The Romans in Italy
Establishment and decline of the Roman Empire
No other people have marked the history of Italy as strongly as the Romans. After the Etruscans and the Greeks had already settled the country, the phenomenal rise of Rome began. The Romans defeated the Etruscans, Greeks, Carthaginians and Gauls battle for battle, and expanded their empire far beyond the Mediterranean area to Britain. Roman law and many cultural assets and achievements still shape our society today. For about 1,000 years, the Romans dominated Italy and Europe until in 476 AD the era of the Roman Empire came to an end with the conquest of Rome by Odoacer.
Pyramid in Sardinia
Pre-history, Etruscans and Greeks
Italy has been settled already early in its history. Even the Neanderthals settled in Italy before they were pushed away by the modern Homo sapiens in the Neolithic Period. Primitive peoples such as the Latins, Sabines and Umbrian finally settled in the country until in 900 BC, the Etruscans built the first sophisticated culture in Italy. Powerful Etruscan city-states, including the current Milan and Bologna, dominated the whole of northern Italy and extended their influence steadily on the Apennine peninsula. It was only the beginning colonization of southern Italy by the Greeks and two lost naval battles that brought the expansion efforts of the Etruscans to an end.
Rise of the Roman Empire
The decline of the Etruscans was however settled by another people. In 753, according to Roman history, Rome was founded and quickly developed into a thriving city. The first victories over the Etruscans were followed by the conquest of southern Italy from the Greeks and the gradual integration of the Italian population in their Empire. Eventually, with the victories in the three Punic wars, Rome won the final supremacy in the Western Mediterranean area. Finally, another continuous policy of expansion and a huge military and cultural projection allowed the Roman Empire to conquer Asia and Europe. During its greatest extent, the kingdom included the entire Mediterranean region and the Persian Gulf to Britain.
After the assassination of Julius Caesar and the following internal Roman conflicts, a period of peace and prosperity began. The leaders ruled the kingdom wisely and life and art flourished in the Roman Empire.
Divide and decline of the Roman Empire
After that prime time, at the end of the 4th century AD, the Roman Empire went down. Corruption, uprisings, invasions from the outside, the emergence of Christianity and a declining economy brought the Roman state apparatus to shaken. Despite the recognition of Christianity under Constantine, no end of trouble was in sight. Permanent defensive wars and increasing pressure led to the division of the empire into East and West in order to govern the kingdom more coordinated. The Eastern Roman Empire developed independently from now on and remained as Byzantine Empire until 1453. The Western Rome, however, did not remain, and collapsed under the onrush of the Germans. In 476, the German leader Odoacer captured Rome and thus sealed the end of a long Roman era in Italy.
