The earliest empires had been in the east. Egypt, Mesopotamia,
China, India, and Greece were all home to at least one powerful
civilization. About 387BC, a city on the Italian peninsula began
acquiring land and building an empire. That city was Rome. For
almost one thousand years, Rome controlled the western world.
The origins of Rome are steeped in myth and legend. Many ancient
Romans believed twin boys named Romulus and Remus founded the
city. The legends say a king feared the twins would rob him of
his throne, so the tossed the boys into the frigid Tiber River.
Soon after, the brothers were rescued by a she-wolf who nursed
the boys back to health. Romulus and Remus decided to establish
a city on the Tiber River, but the brothers could not agree on a
location. Signs from the heavens told each brother to build a
separate city, but Romulus' city would be much larger. Romulus
completed his city on April 21, 753BC. Remus was upset that
Romulus had built his city, so Remus climbed over the wall of
Romulus' city.