Ancient Rome Facts
As legend has it, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Mars, the god of war.
Packed with immigrating young men, the Romans needed female inhabitants and kidnapped Sabine women, sparking a war that ended with a truce and the two sides joining forces.
The Circus Maximus, a huge stadium built for chariot races, could seat around 150,000 people.
The native language of the Romans was Latin, but they often spoke Greek as well.
When Julius Caesar took power he named himself dictator for life. However, this didn’t last long as he was assassinated a year later.
The fall of Rome generally refers to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It fell in 476 AD. The Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire, would rule parts of Eastern Europe for another 1000 years.
The Romans believed in gods and goddesses who ruled over different areas of life.
Life expectancy in ancient Rome was only 20 to 30 years, but they didn’t all die young.
The wars between the Romans and the Persians lasted about 721 years. This constitutes the longest conflict in human history.
During the 7th century BC, ancient Roman “Vestal Virgins” were required to keep their hymens intact as proof of virginity for 30 years.
Quick TimeLine of Ancient Rome:
| 753 BC: The “foundation of Rome” |
| 509 BC: The creation of the Roman Republic |
| 338 BC: The settlement of the Latin War |
| 264–146 BC: The Punic Wars |
| The second and first centuries BC: the Hellenisation of Rome |
| 67–62 BC: Pompey in the East |
| 31 BC–AD 14: Augustus reintroduces monarchy to Rome |
| AD 235–284: the third century crisis |
| AD 312: Constantine converts to Christianity |
| AD 410: The fall of Rome |
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