The Origin of Rome

The people of Rome developed the last great civilization of the ancient world in the West. They based their culture in the land now known as Italy, but expanded to cover North Africa, much of Western Europe and much of Western Asia. They were to have a significant impact upon Palestine in the two testament eras (Old and New).

Around 3000 B.C. tribes from different areas of Europe and Asia formed small towns and farming communities in mountain pockets of the Italian peninsula. The rough shape of the Apennine Mountains allowed many of these small tribes to exist separately. Some of them had migrated to Italy from areas north of the Black and Caspian seas. Historians call these people Indo-Europeans, that is, they came from Europe, southwest Asia, and India. These Indo-Europeans also influenced the Greek culture of the time. (Packer).

Among them were the Etruscans, who came from the area of Asia Minor that is occupied by modern Turkey. By about 800 B.C., when Jehoahaz was on the throne of Israel and Joash on the throne of Judah, (Packer), the Etruscans had formed the first city-state in Italy. We know very little about the Etruscans, they may have come from Turkey, they were great builders and engineers, and they cleared forests, drained marshes, and built fortified cities. Etruscans made tools and weapons with copper, bronze, and iron. They gained control of the city now called Rome about the sixth century B.C. during the time of the Exile of the Jews. The Etruscan kings were driven out of Rome by the unified Latin tribes, who established the roman Republic around 510 B.C.

While the Etruscan culture was developing on the western side of the Apennines, Phoenicians had begun to move across the Mediterranean Sea. Thei...

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...lexander the Great fought over the division of his vast conquests, the Romans conquered the Greeks of southern Italy. Around 270 B.C., Romans controlled all of Italy.

Works Cited

Freeman, Charles. (2004). Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean

2nd Ed. New York, N.Y. Oxford University Press.

Gardner, Joseph L. (1983). Atlas of the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the Holy Land.

Pleasantville, NY. Reader’s Digest Association.

Packer, J.I. et al. (1995). Nelson’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Facts. Nashville, TN.

Thomas Nelson’s Publishers.

Penrose, Jane (2005). Rome and Her Enemies: An Empire Created and Destroyed by War.

University Park, IL. Osprey Publishing.

Winks, Robin W, et al. (1992). A History of Civilization: Volume I: Prehistory to 1715.

Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice Hall Inc.