50 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT Ancient Rome Written and Illustrated by Sean O’Neill Chariot Form Red Chair Press
Chapter 1 THE REPUBLIC Ancient Rome was a vast empire that dominated the classical world for over 1,000 years The city of Rome was founded around 750 BCE but soon grew into an empire which at its greatest covered most of Europe North Africa and the Middle East an area of over 2 million square miles Although it eventually grew from a city to a powerful empire in its early years Rome was one of the world’s first democracies From the 5th century BCE until about 40 BCE Rome was a republic where power was shared and citizens could vote Rome 4
THE REPUBLIC 1 The legendary founders of Rome were the brothers Romulus and Remus According to the story they were abandoned on a riverbank where they were discovered by a she-wolf who fed them and cared for them The image of the two baby boys nursing from the wolf is still a popular symbol of Rome and is even the emblem of the AC Roma soccer team 2 In the earliest days of Rome the city was ruled by a succession of kings The last king Tarquin II was overthrown and the Roman Republic was created in 509 BCE 3 By the middle of the 1st century BCE the city of Rome had more than a million inhabitants Welcome to Rome Pop 1,000,000 5
