Founding of Rome

According to Roman legend, the city of Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BCE by Romulus, who with his twin brother Remus was said to have been raised by a she-wolf. After a dispute, Romulus killed Remus and named the city after himself. While the legendary founding is mythological, archaeological evidence confirms that settlements on Rome's hills date to around this period. The small village on the Tiber River would grow over centuries from a monarchy ruled by kings, to a republic governed by elected senators, to a vast empire spanning three continents. Rome's founding date became the basis for the Roman calendar, and Romans measured years "from the founding of the city" (ab urbe condita).

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