Romulus and Remus
Rome is now the capital city of Italy. 2,000 years ago it was the centre of the Roman Empire. Building started in 753 BC. The Romans had a story to explain how Rome began. Twin boys, Romulus and Remus, were the sons of Mars (the Roman god or war). An evil uncle took them as babies from their mother and threw them into the River Tiber to drown. The babies floated to land, and a mother wolf fed and cared for them. Later a herdsman looked after the twins until they grew up.
Years later, Mars told his twin sons to build a city where they had been found. The city was Rome. One day, Remus made fun of the wall Romulus had built around the city. The twins argued, fought, and Romulus killed Remus. Today, historians and archaeologists agree that people were living in Rome long before 753 BC, but the legend is one of the most famous in world history.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/city_of_rome
For 200 years Rome was a kingdom, then for 500 years it was a Republic, and for another 500 years it was an Empire.
http://rome.mrdonn.org/timelines.html
