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| The rise of the
Roman Empire started in 510 B.C. and ended on September 4, 476. Rome actually
became an empire in 510 B.C. People say that twins, Remus and Romulus,
fought for the right to find a capital city. Romulus won, by killing his
brother, and found Rome. Romulus became the city-state's first king in 753 B.C. Some others say that settlers called it Rome. Rome grew larger for two reasons. To populate Rome, Romulus gathered people from other countries. To give the men wives he abducted women from a nearby tribe called Sabines. This was called "The Abduction of the Sabine Women". These women's fathers were outraged and fought with the husbands. The women stopped all of the fighting and brought peace between the fathers and the husbands. One reason was that the large city attracted people in search of adventure. Two, was because Roman warriors captured people from other settlements and bought them over to Rome. At, this time the people who ruled Rome were kings. The last king of Rome was Tarquin. In the early sixth century, Rome became a Republic. A group of men who were fed up with the king Tarquin pushed him into an early retirement. When Rome became a Republic, this meant that a group of people called the Senate made laws for the people of Rome. An early struggle between the wealthy people and the common people broke out over the laws. The result was the Twelve Tables. This was a set of laws carved into rock and said which law applied to each person. Rome's neighbors both had what the Romans wanted and wanted the things that the Romans had. These things resulted in many wars. A famous early war was between Rome and Carthage. The wars between Rome and Carthage were called "Punic Wars". The first "Punic War" was over Sicily. Sicily was an island off the coast of Rome. The Romans won the war. The fall of the Western Empire of Rome is often referred to as the Fall of Rome Back to the top
The Roman Empire was finally defeated by Germanic peoples in 476. When the Roman empire ended it not only marked the end of a great civilization, it also meant the beginning of a period called the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages. They called it the Dark Ages because people lost an interest in learning. In the end Rome is remembered for the hugeness of the empire. the success of the well-trained armies, impressive structures like baths, roads, temples, and the Forum, the spreading of Roman writings, laws, and trade practices, and the way the empire ended. Back to the top
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