ROME

The early history contains much of interest, since it was not only one of the most important cities of the ancients, but has long been noted as a religious center of western Christendom. According to tradition, the city was founded by Romulus and Remus, two sons of Rhea Silvia, a priestess of the goddess Vesta, and of Mars, the god of war. These two children were ordered thrown into the Tiber by a usurper, but were cast ashore at the foot of Mount Palatine, where they were nursed by a wolf, but afterward they were rescued and brought up as the children of one Faustulus. The city was named after Romulus, who became its first king.

The founding of ancient Rome is generally placed at 754 B.C. and the founders are regarded as Latins, who left Alba Longa in a colony to establish an outpost against the Etruscans. No reliable account of the early history of Rome is in existence, as the records were burned when the city was destroyed by the Gauls in 390 B. c. The early inhabitants were shepherds or farmers, who tilled the land upon the plain near by, but lived for protection within their fortifications on Palatine Hill. At the time the Gauls destroyed the city, they left most of the buildings in ruin, and it was hastily rebuilt without planning for regularity in its streets. The leading thoroughfares remained narrow and crooked in many parts of Rome until Augustus Caesar became emperor, in 31 B. c. He beautified the city by adorning it with monuments and works of art so that it was said of him, "He found the city of brick, and left it of marble." However, the groundwork for a great city was laid long before his time. The low places between the hills were improved by grading in the early history of the city, when also a huge system of drainage was constructed. The great aqueducts were begun by Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 B.C., by which water was brought to the city from springs seven miles distant, and material additions were made until fourteen aqueducts were completed. These had a length of 300 miles. They still form a very interesting feature of modern Rome.

The Campus Martius was originally a marshy tract lying between Capitoline Hill and the Tiber. It was so named because of its use for military exercises. In this stood the theater of Pompey, an immense structure with a seating capacity for 40,000 persons. On Capitoline Hill was the splendid temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, called the Capitol. Near it was the theater of Marcellus, finished by Augustus in 11 B. c., and also the Colosseum, an immense oval building used for gladiatorial exhibitions, in which many Christian martyrs suffered death. It was about 600 feet long by 500 feet wide, and had a height of 160 feet. Its capacity was ample for 87,000 spectators. The largest structure was known as the Circus Maximus, situated between the Palatine Hill and the Aventine Hill, and had a seating capacity for 250,000 persons. The Circus Maximus has been long destroyed, but the ruins of the Colosseum are still to be seen.

Ancient Rome had numerous public baths, the largest being the Thermae of Titus, traces of which remain on Esquitine Hill. The famous public bath was the largest and most magnificent, and a portion of it is now used as a church. Its buildings included many large and substantially constructed palaces, temples, and private residences. The most noted temples were the Temple of Venus, built by Caesar; the Temple of Peace, a magnificent structure built by Vespasian; and the Temple of the Sun, erected by Aurelian. Near the Forum are the triumphal arches of Severus, Titus, and Constantine, while that of Drusus is in the Appian Way. The beautiful Trajan pillar in the Forum is still standing. Remains of catacombs, subterranean galleries used as burial and meeting places, and remnants of street pavements, may still be seen in many parts of the city. The Tiber was spanned by a dozen substantial bridges, eight or nine of which are intact. It is estimated that the population of Rome in time of Augustus was 1,300,000, but in the time of Trajan it is said to have reached about 2,000,000 (which incredibly is not much smaller than the present population of the city).

At present Rome extends to both sides of the Tiber, as did the ancient city. However, it is difficult to determine whether the limits coincide with those of Ancient Rome, when they probably extended some distance beyond the present boundary, especially in some directions.

Ancient Rome had numerous public baths, the largest being the thermae of Titus, traces of which remain on Esquitine Hill. The famous public bath was the largest and most magnificent, and a portion of it is now used as a church. Its buildings included many large and substantially constructed palaces, temples, and private residences. The most noted temples were the Temple of Venus, built by Caesar; the Temple of Peace, a magnificent structure built by Vespasian; and the Temple of the Sun, erected by Aurelian. Near the Forum are the triumphal arches of Severus, Titus, and Constantine, while that of Drusus is in the Appian Way. The beautiful Trajan pillar in the Forum is still standing. Remains of catacombs, subterranean galleries used as burial and meeting places, and remnants of street pavements, may still be seen in many parts of the city. The Tiber was spanned by a dozen substantial bridges, eight or nine of which are intact. It is estimated that the population of Rome in time of Augustus was 1,300,000, but in the time of Trajan it is said to have reached about 2,000,000.