According to legend, the start for Rome began when the two demi-god brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were raised by the she-wolf, Lupa, fought over who will rule this city. It was Romulus who killed his brother and named it after himself--Rome, on 21 April, 753 BCE.
This great Empire ended, however, about seven hundred years later, in 476 AD, when Rome was raided by barbarians. Orestes, one of the invaders, let his son, Romulus Augustus, rule the fallen kingdom of Rome, except that did not last long either, since they were captured by yet another barbarian, who took the power from the six-years-old, but kept him well fed.
During the long reign of Rome, there were remarkable leaders who strengthened this Empire, and there were leaders who brought along the final destruction for the kingdom. Caesar protected it, and defended it well, yet by offending the Senate, he was murdered. Octavian, on the other hand, behaved much better, and didn't make the same mistakes that Caesar had. In fact, he was so popular that the Senate wanted him to rule! They were the powerful leaders that Rome was proud to have.
Yet this did not last, since bad rulers that did not deserve to rule stepped in to the picture and made it as bad as possible. Nero, was the traitor who manages to party when his country was burning and made the Christians guilty of the crime. He even made them into candlesticks! Sadly, he was not the only leader that was bad. Many leaders followed in his footsteps and finally lead Rome disaster. Barbarians attacked and the Emperor actually sent word to kill their best general.
After Rome fell, I think the most important legacy that the Romans left for us is their language. Latin affected the English language greatly, and we use some of the words to name our planets and months.
We are reminded of this Kingdom that ruled the earth for so long whenever we communicate, or simply look at the cosmos. Their legend has been passed on from generation to generation, and we should be grateful to know this powerful Empire.
