Skip this
skip this
skip this
I Blame University
SKIP IT
-------------------
Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma, pronounced [ˈroːma] ⓘ) is the capital city and most populated comune (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special comune named Roma Capitale with 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[2] Rome is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[3] Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy.[5] Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See)[6] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geography, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, and the centre of the Catholic Church.[7][8][9]
Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for over three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[10] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded by many as the first-ever Imperial city and metropolis.[11] It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.[12][13] Rome is also called Caput Mundi (Capital of the World).
After the fall of the Empire in the west, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, and in the 8th century, it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world.[14] In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance[15] and then became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic.
In 2019, Rome was the 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy.[16] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[17] The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is also the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security. The city also hosts the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[18] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of several Italian multinational companies, such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo, and banks such as BNL. Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as the luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and the Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.[19]
Name and symbolEtymology
According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth,[20] the name Roma came from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[1]
However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[21] As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain:[22]
From Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn is supposedly related to the Greek verb ῥέω (rhéō) 'to flow, stream' and the Latin verb ruō 'to hurry, rush';[b]From the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;From the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]Other names and symbols
Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city),[23] from urbs roma, or identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR, the symbol of Rome's constituted republican government. In 192, emperor Commodus renamed the city Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana after himself. The name was reverted to Rome after his assassination at the end of the year.[24] Furthermore, Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the world), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale.
HistoryMain article: History of RomeFor a chronological guide, see Timeline of Rome.Earliest historyMain article: Founding of RomeModel of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the seventh century BC.
While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[10] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC).[25] However, none of them yet had an urban quality.[25] Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("synoecism") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.[25] This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level, which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities. These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae).[25] These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city.[25] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.[26]
Legend of the founding of RomeMain articles: Romulus and Remus and RomulusCapitoline Wolf, a sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus
Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf.[20] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.[27] This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.[28] This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that the city was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks.[29][30]
Monarchy and republicMain articles: Ancient Rome, Roman Kingdom, and Roman RepublicThe Temple of Portunus, god of grain storage, keys, livestock and ports,[31] built in 120–80 BCThe Roman Forum contains the ruins of the buildings that represented the political, legal, religious and economic centre of ancient Rome, constituting the "nerve centre" of all Roman civilisation.[32]
After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,[27] Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[27]
In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic led by two annually-elected consuls. Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, and Marsi.[33] After becoming master of Latium, Rome led several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto, allied with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula, from the central area up to Magna Graecia.[34]
The 3rd and 4th century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the Balkans through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[35] The first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea and Africa.[36]
From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares, which relied on the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the late 2nd and early 1st century BC there were several conflicts both abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,[37] and the war against Jugurtha,[37] there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious.[37] A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed,[38] and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[38]
The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life.[38] His assassination in 44 BC led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to a final civil war between Octavian and Antony.[39]
EmpireMain article: Roman EmpireThe Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of palaces located in the Palatine Hill, express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century.The Imperial fora belong to a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also seen in the image is Trajan's Market.Model of Imperial Rome at the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome. The Temple of Claudius is situated to the south (left) of the Colosseum.
In 27 BC, Octavian was named Augustus and princeps, founding the principate, a diarchy between the princeps and the senate.[39] Over time, the new monarch came to be known as the imperator (hence emperor), meaning "commander".[40] During the reign of Nero, two thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome, and the persecution of Christians commenced.[41][42][43] Rome's empire reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan. Rome was known as the caput Mundi, i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the Julio-Claudian,[44] Flavian (who built an eponymous amphitheatre known as the Colosseum),[44] and Antonine dynasties.[45] This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in the first half of the first century (under Tiberius) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond.[46] The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt.[45]
Colosseum at dusk
After the end of the Severan dynasty in AD 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the Crisis of the Third Century, during which numerous generals fought for power and the central authority in Rome weakened dramatically. Around the same time, the Plague of Cyprian (c. 250–270) afflicted the Mediterranean.[47] Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made serious uncoordinated incursions that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.[48] The civil wars ended in 285 with the final victory of Diocletian, who undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced a new authoritarian model known as the Dominate, derived from his title of dominus ("lord"). His most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last.
Diocletian divided the empire in 286, ruling over the eastern half from Nicomedia, while his co-emperor Maximian ruled the western half from Mediolanum (when not on the move).[48] The empire was further divided in 293, when Diocletian named two caesar, one for each augustus (emperor). Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession, similar to the Antonine dynasty. Upon abdication in 305, both caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves.[48] However, a series of civil wars between rival claimants to power resulted in the unification of the empire under Constantine the Great in 324. Hereditary succession was restored, but the east–west division was maintained. Constantine undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries. The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually a fragment of a letter from his co-emperor Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). In 330, he transformed Byzantium into Constantinople, which became his new capital. However, it was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan, Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in 359 by Constantius II.[49]
Constantine, following Diocletian's reforms. regionalised the administration, which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating regional dioceses. The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation.[50] The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support system from its control.
Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his young children, Honorius and Arcadius, inherited the western and eastern empires respectively. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in Rome.[51]
The Visigoths sacking Rome in 410, by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre (1890), the first time in c. 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy
Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I,[52] but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric, king of the Vandals.[53] The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus, who resided on Ravenna, on 4 September 476. This marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages.[49]
The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain the monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised.[54]
However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After the Gothic siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory the Great.[55] The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the population from falling further.[56] The figure of 450,000–500,000 is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population.[57] Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population).
Middle AgesFurther information: Fall of the Western Roman EmpireThe Vandals sacking Rome in 455, by Karl Briullov (1830s)
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, Rome was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East Roman control after the Gothic War, which devastated the city in 546 and 550. Its population declined from more than a million in AD 210 to 500,000 in AD 273[58] to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554),[59] reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens.[60] It is generally thought the population of the city until AD 300 was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in AD 400, then 450–500,000 in AD 450 and down to 80–100,000 in AD 500 (though it may have been twice this).[61]
The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope, was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as the successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church.
Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma, pronounced [ˈroːma] ⓘ) is the capital city and most populated comune (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special comune named Roma Capitale with 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[2] Rome is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[3] Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy.[5] Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See)[6] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geography, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, and the centre of the Catholic Church.[7][8][9]
Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for over three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[10] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded by many as the first-ever Imperial city and metropolis.[11] It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.[12][13] Rome is also called Caput Mundi (Capital of the World).
After the fall of the Empire in the west, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, and in the 8th century, it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world.[14] In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance[15] and then became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic.
In 2019, Rome was the 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy.[16] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[17] The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is also the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security. The city also hosts the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[18] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of several Italian multinational companies, such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo, and banks such as BNL. Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as the luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and the Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.[19]
Name and symbolEtymology
According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth,[20] the name Roma came from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[1]
However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[21] As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain:[22]
From Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn is supposedly related to the Greek verb ῥέω (rhéō) 'to flow, stream' and the Latin verb ruō 'to hurry, rush';[b]From the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;From the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]Other names and symbols
Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city),[23] from urbs roma, or identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR, the symbol of Rome's constituted republican government. In 192, emperor Commodus renamed the city Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana after himself. The name was reverted to Rome after his assassination at the end of the year.[24] Furthermore, Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the world), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale.
HistoryMain article: History of RomeFor a chronological guide, see Timeline of Rome.Earliest historyMain article: Founding of RomeModel of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the seventh century BC.
While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[10] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC).[25] However, none of them yet had an urban quality.[25] Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("synoecism") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.[25] This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level, which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities. These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae).[25] These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city.[25] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.[26]
Legend of the founding of RomeMain articles: Romulus and Remus and RomulusCapitoline Wolf, a sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus
Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf.[20] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.[27] This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.[28] This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that the city was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks.[29][30]
Monarchy and republicMain articles: Ancient Rome, Roman Kingdom, and Roman RepublicThe Temple of Portunus, god of grain storage, keys, livestock and ports,[31] built in 120–80 BCThe Roman Forum contains the ruins of the buildings that represented the political, legal, religious and economic centre of ancient Rome, constituting the "nerve centre" of all Roman civilisation.[32]
After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,[27] Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[27]
In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic led by two annually-elected consuls. Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, and Marsi.[33] After becoming master of Latium, Rome led several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto, allied with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula, from the central area up to Magna Graecia.[34]
The 3rd and 4th century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the Balkans through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[35] The first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea and Africa.[36]
From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares, which relied on the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the late 2nd and early 1st century BC there were several conflicts both abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,[37] and the war against Jugurtha,[37] there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious.[37] A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed,[38] and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[38]
The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life.[38] His assassination in 44 BC led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to a final civil war between Octavian and Antony.[39]
EmpireMain article: Roman EmpireThe Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of palaces located in the Palatine Hill, express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century.The Imperial fora belong to a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also seen in the image is Trajan's Market.Model of Imperial Rome at the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome. The Temple of Claudius is situated to the south (left) of the Colosseum.
In 27 BC, Octavian was named Augustus and princeps, founding the principate, a diarchy between the princeps and the senate.[39] Over time, the new monarch came to be known as the imperator (hence emperor), meaning "commander".[40] During the reign of Nero, two thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome, and the persecution of Christians commenced.[41][42][43] Rome's empire reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan. Rome was known as the caput Mundi, i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the Julio-Claudian,[44] Flavian (who built an eponymous amphitheatre known as the Colosseum),[44] and Antonine dynasties.[45] This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in the first half of the first century (under Tiberius) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond.[46] The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt.[45]
Colosseum at dusk
After the end of the Severan dynasty in AD 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the Crisis of the Third Century, during which numerous generals fought for power and the central authority in Rome weakened dramatically. Around the same time, the Plague of Cyprian (c. 250–270) afflicted the Mediterranean.[47] Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made serious uncoordinated incursions that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.[48] The civil wars ended in 285 with the final victory of Diocletian, who undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced a new authoritarian model known as the Dominate, derived from his title of dominus ("lord"). His most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last.
Diocletian divided the empire in 286, ruling over the eastern half from Nicomedia, while his co-emperor Maximian ruled the western half from Mediolanum (when not on the move).[48] The empire was further divided in 293, when Diocletian named two caesar, one for each augustus (emperor). Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession, similar to the Antonine dynasty. Upon abdication in 305, both caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves.[48] However, a series of civil wars between rival claimants to power resulted in the unification of the empire under Constantine the Great in 324. Hereditary succession was restored, but the east–west division was maintained. Constantine undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries. The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually a fragment of a letter from his co-emperor Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). In 330, he transformed Byzantium into Constantinople, which became his new capital. However, it was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan, Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in 359 by Constantius II.[49]
Constantine, following Diocletian's reforms. regionalised the administration, which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating regional dioceses. The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation.[50] The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support system from its control.
Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his young children, Honorius and Arcadius, inherited the western and eastern empires respectively. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in Rome.[51]
The Visigoths sacking Rome in 410, by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre (1890), the first time in c. 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy
Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I,[52] but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric, king of the Vandals.[53] The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus, who resided on Ravenna, on 4 September 476. This marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages.[49]
The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain the monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised.[54]
However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After the Gothic siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory the Great.[55] The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the population from falling further.[56] The figure of 450,000–500,000 is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population.[57] Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population).
Middle AgesFurther information: Fall of the Western Roman EmpireThe Vandals sacking Rome in 455, by Karl Briullov (1830s)
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, Rome was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East Roman control after the Gothic War, which devastated the city in 546 and 550. Its population declined from more than a million in AD 210 to 500,000 in AD 273[58] to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554),[59] reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens.[60] It is generally thought the population of the city until AD 300 was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in AD 400, then 450–500,000 in AD 450 and down to 80–100,000 in AD 500 (though it may have been twice this).[61]
The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope, was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as the successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church.
Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma, pronounced [ˈroːma] ⓘ) is the capital city and most populated comune (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special comune named Roma Capitale with 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[2] Rome is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[3] Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy.[5] Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See)[6] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geography, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, and the centre of the Catholic Church.[7][8][9]
Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for over three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[10] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded by many as the first-ever Imperial city and metropolis.[11] It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.[12][13] Rome is also called Caput Mundi (Capital of the World).
After the fall of the Empire in the west, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, and in the 8th century, it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world.[14] In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance[15] and then became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic.
In 2019, Rome was the 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy.[16] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[17] The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is also the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security. The city also hosts the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[18] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of several Italian multinational companies, such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo, and banks such as BNL. Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as the luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and the Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.[19]
Name and symbolEtymology
According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth,[20] the name Roma came from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[1]
However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[21] As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain:[22]
From Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn is supposedly related to the Greek verb ῥέω (rhéō) 'to flow, stream' and the Latin verb ruō 'to hurry, rush';[b]From the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;From the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]Other names and symbols
Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city),[23] from urbs roma, or identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR, the symbol of Rome's constituted republican government. In 192, emperor Commodus renamed the city Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana after himself. The name was reverted to Rome after his assassination at the end of the year.[24] Furthermore, Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the world), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale.
HistoryMain article: History of RomeFor a chronological guide, see Timeline of Rome.Earliest historyMain article: Founding of RomeModel of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the seventh century BC.
While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[10] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC).[25] However, none of them yet had an urban quality.[25] Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("synoecism") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.[25] This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level, which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities. These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae).[25] These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city.[25] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.[26]
Legend of the founding of RomeMain articles: Romulus and Remus and RomulusCapitoline Wolf, a sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus
Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf.[20] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.[27] This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.[28] This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that the city was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks.[29][30]
Monarchy and republicMain articles: Ancient Rome, Roman Kingdom, and Roman RepublicThe Temple of Portunus, god of grain storage, keys, livestock and ports,[31] built in 120–80 BCThe Roman Forum contains the ruins of the buildings that represented the political, legal, religious and economic centre of ancient Rome, constituting the "nerve centre" of all Roman civilisation.[32]
After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,[27] Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[27]
In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic led by two annually-elected consuls. Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, and Marsi.[33] After becoming master of Latium, Rome led several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto, allied with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula, from the central area up to Magna Graecia.[34]
The 3rd and 4th century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the Balkans through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[35] The first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea and Africa.[36]
From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares, which relied on the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the late 2nd and early 1st century BC there were several conflicts both abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,[37] and the war against Jugurtha,[37] there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious.[37] A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed,[38] and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[38]
The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life.[38] His assassination in 44 BC led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to a final civil war between Octavian and Antony.[39]
EmpireMain article: Roman EmpireThe Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of palaces located in the Palatine Hill, express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century.The Imperial fora belong to a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also seen in the image is Trajan's Market.Model of Imperial Rome at the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome. The Temple of Claudius is situated to the south (left) of the Colosseum.
In 27 BC, Octavian was named Augustus and princeps, founding the principate, a diarchy between the princeps and the senate.[39] Over time, the new monarch came to be known as the imperator (hence emperor), meaning "commander".[40] During the reign of Nero, two thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome, and the persecution of Christians commenced.[41][42][43] Rome's empire reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan. Rome was known as the caput Mundi, i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the Julio-Claudian,[44] Flavian (who built an eponymous amphitheatre known as the Colosseum),[44] and Antonine dynasties.[45] This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in the first half of the first century (under Tiberius) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond.[46] The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt.[45]
Colosseum at dusk
After the end of the Severan dynasty in AD 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the Crisis of the Third Century, during which numerous generals fought for power and the central authority in Rome weakened dramatically. Around the same time, the Plague of Cyprian (c. 250–270) afflicted the Mediterranean.[47] Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made serious uncoordinated incursions that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.[48] The civil wars ended in 285 with the final victory of Diocletian, who undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced a new authoritarian model known as the Dominate, derived from his title of dominus ("lord"). His most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last.
Diocletian divided the empire in 286, ruling over the eastern half from Nicomedia, while his co-emperor Maximian ruled the western half from Mediolanum (when not on the move).[48] The empire was further divided in 293, when Diocletian named two caesar, one for each augustus (emperor). Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession, similar to the Antonine dynasty. Upon abdication in 305, both caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves.[48] However, a series of civil wars between rival claimants to power resulted in the unification of the empire under Constantine the Great in 324. Hereditary succession was restored, but the east–west division was maintained. Constantine undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries. The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually a fragment of a letter from his co-emperor Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). In 330, he transformed Byzantium into Constantinople, which became his new capital. However, it was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan, Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in 359 by Constantius II.[49]
Constantine, following Diocletian's reforms. regionalised the administration, which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating regional dioceses. The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation.[50] The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support system from its control.
Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his young children, Honorius and Arcadius, inherited the western and eastern empires respectively. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in Rome.[51]
The Visigoths sacking Rome in 410, by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre (1890), the first time in c. 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy
Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I,[52] but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric, king of the Vandals.[53] The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus, who resided on Ravenna, on 4 September 476. This marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages.[49]
The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain the monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised.[54]
However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After the Gothic siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of Gregory the Great.[55] The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the population from falling further.[56] The figure of 450,000–500,000 is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population.[57] Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population).
Middle AgesFurther information: Fall of the Western Roman EmpireThe Vandals sacking Rome in 455, by Karl Briullov (1830s)
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, Rome was first under the control of Odoacer and then became part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom before returning to East Roman control after the Gothic War, which devastated the city in 546 and 550. Its population declined from more than a million in AD 210 to 500,000 in AD 273[58] to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554),[59] reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens.[60] It is generally thought the population of the city until AD 300 was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in AD 400, then 450–500,000 in AD 450 and down to 80–100,000 in AD 500 (though it may have been twice this).[61]
The Bishop of Rome, called the Pope, was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles Peter and Paul there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as the successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the Catholic Church.
Rome (Italian and Latin: Roma, pronounced [ˈroːma] ⓘ) is the capital city and most populated comune (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special comune named Roma Capitale with 2,860,009 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi),[2] Rome is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome, with a population of 4,355,725 residents, is the most populous metropolitan city in Italy.[3] Its metropolitan area is the third-most populous within Italy.[5] Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber Valley. Vatican City (the smallest country in the world and headquarters of the worldwide Catholic Church under the governance of the Holy See)[6] is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city. Rome is often referred to as the City of Seven Hills due to its geography, and also as the "Eternal City". Rome is generally considered to be the cradle of Western civilization and Western Christian culture, and the centre of the Catholic Church.[7][8][9]
Rome's history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for over three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[10] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded by many as the first-ever Imperial city and metropolis.[11] It was first called The Eternal City (Latin: Urbs Aeterna; Italian: La Città Eterna) by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy.[12][13] Rome is also called Caput Mundi (Capital of the World).
After the fall of the Empire in the west, which marked the beginning of the Middle Ages, Rome slowly fell under the political control of the Papacy, and in the 8th century, it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. Beginning with the Renaissance, almost all popes since Nicholas V (1447–1455) pursued a coherent architectural and urban programme over four hundred years, aimed at making the city the artistic and cultural centre of the world.[14] In this way, Rome first became one of the major centres of the Renaissance[15] and then became the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors, and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, creating masterpieces throughout the city. In 1871, Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which, in 1946, became the Italian Republic.
In 2019, Rome was the 14th most visited city in the world, with 8.6 million tourists, the third most visited city in the European Union, and the most popular tourist destination in Italy.[16] Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[17] The host city for the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rome is also the seat of several specialised agencies of the United Nations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security. The city also hosts the European Union (EU) Delegation to the United Nations (UN) and the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean[18] (UfM) as well as the headquarters of several Italian multinational companies, such as Eni, Enel, TIM, Leonardo, and banks such as BNL. Numerous companies are based within Rome's EUR business district, such as the luxury fashion house Fendi located in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The presence of renowned international brands in the city has made Rome an important centre of fashion and design, and the Cinecittà Studios have been the set of many Academy Award–winning movies.[19]
Name and symbolEtymology
According to the Ancient Romans' founding myth,[20] the name Roma came from the city's founder and first king, Romulus.[1]
However, it is possible that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself.[21] As early as the 4th century, there have been alternative theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. Several hypotheses have been advanced focusing on its linguistic roots which however remain uncertain:[22]
From Rumon or Rumen, archaic name of the Tiber, which in turn is supposedly related to the Greek verb ῥέω (rhéō) 'to flow, stream' and the Latin verb ruō 'to hurry, rush';[b]From the Etruscan word 𐌓𐌖𐌌𐌀 (ruma), whose root is *rum- "teat", with possible reference either to the totem wolf that adopted and suckled the cognately named twins Romulus and Remus, or to the shape of the Palatine and Aventine Hills;From the Greek word ῥώμη (rhṓmē), which means strength.[c]Other names and symbols
Rome has also been called in ancient times simply "Urbs" (central city),[23] from urbs roma, or identified with its ancient Roman initialism of SPQR, the symbol of Rome's constituted republican government. In 192, emperor Commodus renamed the city Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana after himself. The name was reverted to Rome after his assassination at the end of the year.[24] Furthermore, Rome has been called Urbs Aeterna (The Eternal City), Caput Mundi (The Capital of the world), Throne of St. Peter and Roma Capitale.
HistoryMain article: History of RomeFor a chronological guide, see Timeline of Rome.Earliest historyMain article: Founding of RomeModel of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the seventh century BC.
While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites.[10] Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC).[25] However, none of them yet had an urban quality.[25] Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("synoecism") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.[25] This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the subsistence level, which also allowed the establishment of secondary and tertiary activities. These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly Ischia and Cumae).[25] These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city.[25] Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.[26]
Legend of the founding of RomeMain articles: Romulus and Remus and RomulusCapitoline Wolf, a sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus
Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf.[20] They decided to build a city, but after an argument, Romulus killed his brother and the city took his name. According to the Roman annalists, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.[27] This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.[28] This was accomplished by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC. In addition, Strabo mentions an older story, that the city was an Arcadian colony founded by Evander. Strabo also writes that Lucius Coelius Antipater believed that Rome was founded by Greeks.[29][30]
Monarchy and republicMain articles: Ancient Rome, Roman Kingdom, and Roman RepublicThe Temple of Portunus, god of grain storage, keys, livestock and ports,[31] built in 120–80 BCThe Roman Forum contains the ruins of the buildings that represented the political, legal, religious and economic centre of ancient Rome, constituting the "nerve centre" of all Roman civilisation.[32]
After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,[27] Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a monarchical system, initially with sovereigns of Latin and Sabine origin, later by Etruscan kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.[27]
In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an oligarchic republic led by two annually-elected consuls. Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between patricians (aristocrats) and plebeians (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, Volsci, Aequi, and Marsi.[33] After becoming master of Latium, Rome led several wars (against the Gauls, Osci-Samnites and the Greek colony of Taranto, allied with Pyrrhus, king of Epirus) whose result was the conquest of the Italian peninsula, from the central area up to Magna Graecia.[34]
The 3rd and 4th century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the Mediterranean and the Balkans through the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC) fought against Carthage and the three Macedonian Wars (212–168 BC) against Macedonia.[35] The first Roman provinces were established at this time: Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Hispania, Macedonia, Achaea and Africa.[36]
From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the optimates, representing the conservative part of the Senate, and the populares, which relied on the help of the plebs (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the late 2nd and early 1st century BC there were several conflicts both abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus,[37] and the war against Jugurtha,[37] there was a civil war from which the general Sulla emerged victorious.[37] A major slave revolt under Spartacus followed,[38] and then the establishment of the first Triumvirate with Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.[38]
The conquest of Gaul made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a civil war against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as dictator for life.[38] His assassination in 44 BC led to a second Triumvirate among Octavian (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), Mark Antony and Lepidus, and to a final civil war between Octavian and Antony.[39]
EmpireMain article: Roman EmpireThe Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of palaces located in the Palatine Hill, express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century.The Imperial fora belong to a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also seen in the image is Trajan's Market.Model of Imperial Rome at the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome. The Temple of Claudius is situated to the south (left) of the Colosseum.
In 27 BC, Octavian was named Augustus and princeps, founding the principate, a diarchy between the princeps and the senate.[39] Over time, the new monarch came to be known as the imperator (hence emperor), meaning "commander".[40] During the reign of Nero, two thirds of the city was ruined after the Great Fire of Rome, and the persecution of Christians commenced.[41][42][43] Rome's empire reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor Trajan. Rome was known as the caput Mundi, i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the Julio-Claudian,[44] Flavian (who built an eponymous amphitheatre known as the Colosseum),[44] and Antonine dynasties.[45] This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by Jesus Christ in Judea in the first half of the first century (under Tiberius) and popularised by his apostles through the empire and beyond.[46] The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates and from Britain to Egypt.[45]
Colosseum at dusk
After the end of the Severan dynasty in AD 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the Crisis of the Third Century, during which numerous generals fought for power and the central authority in Rome weakened dramatically. Around the same time, the Plague of Cyprian (c. 250–270) afflicted the Mediterranean.[47] Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The Germanic tribes along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made serious uncoordinated incursions that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The Persian Empire invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.[48] The civil wars ended in 285 with the final victory of Diocletian, who undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced a new authoritarian model known as the Dominate, derived from his title of dominus ("lord"). His most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed price controls which did not last.
Diocletian divided the empire in 286, ruling over the eastern half from Nicomedia, while his co-emperor Maximian ruled the western half from Mediolanum (when not on the move).[48] The empire was further divided in 293, when Diocletian named two caesar, one for each augustus (emperor). Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession, similar to the Antonine dynasty. Upon abdication in 305, both caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves.[48] However, a series of civil wars between rival claimants to power resulted in the unification of the empire under Constantine the Great in 324. Hereditary succession was restored, but the east–west division was maintained. Constantine undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries. The so-called Edict of Milan of 313, actually a fragment of a letter from his co-emperor Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). In 330, he transformed Byzantium into Constantinople, which became his new capital. However, it was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like Milan, Trier or Nicomedia until given a city prefect in 359 by Constantius II.[49]
Constantine, following Diocletian's reforms. regionalised the administration, which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating regional dioceses. The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation.[50] The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support system from its control.
Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the Edict of Thessalonica issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and Theodosius I – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his young children, Honorius and Arcadius, inherited the western and eastern empires respectively. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to Ravenna in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in Rome.[51]
The Visigoths sacking Rome in 410, by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre (1890), the first time in c. 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy
Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, was sacked in 410 by the Visigoths led by Alaric I,[52] but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by Genseric, king of the Vandals.[53] The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of Romulus Augustus, who resided on Ravenna, on 4 September 476. This marked the end of the Western Roman Empire and, for many historians, the beginning of the Middle Ages.[49]
The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa,