Rome, Italy: Roman Forum - Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide

In a nutshell, classical Rome lasted about 1,000 years, roughly 500 B.C. to 500 A.D. Rome grew for 500 years, peaked for 200 years, and fell for 300 years. The first half was the republic, ruled by elected senators. The last half was the empire, ruled by unelected emperors. In its glory days, the word Rome meant not just the city, but what Romans considered the entire civilized world. Everyone was either Roman or barbarian. People who spoke Latin or Greek were considered civilized, part of the empire. Everyone else, barbarian. According to legend, Rome was founded by two brothers, Romulus and Remus. Abandoned in the wild and suckled by a she-wolf, they grew up to establish the city. In actuality, the first Romans mixed and mingled here, in the valley between the famous seven hills of Rome. This became the Roman Forum. In 509, they tossed out their king and established the relatively democratic Roman Republic. That began perhaps history's greatest success story, the rise of Rome. From the start, Romans were expert builders, and they had a knack for effective government. This simple brick building was once richly veneered with marble, and fronted by a grand portico. It's the Curia. The Senate met here and set the legal standards that still guide Western civilization. The reign of Julius Caesar, who ruled around the time of Christ, marked the turning point between the republic and the empire. The republic, designed to rule a small city-state, found itself trying to rule most of Europe. Something new and stronger was needed. Caesar established a no-nonsense, more disciplined government, became dictator for life, and, for good measure, had a month named in his honor. July. The powerful elites of the republic found all this change just too radical. In an attempt to save the republic and their political power, a faction of Roman senators assassinated Caesar. His body was burned on this spot in 44 BC. The citizens of Rome gathered here, in the heart of the Forum, to hear Mark Antony say, in Shakespeare's words, Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I've come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. But the republic was finished, and Rome became the grand capital of a grand empire. The Via Sacra, or Sacred Way, was the main street of ancient Rome. It stretched from the Arch of Septimius Severus to the Arch of Titus. Rome's various triumphal arches, named after the emperors who built them, functioned as public relations tools. Reliefs decorating the various arches show how war and expansion were the business of state. Rome's thriving economy was fueled by plunder and slaves won in distant wars.