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This is a short history that traces the founding of Rome and the establishment of its empire, a history spanning over a millennium. From the intro: "ABOUT the middle of the eighth century before Christ, there was founded in Italy a new town which was to become the most famous in the world. The site of Rome, for that was the name of the new foundation, was very well chosen. A number of hills-they were reckoned as seven, though there were not so many separate heights-looked down upon a riverside meadow. The hills were steep enough to be easily defended, but not too steep to be built upon. The river was navigable, and the distance from the sea was not so great as to cause inconvenience, but was enough to make the town safe from the attacks of pirates. The first settlers occupied two of the seven hills, one of the two being certainly the Palatine, the other probably the Quirinal. They seem to have been shepherds or herdsmen. So much we may gather from the oldest names, such, for instance, as that of one of the gates in the first city wall, Porta mugionis, 'the gate of lowing.'"