Rome

Roma (Rome) is the capital and largest city in the Italian Democratic Republic and the 4th largest city in the European Union and the historical capital of the Roman Empire. Situated in the central-west of the country on the Tiber River and close to the Mediterranean Sea, the city is home to overt 2.8 million people, while its larger urban zone is estimated to have a population of 3.7 million. The city has a Mediterranean (warm-temperate subtropical) climate with warm to hot summers and mild winters.

Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus, son of Mars, the god of war, and the daughter of the king Numitor. He was the first king of Rome, hence the city was named for him. He formed the Roman Senate with 100 men and gave the inhabitants of Rome a body of laws. In 509 B.C., King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown by the noble men of Rome, which was the beginning of the Republic. The early years of the Republic were of political turmoil as the nobles had not come to an agreement regarding the type of government that would replace the monarchy. The population was divided, some wanted a monarchy, others a republic and others wanted to form part of the Latin civilization. The consuls, which replaced the leadership of the Roman kings, wasn’t added until many years later.

The Republic is known as a period when Rome’s power reached the whole peninsula of Italy. Roman law was founded in 450 B.C. with the Law of the Twelve Tables. This was a time when many wars took place for equality between the Roman inhabitants. The Twelve Tables were written to appease the demands of the commoners, which became the basis of all laws in the Western world.

Rome was the political, cultural and economic center of the Roman Empire from 27 B.C. to 324 A.D when Emperor Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople).