Rome

Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma) is the capital city of Italy and of its Latium region. It is located on the Tiber and Aniene rivers, near the Mediterranean Sea, at {{coor dm|41|54|N|12|29|E|type:city(2,546,807)_region:IT}}. The Vatican City, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the Pope.

History

The origin of the city's name is unknown, with several theories already circulating in Antiquity; the least likely is derived from Greek Ρώμη meaning braveness, courage; more probably the connection is with a root *rum-, "teat", with possible reference to the totem wolf (Latin lupa, a word also meaning "prostitute") that adopted and suckled the cognately-named twins Romulus and Remus. Romulus and Remus are believed to come from the people of Lavinium.

Related Topics:
Romulus and Remus - Lavinium

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Basque scholar Manuel de Larramendi thought that the origin could be related to the Basque word orma (modern Basque horma), "wall".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Early history

Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill and surrounding hills approximately eighteen miles from the Tyrrhenian Sea on the south side of the Tiber. Another of these hills, the Quirinal Hill, was probably an outpost for another Italic-speaking people, the Sabines. At this location the Tiber forms an Z-shape curve that contains an island where the river can be forded. Because of the river and the ford, Rome was at a crossroads of traffic following the river valley and of traders traveling north and south on the west side of the peninsula.

Related Topics:
Palatine Hill - Surrounding hills - Miles - Tyrrhenian Sea - Tiber - Quirinal Hill - Italic - Sabines - Peninsula

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Peoples of early-Italy

The 29 settlements at Palatine and Quirinal were two of numerous Italic-speaking communities that existed in Latium, a plain on the Italian peninsula, by the 1st millennium BC. Pieces of pottery that indicate the area of Rome may have been inhabited as early as 1400 BC have been discovered. The origins of the Italic peoples is not known, but they may have descended from Indo-Europeans who migrated from north of the Alps in the second-half of the 2nd millennium BC or from a blending of these peoples with Mediterranean people, perhaps from North Africa. In the 8th century BC, these Italic speakers — Latins (in the west), Sabines (in the upper valley of the Tiber), Umbrians (in the north-east), Samnites (in the South), Oscans and others — shared the peninsula with two other major ethnic groups: the Etruscans, in the North and the Greeks in the south.

Related Topics:
Latium - Plain - Italian - 1st millennium BC - 1400 BC - Indo-European - Alps - 2nd millennium BC - Mediterranean - North Africa - 8th century BC - Latins - Sabine - Umbrian - Samnites - Oscans - Etruscans - Greeks

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Etruscans (Etrusci or Tusci in Latin) were settled north of Rome in Etruria (modern Tuscany). They deeply influenced Roman culture, as clearly showed by the Etruscan origin of some of the mythical Roman kings.

Related Topics:
Latin - Etruria - Tuscany

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Greeks had founded many colonies in Southern Italy (that the Romans later called Magna Graecia), such as Cumae, Naples and Taranto, as well as in the eastern two-thirds of Sicily, between 750 and 550 BC.

Related Topics:
Italy - Magna Graecia - Cumae - Naples - Taranto - Sicily - 750 - 550 BC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Etruscan dominance

After 650 BC, the Etruscans became dominant in Italy and expanded into north-central Italy. They came to control Rome and perhaps all of Latium. Roman tradition claimed that Rome had been under the control of seven kings from 753 to 509 BC beginning with the mythic Romulus who along with his brother Remus were said to have founded the city of Rome. Two of the last three kings were said to be Etruscan. While the king list is of dubious historical value, it is known that Rome was under the influence of the Etruscans for about a century during this period. During this period a bridge called the Pons Sublicius was built to replace the Tiber ford, and Cloaca Maxima was also built by the Etruscan engineering (Etruscans had arguably the second-greatest impact on Roman development, only surpassed by the Greeks).

Related Topics:
650 BC - Seven kings - 753 - 509 BC - Romulus - Founded the city of Rome - Pons Sublicius - Cloaca Maxima

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Expanding further south, the Etruscans came into direct contact with the Greeks. After initial success in conflicts with the Greek colonists, Etruria went into a decline. Around 500 BC Rome gained independence from the Etruscans.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, the Etruscans left a lasting influence on Rome. The Romans learned to build temples from them, and the Etruscans introduced the worship of a triad of gods — Juno, Minerva, and Jupiter — from the Etruscan gods: Uni, Menrva, and Tinia. They transformed Rome from a pastoral community into a city. They also passed on elements of Greek culture that they had adopted, such as the Western version of the Greek alphabet.

Related Topics:
Juno - Minerva - Jupiter - Etruscan gods - Uni - Menrva - Tinia - Alphabet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Roman Expansion

After 500 BC, Rome joined with the Latin cities in defense against incursions by the Sabines. By 400 BC Etruscan power was limited to Etruria itself. Rome began to emerge as the dominant city in Latium, but in 387 BC was sacked by invaders from Gaul who had successfully invaded Etruria. After that, Rome went on the offensive, conquering the Etruscans and seizing terroritory from the Gauls in the north and pushing south against other Latins and the Samites in the South. By 290 BC, over half of the Italian penisula was controlled by Rome. In the 3rd century BC the Greek poleis in the south were brought under Roman control as well.

Related Topics:
400 BC - 387 BC - 290 BC - 3rd century BC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Roman Republic and Empire

According to tradition, Rome became a republic in 509 BC. By the end of the Republic, the city of Rome had achieved a grandeur befitting the capital of an empire dominating the whole of the Mediterranean, it was at the time, the largest city of the world with an estimates of it's peak population that range from 450,000 people to over 3.5 million, being 1 to 1.6 million generally estimated. This grandeur increased under Caesar Augustus and his successors: If anything, the Great Fire of Rome during the reign of Nero acted as an excuse for new development.

Related Topics:
Republic - 509 BC - Mediterranean - Caesar Augustus - Great Fire of Rome - Nero

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the early-3rd century, matters changed. Rome formally remained capital of the empire, but emperors spent less and less time there. In 330, Constantine established a second capital at Constantinople, and even the later western emperors ruled from Milan or Ravenna, not Rome. However, the Senate, while stripped of most of its political power, was still socially prestigious, and the Empire's conversion to Christianity made the Bishop of Rome (later called the Pope) the senior religious figure in the Western Empire. Also, the empire was now more open to external attack - Rome's first city walls for several hundred years were built in about 270, and even these did not stop the city being sacked first by Alaric in 410 and then by Geiseric in 455.

Related Topics:
3rd century - Empire - 330 - Constantine - Constantinople - Western emperors - Milan - Ravenna - Senate - Bishop of Rome - Alaric - 410 - Geiseric - 455

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For more details of the civilization, history, geographical expansion, and political system born in the ancient city of Rome, see Ancient Rome.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rome under barbarian and Byzantine rule

The fall of the Western Roman Empire made little difference to Rome. Odoacer and then the Ostrogoths continued, like the last emperors, to rule Italy from Ravenna. Meanwhile, the Senate, even though long since stripped of wider powers, continued to administer Rome itself, and the Pope usually came from a senatorial family. This situation continued until the Eastern Roman Empire, under Justinian I, captured the city in 536.

Related Topics:
Western Roman Empire - Odoacer - Ostrogoths - Ravenna - Eastern Roman Empire - Justinian I - 536

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 546, the Ostrogoths under Totila recaptured and sacked the city. The Byzantine general Belisarius recaptured Rome, but the Ostrogoths took it again in 549. Belisarius was replaced by Narses, who captured Rome from the Ostrogoths for good in 552. It was as a result of the constant war around it in the 530s and 540s that Rome at last fell into total disrepair, becoming nearly abandoned and desolate.

Related Topics:
546 - Totila - Belisarius - 549 - Narses - 552

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I (reigned 527–565) granted Rome subsidies for the maintenance of public buildings, aqueducts and bridges - though, being mostly drawn from an Italy impoverished by the recent wars, these were not always fully sufficient. He also styled himself the patron of its remaining scholars, orators, physicians and lawyers in the stated hope that in time more youths would seek for a better education. After the wars, the Senate was in theory restored, but under the supervision of a prefect and other officials appointed by and responsible to the Byzantine authorities in Ravenna.

Related Topics:
Eastern Roman Emperor - Justinian I - 527 - 565 - Building - Aqueduct - Bridge - Scholar - Orator - Physician - Lawyer - Education - Prefect

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, the Pope was now one of the leading religious figures in the entire Byzantine Empire and effectively more powerful locally than either the remaining senators or local Byzantine officials. In practice, local power in Rome devolved to the Pope and, over the next few decades, both much of the remaining possessions of the senatorial aristocracy and the local Byzantine administration in Rome were absorbed by the Church.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The reign of Justinian's nephew and successor Justin II (reigned 565–578) would see the invasion of the Lombards under Alboin (568). By capturing the regions of Benevento, Lombardy, Piedmont, Spoleto and Tuscany, the invaders effectively restricted imperial authority to small islands of land surrounding a number of coastal cities, including Ravenna, Naples and Rome. The one inland city continuing under Byzantine control was Perugia, which provided a repeatedly threatened overland link between Rome and Ravenna. In 578 and again in 580, the Senate, in its last recorded acts, had to ask for the support of Tiberius II Constantine (reigned 578–582) against the approaching dukes, Faroald of Spoleto and Zotto of Benevento.

Related Topics:
Justin II - 565 - 578 - Alboin - 568 - Benevento - Lombardy - Piedmont - Spoleto - Tuscany - Naples - Perugia - 580 - Tiberius II Constantine - 582

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Maurice (reigned 582–602) added a new factor in the continuing conflict by creating an alliance with Childebert II of Austrasia (reigned 575–595). The armies of the Frankish King invaded the Lombard territories in 584, 585, 588 and 590. Rome had suffered badly from a disastrous flood of the Tiber in 589, followed by a plague in 590. The later is notable for the legend of the angel seen, while the newly-elected Pope Gregory I (term 590‑604) was passing in procession by Hadrian's Tomb, to hover over the building and to sheathe his flaming sword as a sign that the pestilence was about to cease. But the city was safe from capture at least.

Related Topics:
Maurice - 582 - 602 - Childebert II of Austrasia - 575 - 595 - Frankish King - 584 - 585 - 588 - 590 - 589 - Legend - Angel - Pope Gregory I - 604

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Agilulf, however, the new Lombard King (reigned 591 to c. 616), managed to secure peace with Childebert, reorganized his territories and resumed activities against both Naples and Rome by 592. With the Emperor preoccupied with wars in the eastern borders and the various succeeding Exarchs unable to secure Rome from invasion, Gregory took a personal initiative of starting negotiations for a peace treaty. It was completed during the autumn of 598 and was only after recognized by Maurice. But it would last till the end of his reign.

Related Topics:
Agilulf - 591 - 616 - 592 - Exarch - Peace treaty - 598

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The position of the Patriarch of Rome was further strengthened under the usurper Phocas (reigned 602–610). Phocas recognized their primacy over that of the Patriarch of Constantinople and even decreed Pope Boniface III (607) to be "the head of all the Churches".

Related Topics:
Patriarch of Rome - Phocas - 602 - 610 - Patriarch of Constantinople - Pope Boniface III - 607 - Churches

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the 7th century century, an influx of both Byzantine officials and churchmen from elsewhere in the empire made both the local lay aristocracy and Church leadership largely Greek-speaking. However, the strong Byzantine cultural influence did not always lead to political harmony between Rome and Constantinople. In the controversy over Monothelitism, popes found themselves under severe pressure (sometimes amounting to physical force) when they failed to keep in step with Constantinople's shifting theological positions. In 653, Pope Martin I was deported to Constantinople and, after a show trial, exiled to the Crimea, where he died.

Related Topics:
7th century - Monothelitism - 653 - Pope Martin I

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Then, in 663, Rome had its first imperial visit for two centuries, by Constans II - its worst disaster since the Gothic Wars when the emperor proceeded to strip Rome of metal, including from buildings and statues, to provide materials for armaments to use against the Saracens. However, for the next half-century, despite further tensions, Rome and the Papacy continued to prefer continued Byzantine rule - in part because the alternative was Lombard rule, and in part because Rome's food was largely coming from Papal estates elsewhere in the Empire, particularly Sicily.

Related Topics:
663 - Constans II - Saracen - Sicily

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, in 727, Pope Gregory II refused to accept the decrees of Emperor Leo III, establishing iconoclasm. Leo proceeded, unsuccessfully, to impose iconoclasm on Rome by military force and then confiscated the Papal estates in Sicily and transferred areas previously ecclesiastically under the Pope but still under Byzantine control to the Patriarch of Constantinople. In effect, Rome had been expelled from the Byzantine Empire.

Related Topics:
727 - Pope Gregory II - Leo III - Iconoclasm - Patriarch of Constantinople

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This left Rome reliant purely on its own local forces to protect itself against Lombard encroachment - sometimes now, indeed, encouraged by the Byzantines. Other protectors were now needed - and finally, in 753, Pope Stephen III induced Pippin the Younger, king of the Franks, to attack the Lombards on the Papacy's behalf.

Related Topics:
753 - Pope Stephen III - Pippin the Younger - Franks

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 9th century, Pope Leo IV commisioned the construction of a wall around an area on the opposite side of the Tiber from the seven hills of Rome, which has since been called the Leonine City.

Related Topics:
9th century - Pope Leo IV - Seven hills of Rome - Leonine City

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Papal and Renaissance Rome

When Pepin III defeated the Lombards in 756, Rome became the capital city of the Papal States, a territorial entity at least nominally ruled by the Papacy. In practice, however, the government of the city was hotly contested between various factions of Roman nobility, the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, and occasional republican insurrections. After the suppression of the republic of 1434 (Gibbon's "last revolt of Rome"), the Papacy folded the government of Rome into the ecclesiastical bureaucracy. During this period, Rome became the worldwide center of Christianity and increasingly developed a relevant political role that made it one of the most important towns of the Old Continent. In art, although Florence became the center of humanism and the Rinascimento (Renaissance), Rome was the center of baroque, and architecture deeply affected its central areas.

Related Topics:
Pepin III - Lombards - 756 - Papal States - Papacy - Holy Roman Emperor - Republic - 1434 - Christianity - Art - Florence - Humanism - Renaissance - Baroque - Architecture

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 16th century a central area was delimited around the Porticus Octaviae, for the creation of the famous Roman Ghetto, in which the city's Jews were forced to live.

Related Topics:
16th century - Roman Ghetto - Jews

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some of the most famous views of Rome in the 18th century were etched by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. His grand vision of classic Rome inspired many to visit the city and examine the ruins themselves.

Related Topics:
18th century - Giovanni Battista Piranesi - Ruin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rome during the Italian unification

The rule of the Popes was interrupted by the short-lived Roman Republic (1798), which was built under the influence of the French Revolution.

Related Topics:
Roman Republic - 1798 - French Revolution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another Roman Republic arose in 1849, within the framework of revolutions of 1848. Two of the most influencing figures of the Italian unification, Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, fought for the short-lived republic.

Related Topics:
Roman Republic - 1849 - Revolutions of 1848 - Italian unification - Giuseppe Mazzini - Giuseppe Garibaldi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The return of Pope Pius IX in Rome, with help of French troops, marked the exclusion of Rome from the unification process that embodied in the second Italian independence war and the Mille expedition, after which all the Italian peninsula, except Rome and Venetia, where unified under the House of Savoy.

Related Topics:
Pope Pius IX - Second Italian independence war - ''Mille'' expedition - Venetia - House of Savoy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War started, and French Emperor Napoleon III could no longer protect the Papal States. Soon after, the Italian government declared war against the Papal States. The Italian army entered Rome on September 20, after a cannonade of three hours, through Porta Pia. Rome and Latium were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.

Related Topics:
1870 - Franco-Prussian War - Napoleon III - September 20 - Latium

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Initially the Italian government had offered to let Pope Pius IX keep the Leonine City, but the pope rejected the offer because acceptance would have been an implied endorsement of the legitimacy of the Italian kingdom's rule over his former domain. Pope Pius IX declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican, although he was not actually restrained from coming and going. Officially, the capital was not moved from Florence to Rome until early 1871.

Related Topics:
Prisoner in the Vatican - 1871

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~