Transcription
In the first century BCE, a vast empire emerged in the west. Its capital, Rome, was the first city in human history to reach a population of one million. In Europe, it wasn't until the 19th century in London that such an achievement was met. Hello everyone, I'm 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, such as Etruscan culture. For example, the Fasces, or the white marble, actually 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. That 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 established a new city, named Lavinia, and based on this name, he reformed the people he brought from Troy.
After more than ten generations of kings, a succession crisis erupted in Lavinia. The original king's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was forced to become a Vestal Virgin by her uncle. Ostensibly, it was to preserve her name, but in reality, it was to prevent her from having heirs, as Vestal Virgins had to remain so for life. This was a way of saying she couldn't have descendants, effectively cutting off the lineage. At this point, there was another twist of fate, but unfortunately, she was raped by the god of war, Mars. Mars was actually a celestial god in ancient Roman mythology. She gave birth to twins named Romulus and Remus.
King Amulius was furious. He imprisoned the princess and ordered the twins to be thrown into the Tiber River. The people by the river couldn't bear to throw the twins in, so they placed them by the riverbank. After the water receded, a she-wolf came to the river to drink. This she-wolf not only nursed them but also licked them. Later, a shepherd found the two brothers, adopted them, and took them home, raising them until they were adults.
After becoming adults, the brothers learned of their origins and together killed King Amulius. After avenging their enemy, the brothers wanted to build a city in Rome, but they couldn't agree on who would rule. As everyone understands, they made a gentleman's agreement. 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 said that one vulture had stopped over the Palatine Hill. Then the argument began. In fact, the two had not agreed on the rules of the game beforehand. One said it should be decided by the order of appearance, while the other said it should be decided by the number of vultures. In the end, it came down to basic violence. After Remus was killed, Romulus built 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 the throne, Romulus's first act was to organize an army on the Palatine Hill. He also selected some nobles to become elders, forming the first generation of Roman senators. The Senate had two functions: first, to help him rule the city; second, after the king died, they were responsible for electing a new king. This period is known as the Roman Kingdom period.
In the early days of the city, Rome discovered that its population was diverse. They tried many methods to solve this problem, so Romulus 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 suddenly gave the order to his men to abduct the Sabine women. After the bad guys had done their deed, Romulus changed his tune and immediately appeased the captured Sabine women, so that they could settle down in Rome, marry, and have children.
The Sabine king, Titus Tatius, came to Rome for revenge. As the two armies were about to clash, the captured Sabine women did something astonishing. They walked between the two armies and shouted loudly, saying that on one side were their fathers and brothers, and on the other side were their husbands and Roman men. They begged everyone to lay down their weapons and resolve the issue peacefully. The plot twist was that the Romans and the Sabines actually ended up forming an alliance because of this.
Several decades later, Rome had its fourth king, Tarquinius Priscus, an Etruscan. His name was Lucius. This Lucius was very capable and was trusted by the king, being appointed as prince. After the king died, the prince was very young. So, Lucius used some methods to persuade the elders not to let the prince rule, but to let him become king himself. Lucius was very ambitious and conquered many cities around Rome, and also built the first Roman city. At the same time, he brought Etruscan art and gladiatorial culture to Rome.
Time skipped forward three more generations. The king at that time was Tarquinius Superbus. He was a king who loved war and conquest. During a battle, several of his sons and their cousin, Brutus, were having dinner. During the meal, their topic of conversation was whose wife was the most virtuous. Since they were bored on the front lines, they decided to surprise their wives. They suddenly rode back to Rome to see whose wife was the most obedient. Usually, these surprise checks have many surprises.
One of the king's sons, Sextus Tarquinius, returned to Rome. He found that most of the wives were having a great time, the kind of happiness where they had halos above their heads. He only found that Lucretia, his wife, was at home, weaving, and was the most diligent. 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 the revolution, overthrew the king, and ended the Roman Kingdom period.
Rome gained freedom. They decided not to be ruled by a king anymore 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 period.
Rome's territory expanded at an exponential rate during the Republican period. They first defeated the nearby Etruscans, liberating central Italy from Greek colonial rule in a short time. King Philip V of Macedon was defeated. Not long after his failed expedition to India, he died of illness. The Greek world was divided into three. Rome seized this opportunity and allied with a powerful nation, Carthage, to defeat the Greek forces. By 275 BCE, Rome had unified all of Italy.
As if it were an immutable law of Roman history, Rome and Carthage eventually clashed over the struggle for dominance, sparking three Punic Wars. The First Punic War began in 264 BCE. The Romans were not good at naval warfare, while Carthage was a maritime nation. It seemed Carthage had the advantage, but the Romans invented the "corvus," a drawbridge attached to the front of their warships. At the top of this drawbridge was a sharp iron hook. When lowered, it would bite into the enemy's deck. 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 family, with several descendants serving as Carthaginian generals. Among them was Hannibal, a military genius who was only 26 years old. In this war, Rome was at a disadvantage. Normally, people would think of crossing the sea to fight, but Hannibal had a different idea. He led his army, including 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and several war elephants, across Spain and over the icy Alps. The Romans, hearing of Hannibal's approach, turned to Spain to withdraw their forces. This directly threatened Carthage's territory, forcing Hannibal to return to defend. He fought a decisive battle with the Roman army at Cannae and Zama, but was defeated in 202 BCE, ending the Second Punic War.
Hannibal was defeated, 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 conflict broke out between Carthage and Rome's ally, Numidia, leading to the Third Punic War. This time, the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus completely destroyed Carthage's economy. Carthage thus slowly declined. After Carthage was eliminated, neighboring countries began to submit to Rome. In 133 BCE, Rome accepted the request of King Attalus III of Pergamon and, after his death, inherited his territory. Rome officially established a province in Asia, called Asia Minor. Its territory extended to Europe. 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 Sulla's appointment to Asia, but Marius wanted command. As a result, the two sides began to fight. Marius broke the tradition of the army's strict discipline and was the first to enter Rome with his troops. He eventually won the war in 82 BCE and was appointed dictator.
Sulla used his power to carry out a series of constitutional reforms, such as restoring the authority of the Senate and enacting a strict system called the "Cursus Honorum." The Cursus Honorum stipulated the minimum age for holding various offices and the order of progression, effectively curbing the desire of young ambitious individuals to rise quickly. In 79 BCE, Sulla declared that he had completed his reforms and voluntarily resigned. After that, the political situation in Rome became more complex. What was once ruled by one person became ruled by three people, as Rome officially entered the First Triumvirate. These three were Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar. Crassus had pacified the East and suppressed Mediterranean pirates. Pompey was one of the wealthiest men in Rome, having shaken the foundations of the Republic.
Caesar was a brilliant strategist with exceptional eloquence and a masterful hand at political games. In 59 BCE, Caesar became governor of Gaul, which was then called Gallia. After fighting a series of Gallic Wars, he successfully conquered the entire Gallic region 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, so he decided to defy the order.
Crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, 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 crown, 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 there were about 60 to 70 people involved. On March 15, 44 BCE, Caesar was stabbed 23 times and died in the Theatre of Pompey. As future generations, 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. After that, they divided the territory among themselves and ruled different regions. Antony took advantage of his previous intimate relationship with Caesar's lover, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, 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 to try to retake the army. However, 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. As a result, he was heartbroken and also committed suicide. But in the end, he discovered that the Queen was not dead. However, it was already too late. In the end, he died in the arms of the Queen of Egypt. After that, the Queen, hoping to save herself and her children, surrendered to Octavian. However, 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 finally killed herself with a snake bite. Egypt was then incorporated into the Roman Empire. Octavian also held a grand ceremony in Rome. In 27 BC, Octavian, under the title of Augustus, officially became the first citizen of Rome, and thus began the Roman imperial era. After Rome entered the imperial era, according to the traditional historical viewpoint, there was a period of chaos. Then came emperors who were mostly tyrants. Caligula, a madman, even wanted to appoint his horse as a consul. Claudius, who succeeded him, was not bad, but he died of food poisoning. Nero was a very unpopular emperor. He set fire to Rome and then carried out large-scale persecution against them. Finally, Galba, who was the governor of Hispania, killed Nero and became the most infamous emperor in Roman history. The emperors being tyrants is only a traditional historical viewpoint, because most of those in charge were senators. Often, they did not get along with the emperor and even plotted against them. In one year, there were actually 4 emperors, of course, 3 of them were assassinated. Finally, Vespasian came to power and founded the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian wanted to win people's hearts, so he built a large public construction, the Colosseum. After his death, his son Titus succeeded him and continued this project. During his reign, Mount Vesuvius erupted and Pompeii was swallowed by the volcano. After that, his younger brother Domitian succeeded him and ruled, but he was also assassinated. After a period of chaos, Rome had 5 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 3rd century AD, Rome entered a so-called "crisis of the third century" period, meaning the army actually controlled power. In a short period of 50 years, there were over 20 emperors. To resolve this situation, Emperor Diocletian introduced the Tetrarchy in 293 AD, dividing the empire into East and West, with two emperors in each part, one senior emperor and one junior emperor, ruling together. Although this temporarily stabilized the situation, it led to succession problems. Constantine won in this struggle for power and became the sole emperor. Moreover, in 330 AD, he moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople, which was also a stable move. 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 410 AD, the Visigoths, needing to find new lands, gathered within the borders of the Roman Empire. Initially, the emperor allowed them to settle there, but the barbarians were not content and wanted more. Finally, a large-scale rebellion broke out. The Vandals invaded further, but were tragically killed in battle. In the end, in 476 AD, a Roman general deposed the emperor and exiled Romulus Augustulus, thus officially ending the Western Roman Empire. It is said that the first emperor of Rome was Romulus, and the last emperor was also called Romulus. The story of Rome comes to an end here. This video was really long to film, and it took me a week to edit. After this, I will film a new video about some major places in Rome, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and further afield, the Vatican. There will also be some less well-known attractions. After completing the Italian series, there will be another series. So, we've reached the end of this episode. See you next episode. Goodbye.