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Tradition states that Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. However, in the fifth century B.C., a few Greek historians speculated that Aeneas settle at Rome, which was then still a small city-state.
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Due to the outrageous behavior of the last kings who led the noble families to revolt, brought the monarchy to a sudden close and lead to the creation of the Roman Republic.
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Rome interfered in a dispute on the Carthaginian controlled island of Sicily and by the end of the war, Rome was in control of both Sicily and Corsica, which marked the empire's emergence as a naval power as well as a land power.
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Hannibal invaded Italy and scored great victories at Lake Trasimene and Cannae before his eventual defeat at the hands of Rome's Scipio Africanus, which left Rome in control of the western Mediterranean and much of Spain.
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Caesar returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph and great victory procession; however, the law did not allow him to do so. He reconciled with Crassus with Pompey, and gained their support to create the First Triumvirate; an informal agreement among three Roman politicians.
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Caesar was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy by many Roman senators. Let by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, they stabbed him to death.
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The Battle of Actium was fought off the western coast of Greece. Roman leader Octavian wins a decisive victory against the forces of Roman Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.
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Nero was known for his debaucheries, political murders, persecution of Christians and had a passion for music, which led to the probably apocryphal rumor that Nero "fiddled" while Rome burned. Nero committed suicide when he learned he would be arrested and executed since he failed to respond to a revolt in Gaul.
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Marcus Aurelius acquired the reputation of a philosopher king during his lifetime and thereafter. He proved himself a skillful and competent General during many campaigns.
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Constantine proclaimed his adherence to Christianity and was the first Christian emperor. He used his status to issue the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed Christianity was legal and allowed for the freedom of worship throughout the empire.
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Romulus, the last of the Roman emperors in the west, was overthrown by the Germanic leader Odoacer, who was the the first Barbarian to rule in Rome.
