Transcription
In the first century BCE, a vast empire emerged in the west. Its capital, Rome, was the first city in human history to have a population of one million people. In Europe, it wasn't until the 19th century, with London, that this achievement was reached. Hello everyone, I am Gorff, it's been a long time. I haven't filmed in a while because I went to Italy and Malta for travel. I've filmed a few videos to show you. Some say it was built in one day. In fact, Rome was a cultural melting pot. It absorbed some cultures, for example, Fascist symbols or white marble, which originated from Etruscan culture. When was it built? Legend has it that during the Trojan War, the Greeks used a wooden horse to infiltrate Troy. This is the story of the Trojan Horse. A group of surviving Trojans, led by Prince Aeneas, went to a place near Rome called Latium. The local king, Latinus, thought they were invaders. But after hearing the Trojans' story, he sympathized with them and took them in. Aeneas married the king's daughter, Lavinia, and succeeded him. He also founded a new city, named Lavinia, after his wife. He then rebuilt the city and named it after the Trojans he brought with him. After more than ten generations of kings, a succession dispute broke out in Lavinia. The king's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was forced to become a Vestal Virgin. Ostensibly to preserve her name, in reality, it was to prevent her from having heirs, as Vestal Virgins had to remain virgins for life. This meant she could not have descendants, effectively ending the royal line. At this point, there was another twist of fate. Unfortunately, she was raped by Mars, the god of war. Mars was actually a god in ancient Roman mythology. She gave birth to twins, Romulus and Remus. King Amulius was furious. He imprisoned the princess and ordered the twins to be thrown into the Tiber River. However, the people at the riverbank couldn't bear to throw the twins in, so they placed them by the river. After the water receded, a she-wolf came to the riverbank to drink. This she-wolf not only nursed them but also suckled them. Later, a shepherd found the two brothers, adopted them, and took them home, raising them until they were adults. Once they were adults and learned of their origins, they killed King Amulius together. After avenging their family, the brothers wanted to found a city in Rome. They agreed on a principle: they would each found a city, and whoever's city was recognized first would be the ruler. Romulus chose the Palatine Hill, and Remus chose the Aventine Hill. Legend has it that six vultures first appeared over the Aventine Hill, but Remus felt he had won. Romulus claimed that a vulture had landed on the Palatine Hill. Then came the dispute. In fact, they hadn't agreed on the rules of the game beforehand. One argued that the order of arrival should decide, while the other argued that the number of vultures should decide. In the end, they resorted to violence. After Remus was killed, Romulus founded a city near the Palatine Hill. This city was called Rome. Historians estimate that the date was April 21, 753 BCE, which is the official founding date of Rome. After ascending to power, Romulus's first act was to organize the army on the Palatine Hill. He also chose some nobles to form the Senate, establishing the first generation of Roman elders. The Senate had two functions: first, to help him rule the city; second, after the king died, they were responsible for choosing a new king. This period is known as the Roman Kingdom. In the early days of the city, Rome discovered that its population was diverse and had many problems that couldn't be solved by conventional means. So, he cleverly used a religious festival to attract people from nearby countries to come to Rome to celebrate together, including the Sabines. After the Sabines had feasted, Romulus gave a signal and his men began to abduct the Sabine women. The Sabine men were enraged and came to Rome for revenge. As the two armies faced each other, the captured Sabine women did something astonishing. They walked between the two armies and shouted loudly, "On one side are our fathers and brothers, and on the other side are our husbands and children. We beg you to lay down your weapons and resolve this peacefully." The plot took a surprising turn. The Romans and Sabines eventually formed an alliance because of this. Decades later, Rome had its fourth king, Ancus Marcius, an Etruscan named Tarquinius Priscus. Tarquinius Priscus was a powerful figure who gained the trust of the king and was appointed prince. After the king died, the prince was still very young. So, Tarquinius Priscus used various methods to persuade the Senate not to let the prince rule, but to let him rule as king himself. Tarquinius Priscus was very ambitious and conquered many cities around Rome. He also built the first Roman aqueduct. At the same time, he brought Etruscan customs and gladiatorial culture to Rome. Jumping forward three generations, the king at that time was Tarquinius Superbus. He was a king who loved war and conquest. During one battle, his sons and their cousin Lucius met for dinner. During dinner, their topic of conversation was whose wife was the most virtuous. Since they were on the front lines and had nothing to do, they decided to surprise their wives. They suddenly rode back to Rome to see which wife was the most diligent. These surprise inspections usually had many surprises. One of the king's sons, Sextus Tarquinius, returned to Rome and found that most of the wives were having a great time, with a halo of happiness around their heads. He only found Lucretia, who was at home, weaving and diligently working. So, Sextus Tarquinius found an opportunity to sneak into Lucretia's room, threatened her, and raped her. To prove her innocence, she informed her father and husband and then committed suicide. Such a virtuous woman was violated by the king's son. This enraged the Romans. Lucius Junius Brutus led a revolution, overthrew the king, and ended the Roman Kingdom. Rome gained freedom. They decided not to be ruled by a king and to govern Rome themselves. The leaders of the government were no longer kings but two consuls elected by vote. The first consuls were Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. Rome officially entered the Republican era. Rome's territory expanded at an exponential rate during the Republic. They first defeated the nearby Etruscans, liberating central Italy from Greek colonial rule in a short period. King Philip V of Macedon was defeated. Shortly after his failed expedition to India, he died of illness. The Greek world was divided into three. Rome seized this opportunity and allied with the powerful Seleucid Empire to defeat the Greek forces. By 275 BCE, Rome had unified the entire Italian peninsula. As if it were an immutable law of Roman history, Rome and the Seleucid Empire eventually clashed over territorial disputes, leading to three Punic Wars. The First Punic War broke out in 264 BCE. The Romans were not good at naval warfare, while Carthage was a maritime nation. It seemed Carthage had the advantage. However, the Romans invented the corvus, a drawbridge attached to the front of their warships. When lowered, it would hook onto the enemy's deck, and the two ships would be joined. The Roman soldiers, skilled in boarding, could then directly charge onto the enemy ships and fight them as if on land. In 241 BCE, Carthage was forced to sign a peace treaty, ceding Sicily. The Carthaginian general in the First Punic War was Hamilcar Barca. The Barca family was a military dynasty, with several descendants serving as Carthaginian generals, including Hannibal, a military genius who was only twenty-six years old. In this situation, a normal person would think of crossing the sea to start a war. However, Hannibal had a different idea. He led his army, including 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and several dozen war elephants, across Spain and over the icy Alps. When the Romans heard of Hannibal's approach, they shifted their focus to Spain to withdraw their reinforcements. This directly threatened Carthage's territory and forced Hannibal to return to defend it. He fought a decisive battle against the Roman army in Cannae, but was defeated in 216 BCE, ending the Second Punic War. Hannibal narrowly escaped, but the Romans were so afraid of him that they pursued him to his homeland, where he committed suicide by drinking poison. In 149 BCE, a dispute arose between Carthage and Rome's ally, Numidia, leading to war. This time, the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus completely destroyed Carthage's economy, and Carthage slowly declined. After Carthage was eliminated, nearby countries began to submit to Rome. In 133 BCE, Rome accepted the request of King Attalus III of Pergamon and inherited his territory after his death. Rome officially established a province in Asia, called Asia Minor. Its territory bordered Europe, and Rome began to look for enemies within. In 88 BCE, the Roman Republic erupted in its first civil war, with Marius and Sulla as the main protagonists. The cause was that Sulla was sent to Asia to assess the situation, but Marius wanted command. As a result, the two sides began to fight. Marius broke the tradition of the army's normal deployment and was the first to enter Rome. He eventually won this war in 82 BCE and was appointed dictator. Marius used his power to carry out a series of constitutional reforms, such as restoring the authority of the Senate and establishing a strict cursus honorum. The cursus honorum stipulated the minimum age for holding various offices and the order of progression. In other words, it blocked the desire of young ambitious individuals to quickly rise to power. In 79 BCE, Sulla declared that he had completed his reforms and voluntarily abdicated. After that, the political situation in Rome became more complex. One person in power became three people in power, as Rome officially entered the Triumvirate. These three were Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar. Crassus had pacified the East and suppressed the pirates in the Mediterranean. Caesar was a brilliant strategist with exceptional eloquence and was very skilled in political games. In 59 BCE, Caesar became consul, which was then called the governor of Gaul. After fighting the Gallic Wars for many years, he successfully conquered the entire region of Gaul and built his own army. Nine years later, the Senate declared that Caesar's term of office had expired and demanded that he disband his army and return to Rome. Caesar knew that without his army, his political career would be over. Therefore, he decided to defy the order. Leading the 13th Legion across the Rubicon River, Rome erupted in another civil war. During the civil war, he defeated his opponents one by one and became Rome's lifelong dictator. However, what awaited Caesar was not an imperial throne, but 23 daggers. A group of senators opposed to Caesar, fearing he would establish a dictatorship, resorted to violence again. This was assassination. It is said that about 60 to 70 people were involved. On March 15, 44 BCE, Caesar was stabbed 23 times and died in the Theatre of Pompey. As posterity, besides knowing that there were 30 to 40 people involved, the Roman Republic did not return to normal but once again fell into Triumvirate politics and civil war. These three new triumvirs were Caesar's assistant Antony, his adopted son Octavian, and another general Lepidus. They first defeated Brutus and avenged Caesar. Afterwards, they divided the territory and ruled different regions. Antony took advantage of his previous intimate relationship with Cleopatra, Caesar's lover and queen, and had a son with her. Octavian was very concerned about the political propaganda. He accused Antony of betraying Rome and declared war on them. In 31 BCE, Octavian and Antony engaged in a naval battle off the coast of Greece. In this decisive battle, Antony was defeated.
After the war, he went to Alexandria in Egypt, attempting to re-establish his army, but most of the soldiers either surrendered or fled. A year later, Octavian attacked Egypt and besieged Alexandria. Antony had a small victory once, but this story is like that of Romeo and Juliet. He heard from someone that the Queen of Egypt had already committed suicide. Feeling heartbroken, he also committed suicide. However, he later discovered that the Queen was not dead, but it was too late. He died in the arms of the Queen of Egypt. After that, the Queen, hoping to save herself and her children, surrendered to Octavian. But Octavian refused and wanted to take her back to Rome to display her as a war trophy. It is said that she did not want to be humiliated. The Queen of Egypt eventually killed herself with an asp. Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Empire. Octavian also held a grand triumphal ceremony in Rome. In 27 BC, Octavian, under the title of Augustus, officially became the first citizen of Rome, marking the beginning of the Roman imperial era. After Rome entered the imperial era, according to the traditional historical viewpoint, there was a period of chaos. Emperors emerged, most of whom were tyrannical. Caligula, a madman, even wanted to appoint his horse as a consul. Claudius, who succeeded him, was quite capable, but died of food poisoning. Nero was a very unpopular emperor. He set fire to Rome, fled, and then carried out large-scale persecution against them. Finally, the governor of Hispania, Vespasian, killed Nero, becoming the most infamous emperor in Roman history. The tyrannical emperors were only a traditional historical viewpoint, because most of those in charge were senators. Often, they did not get along with the emperors and even plotted against them. In one year, there were four emperors, of whom three were assassinated. Finally, Vespasian came to power and founded the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian, to win people's hearts, built a grand public construction, the Colosseum. After his death, his son Titus succeeded him and continued the construction. During his reign, Mount Vesuvius erupted and Pompeii was swallowed by the volcano. After that, his younger brother Domitian succeeded him and ruled, but was also assassinated. After a period of chaos, Rome produced five relatively good emperors, such as Trajan, who expanded the empire to its greatest extent, and Hadrian, who focused on building the famous Hadrian's Wall. However, behind the prosperity, the problems of the Roman Empire began to emerge. Trade deficits caused large amounts of silver to flow out, and invasions of Roman territory occurred frequently in the later period of the Roman Empire. By the third century AD, Rome entered the so-called "Crisis of the Third Century," where the army actually controlled power. In a short period of 50 years, more than 20 emperors emerged. To address this situation, Emperor Diocletian introduced the Tetrarchy in 293 AD, dividing the empire into East and West, with two senior emperors and two junior emperors to govern together. Although this temporarily stabilized the situation, it led to problems. Constantine won in the struggle for power and became the sole emperor. He also moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople in 330 AD. From this period onwards, the Eastern Roman Empire replaced the Western Roman Empire as the center of power. As for the Western Roman Empire, they had to deal with some barbarians. In 376 AD, the Visigoths, fleeing from the Huns, gathered within the borders of the Roman Empire. Initially, the emperor allowed them to settle there, but the barbarians were resentful, and eventually a rebellion broke out. The Huns also invaded, but were tragically killed in battle. Finally, in 476 AD, a Roman general deposed the emperor and exiled Romulus Augustulus, marking the official end of the Western Roman Empire. It is said that the first emperor of Rome was Augustus, and the last emperor was also named Romulus. The story of Rome comes to an end here. This video was really long to film. I spent a week editing it. After this, I will film a new video about some great places in Rome, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and further afield, such as Pompeii. There will also be some less well-known attractions. After completing the Italy series, there will be another series. We've reached the end of this episode. See you next time. Goodbye.