"Remember, Roman, that it is for thee to rule the nations. This shall be thy task, to impose the ways of peace, to spare the vanquished, and to tame the proud by war." -- Virgil's Aeneid

The traditional date for the founding of Rome was 753 BC. Rome is located near the center of the Italian Peninsula, which is near the center of the great Mediterranean Sea. (see Prehistoric Italy)

Along with all of her hills and the wonderful mountains called the Appenines and the Tiber River close by, were very rich and fertile places for farmers to settle and grow all kinds of crops including wheat, olives, and grapes.

It was in this area that a small group of Latin peoples emerged and the city of Rome would spread from seven small hills on the Tiber to encompass an Empire of several million square miles. Along with a common bond of government and a great network of 300 major roads Rome would become a world city.

In the words of a poet, Rome had: "made one City, where once was a world."