The founding of Rome is surrounded by legend. In the best-known Roman tradition, the city was founded by Romulus, who with his twin brother Remus had been abandoned as a baby and nursed by a she-wolf. The twins were descendants of the Trojan hero Aeneas through the royal house of Alba Longa. After a quarrel over the site of the city, Romulus killed Remus and named the new city after himself, on the Palatine Hill. The date of 21 April 753 BCE was worked out by the Roman scholar Varro and is celebrated in the festival of the Parilia. Archaeology shows that settlements on the Palatine and nearby hills date from about the eighth century BCE and gradually merged into a single town.
Before and after
- c. 754 BCERomulus founds Rome (traditional date)
- from c. 753 BCE to 476 CEAncient Rome
- from 753 BCE to 46 BCERoman calendar
- from c. 753 BCE to 509 BCERoman Kingdom
- 21 April 753 BCEFounding of Rome
- from c. 750s BCE to 530sGandhara
- c. 750s BCEThe Homeric epics are composed
- from 747 BCE to 656 BCETwenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 729 BCEPiye of Kush conquers Egypt
More in Wars, politics & history
- c. 509 BCECleisthenes lays the foundations of Athenian democracy
- 335 BCEAlexander the Great crosses into Asia
- from 264 BCE to 146 BCEPunic Wars
- 147 BCERome destroys Carthage
- 2 September 31 BCEOctavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium
- August 70 CEThe Romans destroy the Temple in Jerusalem
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 8th century BCE.