The beginnings of Rome
Roman tradition, combining earlier Latin and Greek folk-tales and myths, ascribed the actual founding of Rome to a group of Latins from the nearby settlement of Alba Longa, headed by Romulus, a descendant of the Homeric hero Aeneas.
According to writers of the Augustan era, such as Varro, Livy and Virgil, Rome was founded in the year 753 BC. Although the story of Rome's founding, as related by these authors, lacks a concrete historical basis, the date 753 BC is important for the study of Roman history as the Romans used to reckon time from that date. Moreover, archaeological evidence has confirmed the presence of a number of settlements from the ninth to the seventh century BC in the area where Rome was later on established. These settlements were transformed into a city under Etruscan influence in the seventh century BC. It was the Etruscans who, recognising the strategic importance of the site, drained the marshy land between the hills, built temples and reservoirs and erected a city-wall. Under an Etruscan ruling elite, the various groups that had settled in the area were unified into a single community and were organised according to the Etruscan system of political and military organisation. Notwithstanding the Etruscans' role in the formation of the city of Rome, the influence of the Etruscan civilisation on early Roman culture, and the fact that Rome's population was the result of a fusion of different elements (Latins, Sabines, Etruscans and probably even some indigenous elements), the Romans and their social institutions remained predominantly Latin in character.[109] [110]
More on the topic The beginnings of Rome:
- THE BEGINNINGS
- The Beginnings of Legislation
- The Pontiffs and the Beginnings of Jurisprudence
- CHAPTER SIX Convergence: The City of Rome
- Living conditions in Rome
- Foundation of Rome: the monarchy
- Early Rome: ius humanum
- As a large city and the heart of an empire, Rome was full of courts.
- THE JURISTS AND THE LAWS IN ROME
- An overview of judges at Rome
- A. CITY ROME LAW
- Public Law in Rome
- Marriage in Rome was not a simple institution.