The story of Rome begins 1000 years before the birth of Jesus. The ancestors of the Romans were a group of people known as the Latins. The Latins would establish a trading community at a strategic low point on the Tiber River. Soon, a group of hill communities arose.
The early history of Rome is not well known. Tradition dates the founding of Rome to 753 B.C. by the brothers Romulus and Remus, although earlier settlements were established. According to legend the brothers were suckled by a wolf until they were found by a shepherd who raised them. After founding the city a quarrel erupted between the two in which Remus was killed and Romulus became king. The early kings following Romulus were Numa, Tullus, Hostilius, and Ancus Marcius.
The Etruscans of Italy would heavily influence the growth of Rome. Circa 600 B.C. Rome fell under the rule of Etruscan Tarquin kings. In 509 B.C. Rome overthrew Etruscan rule, established the republic, and became a major power in central Italy.
About one hundred years would pass before Rome began its expansion. The first to fall was the town of Veii in 396 B.C.
In 390 B.C. a Celtic people known as the Gauls would write themselves into Roman history for the first time. A force of Gauls led by Brennus captured and sacked Rome. Rome would recover and built walls around the city in 380 B.C.
Beginning in 343 B.C. Rome was drawn into a series of wars with the Samnites, with whom they were once allied against the Gauls, over competing interests. Three wars were fought: The First Samnite War ( 343-341 B.C. ), the Second Samnite War ( 327-304 B.C. ), and the Third Samnite War ( 298-290 B.C. ). These wars ended with Rome in control of central Italy.
By 280 B.C. Rome began to hold control over Greek colonies located in southern Italy. The colonies looked to Greece for relief and received help when King Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Italy. Pyrrhus was victorious, but his losses were so horrendous that he was forced to withdraw in 275 B.C. leaving Rome in control of the Mediterranean.
In 264 B.C. Rome was again drawn into a series of wars, this time with Carthage. Three wars took place and are known as the Punic Wars. The First Punic War began in 264 B.C. over the island of Sicily. It ended in 241 B.C. when the Romans drove the Carthaginians from Sicily. The Second Punic War began in 218 B.C. when the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, crossed the Alps and invaded Italy with a land force. Hannibal won several battles, but he was too far from home and could not properly keep his army supplied. In 201 B.C. Hannibal sued for peace ending the Second Punic War. The Third Punic War began in 149 B.C. when a Roman army began to lay siege to Carthage. Carthage held out until 146 B.C. when it was leveled.
The Roman Empire would entire its height in 201 B.C. In 192 B.C. the conquest of Cisalpine Gaul was completed. This was a process which began in 225 B.C. In 146 B.C. Greece became a Roman province and Rome absorbed much of the Greek culture.
The most well known personality of the Roman Empire would enter the scene in 58 B.C. when Gaius Julius Caesar began a conquest of Gaul which would be completed in 51 B.C. Civil war began in 49 B.C. when Caesar led his army across the Rubicon and marched against Pompey in Rome. Pompey was defeated in 48 B.C. On February 9, 44 B.C. Julius Caesar declared himself dictator for life. Caesar's dictatorship was short lived. On March 15 of the same year Caesar was assassinated by pro-republican conspirators.
Civil war followed Caesar's assassination. Julius Caesar's adopted son, Gaius Julius Octavianus ( later known as Augustus ), rallied Caesar's supporters and went to war. Augustus first defeated Brutus and Crassus. He then defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 B.C. clearing the path to secure the empire as his own. In 27 B.C. Augustus completed the overthrow of the republic and declared himself emperor of the Roman Empire. Rome prospered under his wise rule until his death in 14 A.D.
Civil war would again ravage the empire between 68-69 A.D. and again between 235-284 A.D. During the second period 26 emperors would reign. 25 would die by violence.
In 286 A.D. the emperor Diocletian realized the empire was too large to effectively govern alone. He remedied this by dividing the empire in two and appointed a co-ruler to govern the east.
The fall of the Roman Empire began in 370 A.D. when Huns arrived in eastern Europe. This drove many Germanic tribes to seek shelter in the Roman Empire. These tribes were admitted, but ill-treatment by Roman emperors caused them to revolt. This culminated with Rome being sacked twice. First in 410 A.D. by the Visigoths and again in 455 A.D. by the Vandals. By 470 A.D. barbarian pressures on the frontiers reduced the western empire to Italy. In 475 A.D. a palace coup drove emperor Julius Nepos from power. A puppet ruler, a boy named Romulus Augustulus, was placed on the throne. In 476 A.D. Italy was conquered by the barbarian general Odoacer effectively ending the Roman Empire.