A Quick History on Rome
Sources:
Encyclopedia Britannica (Website)
Ancient History Guy (YouTube)
The Mystery of History (Book)
History Through the Ages: Record of Time (Book)
Ancient Rome: Fact Files (Book)
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/DGHI-b1fsPM?si=_Vuy8G-NtXHhdhvy
Note: Please read until the end for a special announcement.
Hey guys! I wrote the history of Rome (753 BCE - 476 CE). If you guys want, I can make a second part (476 - 1453). And also, WWI and WWII content are coming soon. So, let’s jump in. This is the story of Rome.
Though this is mythical, Rome was founded by two brothers called Romulus and Remus. After meeting a wolf, Romulus killed Remus and became the first king.
In reality, in 1000 BCE, there was a village in modern-day Italy. It was very small. One day, however, a man called Romulus led many other villagers to found a city. What they didn’t know was that it would become a massive empire, be the father of modern democracies, and much more.
Following the real Romulus’ death, there was a complicated cycle to get a new king. In 510 BCE, a king called Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown. The following year, Rome became a republic. Instead of one ruler for the entire country, two rulers called consuls were put in charge. Every year, the previous consuls would step down, and new ones would be elected. Comparing this to modern democratic states, I think it’s better to have at least two rulers overseeing the entire country, especially for big countries, like the United States and Canada.
The next major war didn’t come until 264 BCE. A few years prior to that, Rome expanded dramatically into almost the entire Italian peninsula, and were looking for more land. They took the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica from the Carthaginian Empire, an African country in modern-day Tunisia, after what the Romans called the First Punic War. (The Romans used the term “Punic” for “Phoenicians.” Carthage was a colony of Phoenicia for many years.)
However, a man called Hannibal Bacar hiked across the Alps instead of attacking Rome from the south when the Second Punic War started. But even after that, Hannibal had to return to Carthage, for fear it would be conquered by a Roman general named Scipio Africanus. (Africa was probably named after him.)
Bacar and Africanus met at the Battle of Zama. If you saw Tunisia, where Carthage was, on a map of the Roman Empire, you’d probably know who won. It was Scipio Africanus. Though Hannibal hid from the Romans, they found him on the island of Crete in Greece. Later on, he committed suicide. Africanus died that same year. Because Spain and Portugal initially belonged to Carthage, they were transferred to Rome.
Then, in the Third Punic War, the Romans burned the city of Carthage and used salt to kill the city’s crops. However, later on in the second century BCE, the Roman Republic was collapsing.
A rivalry between two people was rising. They were Gaius Marius and Cornelius Sulla. Civil war broke out, and Sulla won. He declared himself dictator of Rome, but restored the republic a year later.
One of Marius’ relatives, Gaius Julius Caesar, fled Rome until Sulla died, for fear he would be killed by Sulla. When he returned, he captured Gaul (modern-day France) in the Gallic Wars. Although he declared himself dictator in 47 BCE, he was killed three years later.
Then, Rome was divided. Gaius Octavius Caesar took regions in the west, while Marcus Antonius took regions in the east. Antonius married the queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, around 35 BCE. He gave land away to Egypt, which was unacceptable for Caesar. Civil war broke out in 31 BCE, but Antonius and Cleopatra fled immediately, causing Caesar to become emperor in 27 BCE, starting the Roman Empire.
Caesar, who was now called Augustus, spent some time organizing Gaul into several smaller provinces. They tried to conquer a country called Germania, but failed, leading to a Roman defeat at the Battle of Teutoberg Forest.
Following Augustus, however, things went downhill for Rome. The last member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (Augustus’ bloodline), Nero, was a very cruel emperor. He played the lyre and laughed while watching a great fire that destroyed the city of Rome. Though it’s never been confirmed, he probably initiated the fire. He blamed the innocent Christians for the fire. (Under Nero, Peter and Paul were killed for their faith. We call those people martyrs.) Knowing that he could’ve be executed at any minute, he commited suicide in 68 CE.
Two years before Nero died, in 66 CE, a group of Jews, including a Pharisee named Josephus, revolted against Rome. However, a Roman general called Vespasian defeated them. (Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE!) Some Jews fled to Masada, a fortress built by King Herod, but commited mass suicide later on.
Vespasian became emperor in 69 CE and ruled for ten years. His sons, Titus and Domitian, ruled from 79-81 CE and 81-96 CE respectively. Though Vespasian and Titus were good, Domitian was very evil! He claimed to have divine power, and even persecuted Christians for rejecting him.
Christian persecution continued during the line of Nerva under Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius. It was during Trajan’s reign, however, that Rome was at its greatest extent, spanning from Britannia in the west to Pontus in the east. That might not sound so impressive, but that’s modern-day Scotland and Turkey!
The Five Good Emperors ended with Marcus Aurelius. That’s because his son, Commodus, was very cruel! I don’t have any evidence of him persecuting Christians, but he was still very bad. In fact, following Aurelius, there were no good emperors for around half a century! Though Aurelian was kinda good, it took around another fifty years to get another one.
It was only during Diocletian’s reign that the Crisis of the Third Century ended. He had four different Caesars rule a respective part of the empire. One Caesar was Constantius Chlorus. While Diocletian and other Caesars persecuted Christians, Constantius supported them. They were safe in his part of the empire (Gaul & Britannia).
His son, Constantine, conquered the other Caesar’s parts. During a battle against a man named Maxentius, he saw the Christian cross, with a feeling that God was on his side. Maxentius tried to trap Constantine, but he fell into his own trap. Constantine then signed the Edict of Milan in 313, legalizing Christianity.
However, after Constantine died, the empire split into the West and East. You probably know the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire, or simply Byzantium. I’ll call it the Eastern Roman Empire. Anyway, the Western Roman Empire was constantly raided by Germanic tribes, like the Huns, Vandals, and Goths. (The Goths split into the Visigoths and Ostrogoths.) It finally collapsed around 475 CE. But while the West ushered in the Dark Ages, the East was booming! It actually survived for over 1,000 years (until the 15th century)!
Should I write a lesson on the Eastern Roman Empire? That’s one option. Or do you want a fictional series on the return of the Roman Empire? I’m open for suggestions, but I don’t have a comment section, so if you know me, please tell me your request. But that’s not my next post, because I have more news. Remember the announcement I mentioned at the start? Here it is.
My first post, “What if Julius Caesar was Never Killed? (Part 2),” just hit 100,000 views, and it went from 57 to 80,000 views in 11 seconds! (Yes, I needed to post Part 2 first because I needed the link.) Thank you guys for all the support! One of the purposes of my previous blog, mariofromnintendo.blogspot.com, was to get popular, but it failed. To think that it’s finally working out, I’m just very happy. Anyway, thanks for reading, guys. Bye!
