The Foundation of Rome - World History

The Foundation of Rome - World History
Posted on 28-12-2022

The Foundation of Rome ( 800 ) According to tradition, Rome was founded in the year 753.

In the 8th century, some Olmec groups from the Veracruz area settled in new towns, the most important of which was Monte Albán. These were the origin of the Zapotec culture. They made stone constructions, developed numbering, hieroglyphic writing, and the calendar. At Monte Albán the Zapotecs built a huge plaza bounded on the north and south by raised platforms, while on the other two sides were temples and other buildings. In the center stands a row of temples. The north platform opened to the outside through a wide staircase and a portico with twelve columns of two meters in diameter. On the southern platform stood a great pyramid. On the west side stood the Temple of the Dancers, which was the oldest part of the city.

The Celts already populated the north of Spain, with which the Indo-European culture was extended throughout all of Europe. There they mixed with the indigenous population, the Iberians. The Celts used arrows, slingshots, short iron swords, and a kind of halberd. They worshiped Lug (the Sun), Taranis, (lightning) and many other gods, up to about 400. Their priests, the druids,They were known to be good doctors. They were good farmers and friends of novelties. They took care of the physical form and practiced the sport. They did not have large-scale political structures. Each clan was governed by a chief and the chieftainship was inherited by the eldest son. The other children had to emigrate to settle in new territories. Perhaps for this reason they were the Indo-European people that spread the most through Europe.

Ancient historians say that the Iberians were of medium height, dark and lean. Very gentlemen, loyal and indomitable character, very good warriors. They also say that they were indolent and lazy, and hated everything foreign. The Iberian tribes were grouped into tiny monarchical or republican states. They inhabited towns built on high and highly fortified places. But the most important culture in the Iberian Peninsula was still Tartesos, to the south, under Phoenician influence.

Meanwhile, in Italy two rival coalitions of city-states coexisted: Etruria to the northwest and Lazio immediately to the south. The rest of the Italian peninsula was populated by primitive tribes.

Greece progressed very slowly. Not long ago Homer had composed his two famous poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey, recalling for the Dorian lords the glories of the Mycenaean era. Life was still hard. Life in the polis (or city-states) strongly conditioned the evolution of Greek society. The figure of the king lost relevance (in a small and poor city, the king could not have great powers or make great ostentations). In many poleis it even disappeared, and the government remained in the hands of assemblies of nobles (the aristocracy or government of the best). Each city had its own army. These armies were naturally small, made up of heavily armed foot soldiers, the hoplites. The quality of life in a city, within the general poverty in which they all lived, depended to a large extent on the quality of its army, so the Greeks were trained in combat from childhood. The strongest polis subdued their neighbors.

Thus, for example, Sparta controlled all of Laconia, made up of the cities of the Eurotas valley . Its form of government was atypical, since it had two kings simultaneously, probably the result of two Dorian tribes dividing it up centuries ago (the Spartans said that their kings descended from the twin sons of their first king). However, the power of the kings was limited to directing the army. Internal affairs were regulated by an assembly of thirty elders (the gerousia ) in which the kings counted as two more votes. In addition there were five ephors or magistrates in charge of enforcing the decisions of the assembly. They even had the authority to fine or punish kings if they broke the law. The Spartans themselves did not exceed just five percent of the population. The only activities they considered honorable were government and war. The rest of the activities were in the hands of the helots (slaves) and the periecos, free men but without any political power. Sparta's greatest rival was Argos, which controlled Argolis.Their organization was similar to the Spartan one (without the duplicity of kings), but somewhat less rigid. Thus we could visit cities and more cities, each one with its own characteristics, each one with its own national identity that refused to identify with any other, despite the cultural affinity that undoubtedly existed between all of them.

A city that stood out for other reasons was Delphi. It was located in the region called Fócida, at the foot of Mount Parnassus. In Mycenaean times it was called Pito, and in it there was a sanctuary dedicated to the ancient goddess Gaia, attended by a priestess who was believed to be able to speak with the gods. After the Dorian invasion, Pito changed its name to Delphi and dedicated itself to the god Apollo (Gea meant nothing to the Dorians). With this change of image, she managed to continue her tradition of interlocutor with the gods. the oracle of delphiHe was gaining in reputation, and all the cities periodically sent ambassadors to consult him. The ambassadors brought offerings, with which Delphi became rich.

Meanwhile, Egypt was still in chaos, with an uncontrollable army over which the pharaoh had no authority. If the Near East had not been in such turmoil at this time, Egypt would undoubtedly have been easy prey for plunder.

Assyria had broken the power of Syria only to decline itself soon after. Israel and Judah took advantage of the situation. In 798 King Jehoahaz of Israel was succeeded by his son De he Joash, whose army had no difficulty in defeating the Syrian king Benhadad III in three successive battles, thus Israel recovered the territories it had possessed in Ahab's time. In Judah, the discontent of the priests and the army with King Joash culminated in a coup in 797, after which his son Amaziah was proclaimed king.who soon re-established Judah's rule over Edom. Joás and Amazías, seeing that fortune was smiling on them, did not take long to measure their forces. This happened in 786, at the battle of Betsames, near Jerusalem. Israel achieved a decisive victory. Amaziah was taken prisoner and Jerusalem was occupied. Part of its fortifications were destroyed and the temple was looted. Amaziah continued to be king of Judah, but his kingdom became tributary to Israel. Joash of Israel died in 783 and was succeeded by his son Jeroboam II of him,which completely subdued Syria and made Samaria the most influential city in the western half of the fertile crescent.

In 782 King Hsüan died, and the Chinese throne was occupied by his son Yü. Now a barbarian people from the northern steppes, the Ch'uan-jung, threaten the borders.

In 778 King Argistis I ascended the throne of Urartu , who, taking advantage of the Assyrian decline, managed to unite northern Mesopotamia under his rule. For its part, Babylon fell into the hands of the Chaldeans.

In the year 776 the first Olympic Games were held in Greece. They were held every four years in the city of Olympia,west of the Peloponnese in honor of the god Zeus. The Greeks made a commitment to suspend all war during the period of the games, so that everyone who wanted to (male, yes) could attend them. Olympia became a sacred city, like Delphi, cities that no one dared to attack, because this would earn the joint retaliation of all Greece. The representatives of the different cities could meet there to parley even if their cities were at war, without fear of a treasonous attack. The winners of the games received no reward, apart from an olive branch and, of course, fame.

In 771 the Ch'uan-jung, allied with disgruntled members of the royal family, occupy the Wei Valley, losing most of the royal lands. King Yü died in the riots and his son De he P'ing took over the government and was forced to move the capital east to Luoyang.King P'ing enlisted the help of the Qin state, but when the Qin state recaptured the land that had been invaded by the barbarians, it was not returned to the king, but incorporated into his domain, suddenly making him a new power. in China. From this moment on, the new monarchs (oriental Cheu) ceased to have real power, but they retained a formal authority that lasted for a long time.

Returning to Canaan, the defeated King Amaziah of Judah was the victim of a coup as was his father. He was assassinated in 769 and was succeeded by his son Ozias. Under his reign Judah remained subject to Israel, but the king did nothing to change the situation. On the contrary, he focused on recovering the country economically and he succeeded. He rebuilt the fortifications of Jerusalem, seized some Philistine city-states, and rebuilt the Red Sea port of Elath, which had been of some importance in Solomon's time. With this he remarkably revitalized trade in Judah.

In 761 Egypt fragmented once more. In Thebes the XXIII dynasty was established, while in Lower Egypt the XXII continued to reign (formally). In reality there was a third center of power. Since the collapse of the New Kingdom, Egypt had lost control of Nubia, which became native-ruled, with its capital at Napata. However, Nubia had fully assimilated Egyptian culture. When Sheshonk occupied Thebes, some of the priests of Amun took refuge in Napata, where they were well received and formed a kind of government in exile, which at this time was as strong or stronger than the two parts into which Egypt had been divided.

In 760, a shepherd from Judah named Amos dared to enter the Israelite sanctuary of Bethel and spoke in the name of God with some novel approaches:

.. Because I know your many wickedness and your scandalous crimes; you are enemies of justice, greedy to receive gifts, oppressors of the poor in court. [...] Seek good and not evil, so that you may have life; and so will the Lord God of hosts be with you, as you say he is. [...] I hate and discard your festivities, I do not like the smell of sacrifices in your meetings, and when you present me with your holocausts and your gifts, I will not accept them, nor will I turn my eyes towards the fat victims that you offer in vote (Amos, V 12-22)

In short, God accused the Israelites of respecting the rituals while leading a corrupt life, and therefore threatened them with a thousand misfortunes if they did not repent. The Bethel priest ordered Amos to return to Judah and he did so, but he was the first among many voices that were raised from then on, putting the rectitude of customs before the practice of rituals.

The year 753 is, according to tradition, the year in which a city called Rome was founded. The tradition is pure legend: it speaks of a king of Alba who usurped the throne from his brother, killed his sons and forced his daughter to become a vestal virgin (something similar to what today is a nun). . However, the virgin she conceived two twin sons of the god Mars, Romulus and Remus,that they were abandoned, raised first by a she-wolf and then by shepherds, and when they were adults, they restored their grandfather to the throne and set out to found a new city. They argued about the ideal place for it, Romulus chose the Palatine Hill, and marked the limits of the city with a plow. Remo crossed the furrow to indicate that he did not recognize his brother's authority over the territory, and then he killed him. Thus Romulus founded Rome and became its first king. The colonists were Latinos, but there were few women among them, so they managed to kidnap Sabine women, which led to a war. Because of a betrayal, the Sabines managed to enter Rome, but the Sabines,

What actually happened? Of course it is impossible to say anything for sure. Early Rome was located on the Palatine Hill, next to the Tiber, but in time it spread to six other neighboring hills, seven in all. It is known that the Palatine was occupied by shepherds' huts since at least the 10th century and that on the traditional date of the foundation the other hills also had inhabitants. Alba probably decided to found a fortified colony on the Palatine to contain the Etruscans (Rome was located right on the border with Etruria). For some reason, Rome escaped Alba's control, probably with the help of the Sabines and, why not, the Etruscans themselves. The activity of the first Romans was rural. The citizens were divided into three tribes:Tricios, Ramnos and Lucerios, which perhaps correspond to three groups, one of Latins, another of Sabines and another of Etruscans, who came together to form Rome. Each tribe was divided into ten curiae, in turn made up of several families. Little can be said of Rome at this time. In fact, it would be absurd to deal with such an insignificant city if it were not for the fact that centuries later it would dominate the world.

Thank You