Chapters
- Aeneas & the Mythological Founding of Rome
- A City upon Seven Hills
Romulus's Monarchy
- Latin or Etruscan?
Rome's Early Rulers
- Brutus's Revolution
Founding the Republic
- Social Tumult, Social Solutions
Trials of the Early Republic
- Fending off Foreign Invaders
Taking Control of Italy
- The Punic Wars
Rome's Struggle with Carthage
- Policing the Mediterranean
Expansion into the East
- Rising Factions
The Reforms of the Gracchi
- Marius & Sulla
Rome's First Civil Wars
- Pater Patriae
Cicero's Republican Labors
- Partisans & Civic Turmoil
Caesar's Foes: Pompey & Cato
- I Came, I Saw, I Conquered
Caesar & the Republic's End
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Romulus & the Monarchy
Contents
Summary
The birth of Romulus and Remus sparked into life events that would shake the world. Although they were outcasts at the beginning of their lives, being the sons of a Vestal Virgin and then a shepherd, their names would be remember for thousands of years to come. This is the story of the founding of the Eternal City and its early years. It covers everything from the birth of the founders to the forming of the greatest empire the world has ever known. The paper itself has been broken into several section organize chronologically. Each section depicts a major event leading up to and including the founding of Rome. The first of the sections describes the birth of founders, Romulus and Remus, in their home city of Alba Longa and the events that led to their attempted murders. The second section describes the progression of the children from their early childhood until they were reunited with their grandfather. The next section covers the most important part of this period of Roman history; the founding of the city of Rome. It takes into account such events as the Rape of the Sabine Women and the death of Remus. Finally, the last section discusses the finer parts of the early Roman government. This ranges from the first advisors to the breakdown of the social classes.
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Unholy Origins:
The
Birth of Rome’s Founders
The story of the founding of Rome begins seventeen years before the first stones of the city were laid. In 770 B.C.E., Rhea Silva, a vestal virgin of the city Alba Longa, was found to be pregnant (Nardo 16). To avoid death, which was the punishment for having sex for vestal virgins, she claimed that the father of the unborn children was the god Mars. Because of her claim, the city folk were unwilling to kill her lest her death invoke the wrath of the god. While this defense saved Rhea Silva’s life, she was unable to keep her twin sons (R and R).
The twins, who were named Romulus and Remus and were descendents of Aeneas, were taken from their mother soon after birth by King Amulius, who want them to be killed immediately (Adkins). The King ordered that they be thrown into the Tiber River to die. The desire to dispose of the twins came from Amulius fear that they would one day usurp him as the King of Alba Longa (R and R). This fear derived from the fact that Rhea Silva was the daughter of Amulius’ brother, Numitor, who had been the King prior to Amulius. The circumstances in which Amulius overthrew his brother are somewhat obscure; however, it is known that Amulius initiated a revolt that resulted in the fall of his brother from power. Even though Amulius overthrew Numitor, he did not kill Numitor. Once he had replaced his brother as the King of Alba Longa, Amulius wasted no time making Rhea Silva a vestal virgin to prevent her from producing an heir to the throne (Nardo 17).
Despite his greatest efforts, Rhea Silva eventually did have the heirs Amulius so greatly feared. Once he learned of her pregnancy, he was quick to attempt to eliminate the threat. By having the newborn children thrown in the river, Amulius believed that he was destroying the remaining royal bloodline that was not directly connected to him. Fortunately for the two babies, the river was flooded at the time that they were thrown into it (R and R). Therefore, when the water finally receded the cradle was left on the riverbank.
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Growing Up:
The She-Wolf & the Shepherd
After being washed up onto the riverbank the two babies were found by a wandering she-wolf. The she-wolf nurtured them until a shepherd, Faustulus, eventually adopted the twins (Cary, pg 35). While the story of the wolf raising the children for a short period of time seems bizarre, the story may have come from the fact that the word for a she-wolf, lupa, was also a word for a prostitute in Rome. Therefore, it is thought that Faustulus’ wife may have been a prostitute who brought the twins into their home (R and R).
After growing up among the shepherd community, these two brothers were unrecognizable as nobility. in a bizarre twist of fate, Remus was presented to Numitor as a combatant in a fight over stolen cattle (Nardo 17).
Numitor, realizing that this man was in fact his grandson, seized the opportunity to recapture the power he had once possessed. In order to regain the throne, he mimicked the previous action of his brother and helped to instigate an uprising against Amulius. This uprising resulted in the death of Amulius and the ascent of Numitor to King once again. Both Romulus and Remus were critical parts of their grandfather’s return to power, and his success and the power that came with it inspired the twins to found their own city (Nardo 17).
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The Birth of Rome: The Rape of the Sabine Women & the City’s Construction
After the successful return of Alba Longa to the hands of their grandfather, the two brothers set out on their own to found their own city. As with most cities, the tale of the beginning is one of violence and struggle. While forming the city, the two brothers failed to agree on the most fundamental issue: the exact location of the city. While they agreed with the general location of the city, they were unable to come to a consensus upon which hill to begin construction. Romulus chose the Palatine Hill as the focal point of his city, while across a marsh; Remus built his on the Aventine (R and R). During this period of construction, Romulus and Remus fought almost continuously. It is said that during one these fights Romulus killed his brother leaving him as the sole leader of the newly formed City (Monarchy). This city would be named Rome, whose name is derived from Romulus.
Once he had become the only leader of the new colony, Romulus could finally focus all his attention on the construction his city on the Palatine hill. The traditional date of the founding of is April 21, 753 B.C.E. (Adkins). During construction on the city the most important building being erected was the temple of Janus. By Romulus’ decree any person to enter the temple would be granted asylum in Rome (Davies, pg 151). This proclamation had the effect of attracting what would be considered the “scum of the earth.” Thieves, murderers, and all other types of criminals were drawn to this newfound haven. It is, therefore, unsurprising the majority of Rome’s early inhabitants were male. This imbalance in the sexual make up of the city resulted in a major problem for the city: without women the newly found city would soon die out. Foreseeing this problem, Romulus endeavored to prevent it by asking Rome’s nearest neighbors, the Sabines, for women. To Romulus’ and Rome’s dismay, the Sabines refused to part with their daughters. When diplomatic routes failed, Romulus turned to more sinister means of obtaining women for his city (Nardo 18).
In an apparent display of friendship, Romulus invited the Sabines to a festival. The invitation was amicably accepted by the Sabines, who brought their entire families to the festival. Halfway through the festivities, the Romans suddenly turned on their new friends and carried off as many of the Sabine women as they could. These captured women became the first Roman wives and bore the first children of Rome. This controversial yet critical event in roman history is known as the “Rape of the Sabine Women.” However, the word rape in this sense should not be taken with modern connotations but, rather, with knowledge that the word rape is derived from the Latin word rapere meaning to seize. The roman marriage custom of ripping the bride from her mother’s grasp derives from the “rape of the Sabine women.” (Nardo pg. 19)
After their initial outrage, the Sabines were placated through negotiations established by Romulus’ Sabine wife, Hersilia. Through these negotiations Romulus eventually convinced part of the Sabines to join Rome and move to the city (R and R). The most important thing that Romulus had to give up in this influx of new citizens was his sole rule of the city. With the Sabine’s came their King, Tatius, who rule Rome jointly with Romulus until his death by assassination (Nardo, pg .18).
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The Monarchy: Running the Early Government
The monarchy was established in similar fashion to the ones we are more familiar with, such as those in Great Britain and France. Romulus, being the founder, appointed himself King of Rome. Although he appointed himself the ruler of his new city, he was not arrogant enough to believe that he could control the people of the city without help. Therefore, he appointed a group of advisors, known a “Patres”, to give him council on many state matters. Being a new nation they had very little territory to begin with, thus the fact that Romulus had appointed as many as one hundred Patres is surprising. The number of Patres would later grow as great as three hundred during the time of the republic. Besides being Romulus’ personal advisors, the Patres were the first Roman aristocracy or upper class. In fact the name Patrician class, the nobility of Rome during the times of the Republic and Emperors, comes from the word Patres. The earliest Patres were required to be landowners (Monarchy). This not only ensured that advisor was committed to a life in Rome, it also meant the man was wealth because land was an expensive commodity. Along with the Patres, he also established the citizen class. This was an excellent way to produce a more loyal population because there was an incentive to be a part of the city (UNRV).
Apart from being an astute political tactician, Romulus was also known as warrior King. In other words, he was the driving force behind the establishment of Rome’s first army. With this army he began the expansion of Rome’s borders. Winning many battles, while personal leading his soldiers, Romulus not only ensured that Rome’s lands expanded, but, also that his nation was renown as a dominant force (UNRV).
While the rule of Romulus and the events that led up to it may not be the most glamorous time in Roman history, it is undeniable one of the most important. Without this period of struggle and strife the Roman Empire would never have developed. It would have died out after the first generation. However, because of the intelligence of the their founder the Romans were able to survive their early year and go on to become one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.
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Images
Click thumbnail to enlarge.
 Snowstorm: Hannibal Crossing the Alps
(Turner)
PIC
Caption
Names of the Images:
The Battle of Romulus and Remus
The She-Wolf Nuturing the Twins
The Attempted Murder of the Twins
The Land before Rome
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