For something to be considered “ancient”, it is said by Dictionary.com that it has to be “belonging to times long past, especially of the historical period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ancient)
Rome was founded by Romulus in 753 B.C., 2,763 years ago. Rome started off being unnoticed, but grew to be a huge empire. It is the foundation of many things that are still present in the world today. Rome is currently the capital of Italy and one of the world’s great historic cities. Because of its history, it is called the Eternal City. Ancient Rome’s influence can be seen today in fields such as architecture, government, language, and law. For centuries, Rome was the supreme rule of Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia. Rome ruled the ancient Western world as the capital of the Roman Empire. (Rome, The World Book Encyclopedia)
When I think about the beginning of humanity in the world, I automatically think back to the time when Jesus was born and lived. Many times I do not realize that so many important events took place before Jesus was born. In fact, it was the Romans who persecuted Jesus, so they were established and known a long time before Jesus was born. When looking forward to Easter, I have never thought of it as involving the Romans, although they played the biggest role in hanging Jesus on the cross; they were the ones who put Jesus to death. I find this piece of information very interesting because many people in Rome are now Catholic, which shows that there has been a lot change in Rome since the time of Jesus. The Catholic Pope even currently lives in Rome. Thinking that Rome was around much before Jesus leads me believe and understand to the fact that it is a very ancient city and has been around for centuries to build itself a well-known dynasty.
Many things that are present in the United States are based off of different ideas and models from Ancient Roman times. “In 450 B.C., the first Roman law code was inscribed on 12 bronze tablets--known as the Twelve Tables--and publicly displayed in the Roman Forum.” We have a Constitution which states our laws and the rights that we as human beings have in the United States of America. By around 300 B.C., political law in Rome was centered in the Senate. Our Senate today is an extremely important part of our government, making up the Congress, and it has many exclusive powers. (http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome) Rome has influenced a variety of different things in the world today.
Rome has gone through many changes throughout their history. It started off as being unnoticed and small. Rome gradually began to gain power and become authoritative. In 406 B.C., Rome attacked Veii, which was the first major victory in a campaign of steady expansion into Latin and Etruscan territory. From 343 to 341 B.C. was the First Samnite War. It increased Rome’s power base significantly. In the Latin war, Rome extended its citizenship to almost all parts of the territory. In the next two Samnite Wars, Rome defeats and crushes their opponents. Rome then went on to fight in the Punic and Macedonians Wars and continued to gain more and more power. (http://www.history.co.uk/shows/rome-rise-and-fall-of-an-empire/season-1/timeline.html)
It is evident to see that Rome was a very powerful and influential city in ancient times, and still is today. It has centuries of history behind it and many stories to be learned about it. Rome will be forever famous and be known as an ancient city.
Works Cited
Dictionary.com. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ancient>.
History.com. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. <http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome>.
Web. 4 Mar. 2010. <http://www.history.co.uk/shows/rome-rise-and-fall-of-an-empire/season-1/timeline.html>.
The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 16. 404. Print.
Picture Source:
Flickr. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/italytravelista/4109582566/>.
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