Ancient Romans believed their city had been founded on 21 April 753 BC, and more recent archaeological discoveries pretty much back this up. According to myth, the city was founded by the twin sons of Mars, god of war, and Rhea Silvia, princess and (until meeting Mars) vestal virgin. The twins, Romulus and Remus, were abandoned on the shores of the Tiber and brought up by a she-wolf. Romulus killed his brother in a battle over who should govern, then established the city of Rome on the Palatino.
The non mythical city was ruled by Etruscan kings until 510 BC, when it became a republic. By the 2nd century BC the city controlled central and southern Italy, had defeated the rival empire of Carthage in three Punic wars and was poised to take over the whole Mediterranean. But as Rome became more powerful abroad, its citizens got more uppity at home - the city suffered several civil wars, with the last wrapping up on the Ides of March, 44 BC, when Brutus backstabbed Julius Caesar.
The Republic ended and the emperors took over, ushering in a frenzy of civic and monumental building. Each emperor wanted to leave his mark on the city - Nero built the Domus Aurea, Vespasian the Colosseum, Trajan his eponymous column, Hadrian Castel Sant'Angelo - and in their eagerness to outdo one another, they sprinkled Rome with many of the famous buildings that still stand today. The Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan (who ruled from 98-117 AD), spanning the area from northern England to Mesopotamia, north to the River Danube and south down the Nile.
With the rise of Christianity in the 4th century, Rome lost much of its secular power but became the centre of a new empire, Christendom. The Bishop of Rome was named successor to Saint Peter (or, in other words, Pope), which made him the big guy of Western Europe. Many of the city's large basilicas - such as Santa Croce, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Pietro and San Sebastiano - were built around this time.
When, in 410 AD, the Barbarian invasions began, Rome waved goodbye to the last of its salad days. Although the Vandals are often blamed for the sack of Rome, the citizens themselves did more damage, stripping many of the city's fine buildings for their marble. The Western Roman Empire bit the dust in 476 AD when Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus Augustulus - from this time on power moved east, and Germanic and Byzantine leaders bickered over who was the real emperor.
Things looked grim for the Eternal City until the late 8th century, when Pope Stephen II backed up the claims of Frankish king Pepin the Short that he was the chosen of God, and in return received a parcel of land around Rome. The alliance became known as the Holy Roman Empire - combining the power of church and state - and on Christmas Day 800 AD the Frankish king, Charlemagne, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor .
