Rome

==History==
{{Main|History of Rome}}
{{For timeline}}

===Earliest history===
{{Main|Founding of Rome}}
{{Quote box
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| quote = {{ubl|[[Roman Kingdom]] 753–509 BC
 |[[Roman Republic]] 509–27 BC
 |[[Roman Empire]] 27 BC– 395 AD
 |[[Western Roman Empire]] 286–476
 |[[Kingdom of Italy (476–493)|Kingdom of Italy]] 476–493
 |[[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] 493–536
 |{{Flag|Eastern Roman Empire}} 536–546
 |[[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] 546–547
 |{{Flag|Eastern Roman Empire}} 547–549
 |[[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] 549–552
 |{{Flag|Eastern Roman Empire}} 552–751
 |[[Kingdom of the Lombards]] 751–756
 |{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Papal States (pre 1808).svg}} [[Papal States]] 756–1798
 |{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Repubblica Romana (1798).svg}} [[Roman Republic (18th century)|Roman Republic]] 1798–1799
 |{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Papal States (1803-1825).svg}} [[Papal States]] 1799–1809
 |{{Flag|First French Empire}} 1809–1814
 |{{Flag|Papal States}} 1814–1849
 |{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Roman Republic (19th century).svg}} [[Roman Republic (1849)|Roman Republic]] 1849
 |{{Flag|Papal States}} 1849–1870
 |{{Flag|Kingdom of Italy}} 1870–1943
 |{{Flag|Italian Social Republic}} 1943–1944
 |{{Flag|Kingdom of Italy}} 1944–1946
 |{{Flag|Italian Republic}} 1946–present}}
}}
[[File:Maquette de la Rome archaïque (musée de la civilisation romaine, Rome) (5917668745).jpg|thumb|Model of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the seventh century BC.]]
While there have been discoveries of archaeological evidence of human occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago, the dense layer of much younger debris obscures [[Palaeolithic]] and [[Neolithic]] sites.<ref name="Heiken, G. 2005" /> Evidence of stone tools, pottery, and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence. Several excavations support the view that Rome grew from [[pastoralism|pastoral]] settlements on the [[Palatine Hill]] built above the area of the future [[Roman Forum]]. Between the end of the [[Bronze Age]] and the beginning of the [[Iron Age]], each hill between the sea and the Capitoline Hill was topped by a village (on the Capitoline, a village is attested since the end of the 14th century BC).<ref name=coa9>Coarelli (1984) p. 9</ref> However, none of them yet had an urban quality.<ref name=coa9 /> Nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city developed gradually through the aggregation ("[[synoecism]]") of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine.<ref name=coa9 /> This aggregation was facilitated by the increase of agricultural productivity above the [[Subsistence economy|subsistence level]], which also allowed the establishment of [[secondary sector|secondary]] and [[tertiary sector|tertiary activities]]. These, in turn, boosted the development of trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy (mainly [[Ischia]] and [[Cumae]]).<ref name=coa9 /> These developments, which according to archaeological evidence took place during the mid-eighth century BC, can be considered as the "birth" of the city.<ref name=coa9 /> Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome was founded deliberately in the middle of the eighth century BC, as the legend of Romulus suggests, remains a fringe hypothesis.<ref name="foundation">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/science/12rome.html |title=More Clues in the Legend (or Is It Fact?) of Romulus |first=John Nobel |last=Wilford |date=12 June 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=11 August 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417112437/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/science/12rome.html |archive-date=17 April 2009}}</ref>

====Legend of the founding of Rome====
{{Main|Romulus and Remus|Romulus}}
[[File:Kapitolinische Wölfin Museum Capitolini.jpg|thumb|''[[Capitoline Wolf]]'', a sculpture of the [[She-wolf (Roman mythology)|mythical she-wolf]] suckling the infant twins [[Romulus and Remus]]]]

Traditional stories handed down by the [[ancient Romans]] themselves explain the earliest [[History of Rome|history of their city]] in terms of [[legend]] and [[myth]]. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all [[Roman mythology|Roman myths]], is the story of [[Romulus and Remus]], the twins who were suckled by a [[She-wolf (Roman mythology)|she-wolf]].<ref name="livy1797" /> They decided to build a city, but after an argument, [[Romulus]] killed his brother and the city took his name. According to the Roman [[annalist]]s, this happened on 21 April 753 BC.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=73}} This legend had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, that had the [[Trojan War|Trojan refugee]] [[Aeneas]] escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son [[Ascanius|Iulus]], the namesake of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty]].<ref name="livy2005">{{Cite book |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd |isbn=978-0-14-196307-5 |last=Livy |title=The Early History of Rome |year=2005}}</ref>
This was accomplished by the Roman poet [[Virgil]] in the first century BC. In addition, [[Strabo]] mentions an older story, that the city was an [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadian]] colony founded by [[Evander of Pallene|Evander]]. Strabo also writes that [[Lucius Coelius Antipater]] believed that Rome was founded by Greeks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:5.3.3 |title=Strabo, Geography, book 5, chapter 3, section 3 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=21 February 2021 |archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301151855/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:5.3.3 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/5C*.html |title=LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book V Chapter 3 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=29 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529132904/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/5C%2A.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Monarchy and republic===
{{Main|Ancient Rome|Roman Kingdom|Roman Republic}}
[[File:Foro_Boario_Portuno_04.jpg|thumb|The [[Temple of Portunus]], god of grain storage, keys, livestock and ports,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fowler|first1=W. Warde|title=Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic|date=1899|publisher=Kennikat Press|pages=202–204}}</ref> built between 120 and 80 BC]]
[[File:Foro Romano visto dai Musei Capitolini Roma.jpg|thumb|The [[Roman Forum]] contains the ruins of the buildings that represented the political, legal, religious and economic centre of ancient Rome, constituting the "nerve centre" of all Roman civilisation.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Roman Forum |website=World History Encyclopedia |date=18 January 2012 |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/26/the-roman-forum/ |access-date=22 August 2019 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420181638/https://www.worldhistory.org/article/26/the-roman-forum/ |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

After the foundation by Romulus according to a legend,{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=73}} Rome was ruled for a period of 244 years by a [[monarchy|monarchical system]], initially with sovereigns of [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latin]] and [[Sabines|Sabine]] origin, later by [[Etruscans|Etruscan]] kings. The tradition handed down seven kings: [[Romulus]], [[Numa Pompilius]], [[Tullus Hostilius]], [[Ancus Marcius]], [[Tarquinius Priscus]], [[Servius Tullius]] and [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=73}}

In 509 BC, the Romans expelled the last king from their city and established an [[Oligarchy|oligarchic]] [[republic]]. Rome then began a period characterised by internal struggles between [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patricians]] (aristocrats) and [[Plebs|plebeians]] (small landowners), and by constant warfare against the populations of central Italy: Etruscans, Latins, [[Volsci]], [[Aequi]], and [[Marsi]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=77}} After becoming master of [[Latium]], Rome led several wars (against the [[Gauls]], [[Osci]]-[[Samnites]] and the Greek colony of [[Taranto]], allied with [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]], king of [[Epirus]]) whose result was the conquest of the [[Italian peninsula]], from the central area up to [[Magna Graecia]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=79}}

The third and second century BC saw the establishment of Roman hegemony over the [[Mediterranean]] and the [[Balkans]], through the three [[Punic Wars]] (264–146 BC) fought against the city of [[Carthage]] and the three [[Macedonian Wars]] (212–168 BC) against [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | pp=81–83}} The first [[Roman province]]s were established at this time: [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicily]], [[Corsica et Sardinia|Sardinia and Corsica]], [[Hispania]], [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]], [[Achaea (Roman province)|Achaea]] and [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | pp=81–85}}

From the beginning of the 2nd century BC, power was contested between two groups of aristocrats: the [[optimates]], representing the conservative part of the [[Roman senate|Senate]], and the [[populares]], which relied on the help of the [[plebs]] (urban lower class) to gain power. In the same period, the bankruptcy of the small farmers and the establishment of large slave estates caused large-scale migration to the city. The continuous warfare led to the establishment of a professional army, which turned out to be more loyal to its generals than to the republic. Because of this, in the second half of the second century and during the first century BC there were conflicts both abroad and internally: after the failed attempt of social reform of the populares [[Tiberius Gracchus|Tiberius]] and [[Gaius Gracchus]],{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=89}} and the war against [[Jugurtha]],{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=89}} there was [[Sulla's civil war|a civil war]] from which the general [[Sulla]] emerged victorious.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=89}} A [[Third Servile War|major slave revolt]] under [[Spartacus]] followed,{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=91}} and then the establishment of the [[first Triumvirate]] with [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], [[Pompey]] and [[Marcus Licinius Crassus|Crassus]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=91}}

The conquest of [[Gaul]] made Caesar immensely powerful and popular, which led to a [[Caesar's Civil War|second civil war]] against the Senate and Pompey. After his victory, Caesar established himself as [[Dictator perpetuo|dictator for life]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=91}} His assassination led to a [[second Triumvirate]] among [[Octavian]] (Caesar's grandnephew and heir), [[Mark Antony]] and [[Lepidus]], and to [[Final War of the Roman Republic|another civil war]] between Octavian and Antony.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=93}}

===Empire===
{{Main|Roman Empire}}
[[File:Palatine_Hill_from_across_the_Circus_Maximus_April_2019.jpg|thumb|The Ancient-Imperial-Roman palaces of the Palatine, a series of palaces located in the [[Palatine Hill]], express power and wealth of emperors from Augustus until the 4th century.]]
[[File:Trajan's Market, Rome, Italy.jpg|thumb|The [[Imperial fora]] belong to a series of ''monumental fora'' (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also seen in the image is [[Trajan's Market]].]]
[[File:Détail de la maquette de Rome à lépoque de Constantin (5840455090).jpg|thumb|right|Model of Imperial Rome at the [[Museum of Roman Civilization|Museo della civiltà romana in Rome]]. The [[Temple of Claudius]] is situated to the south (left) of the [[Colosseum]].]]

In 27 BC, Octavian became ''[[princeps|princeps civitatis]]'' and took the title of [[Augustus]], founding the [[principate]], a [[diarchy]] between the ''princeps'' and the senate.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=93}} During the reign of [[Nero]], two thirds of the city was ruined after the [[Great Fire of Rome]], and the [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution of Christians]] commenced.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/great-fire-rome-background/1446/ |title=The Great Fire of Rome {{!}} Background {{!}} Secrets of the Dead {{!}} PBS|date=29 May 2014|website=Secrets of the Dead|language=en-US |access-date=7 April 2019 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404105016/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/great-fire-rome-background/1446/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/jul19/great-fire-rome/ |title=Great Fire of Rome |last=Society |first=National Geographic |date=18 June 2014 |website=National Geographic Society |language=en |access-date=7 April 2019 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330173019/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/jul19/great-fire-rome/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Egypt, Greece, and Rome : Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean |last=Freeman |first=Charles |isbn=978-0-19-965191-7 |edition=Third |publisher=Oxford University Press |oclc=868077503 |date=March 2014}}</ref> Rome was established as a [[de facto]] empire, which reached its greatest expansion in the second century under the Emperor [[Trajan]]. Rome was confirmed as [[caput Mundi]], i.e. the capital of the known world, an expression which had already been used in the Republican period. During its first two centuries, the empire was ruled by emperors of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian]],{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=97}} [[Flavian dynasty|Flavian]] (who also built an eponymous amphitheatre, known as the [[Colosseum]]),{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=97}} and [[Antonine dynasty|Antonine]] dynasties.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=99}} This time was also characterised by the spread of the Christian religion, preached by [[Jesus Christ]] in [[Judea]] in the first half of the first century (under [[Tiberius]]) and popularised by his [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostle]]s through the empire and beyond.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=107}} The Antonine age is considered the zenith of the Empire, whose territory ranged from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the [[Euphrates]] and from [[Great Britain|Britain]] to [[Egypt]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=99}}

[[File:Colosseum at night - wide angle.JPG|thumb|[[Colosseum]] at night]]

After the end of the Severan Dynasty in 235, the Empire entered into a 50-year period known as the [[Crisis of the Third Century]] during which there were numerous putsches by generals, who sought to secure the region of the empire they were entrusted with due to the weakness of central authority in Rome. There was the so-called Gallic Empire from 260 to 274 and the revolts of Zenobia and her father from the mid-260s which sought to fend off Persian incursions. Some regions – Britain, Spain, and North Africa – were hardly affected. Instability caused economic deterioration, and there was a rapid rise in inflation as the government debased the currency in order to meet expenses. The [[Germanic tribes]] along the Rhine and north of the Balkans made serious, uncoordinated incursions from the 250s–280s that were more like giant raiding parties rather than attempts to settle. The [[Sasanian Empire|Persian Empire]] invaded from the east several times during the 230s to 260s but were eventually defeated.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=101}} Emperor [[Diocletian]] (284) undertook the restoration of the State. He ended the Principate and introduced the [[Tetrarchy]] which sought to increase state power. The most marked feature was the unprecedented intervention of the State down to the city level: whereas the State had submitted a tax demand to a city and allowed it to allocate the charges, from his reign the State did this down to the village level. In a vain attempt to control inflation, he imposed [[price controls]] which did not last. He or Constantine regionalised the administration of the empire which fundamentally changed the way it was governed by creating regional dioceses (the consensus seems to have shifted from 297 to 313/14 as the date of creation due to the argument of [[Constantin Zuckerman]] in 2002 "Sur la liste de Vérone et la province de Grande-Arménie, Mélanges Gilber Dagron). The existence of regional fiscal units from 286 served as the model for this unprecedented innovation. The emperor quickened the process of removing military command from governors. Henceforth, civilian administration and military command would be separate. He gave governors more fiscal duties and placed them in charge of the army logistical support system as an attempt to control it by removing the support system from its control. Diocletian ruled the eastern half, residing in [[Nicomedia]]. In 296, he elevated [[Maximian]] to ''Augustus'' of the western half, where he ruled mostly from [[Mediolanum]] when not on the move.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=101}} In 292, he created two 'junior' emperors, the Caesars, one for each Augustus, Constantius for Britain, Gaul, and Spain whose seat of power was in [[Trier]] and Galerius in [[Sirmium]] in the [[Balkans]]. The appointment of a Caesar was not unknown: Diocletian tried to turn into a system of non-dynastic succession. Upon abdication in 305, the Caesars succeeded and they, in turn, appointed two colleagues for themselves.{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=101}}

After the [[abdication]] of [[Diocletian]] and [[Maximian]] in 305 and a series of civil wars between rival claimants to imperial power, during the years 306–313, the [[Tetrarchy]] was abandoned. [[Constantine the Great]] undertook a major reform of the bureaucracy, not by changing the structure but by rationalising the competencies of the several ministries during the years 325–330, after he defeated [[Licinius]], emperor in the East, at the end of 324. The so-called [[Edict of Milan]] of 313, actually a fragment of a letter from Licinius to the governors of the eastern provinces, granted freedom of worship to everyone, including Christians, and ordered the restoration of confiscated church properties upon petition to the newly created vicars of dioceses. He funded the building of several churches and allowed clergy to act as arbitrators in civil suits (a measure that did not outlast him but which was restored in part much later). He transformed the town of [[Byzantium]] into his new residence, which, however, was not officially anything more than an imperial residence like [[Milan]] or [[Trier]] or [[Nicomedia]] until given a city prefect in May 359 by [[Constantius II]]; [[Constantinople]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=103}}

Christianity in the form of the Nicene Creed became the official religion of the empire in 380, via the [[Edict of Thessalonica]] issued in the name of three emperors – Gratian, Valentinian II, and [[Theodosius I]] – with Theodosius clearly the driving force behind it. He was the last emperor of a unified empire: after his death in 395, his sons, [[Arcadius]] and [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]] divided the empire into [[Western Roman Empire|a western]] and [[Eastern Roman Empire|an eastern]] part. The seat of government in the Western Roman Empire was transferred to [[Ravenna]] in 408, but from 450 the emperors mostly resided in the capital city, Rome.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gillett|first=Andrew|date=2001|title=Rome, Ravenna and the Last Western Emperors|url=https://www.academia.edu/18189525|journal=Papers of the British School at Rome|volume=69|pages=131–167|doi=10.1017/S0068246200001781|jstor=40311008|s2cid=129373675|issn=0068-2462}}</ref>

[[File:Sack of Rome by the Visigoths on 24 August 410 by JN Sylvestre 1890.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|The [[Visigoths]] [[Sack of Rome (410)|sacking Rome in 410]], by [[Joseph-Noël Sylvestre]] (1890), the first time in {{c.}}&nbsp;800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy]]
Rome, which had lost its central role in the administration of the empire, [[Sack of Rome (410)|was sacked in 410]] by the [[Visigoths]] led by [[Alaric I]],{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=115}} but very little physical damage was done, most of which was repaired. What could not be so easily replaced were portable items such as artwork in precious metals and items for domestic use (loot). The popes embellished the city with large basilicas, such as [[Santa Maria Maggiore]] (with the collaboration of the emperors). The population of the city had fallen from 800,000 to 450–500,000 by the time the city was sacked in 455 by [[Genseric]], king of the [[Vandals]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=117}} The weak emperors of the fifth century could not stop the decay, leading to the deposition of [[Romulus Augustus]] on 22 August 476, which marked the end of the [[Western Roman Empire]] and, for many historians, the beginning of the [[Middle Ages]].{{sfn | Kinder | Hilgemann | 1964 | p=103}}

The decline of the city's population was caused by the loss of grain shipments from North Africa, from 440 onward, and the unwillingness of the senatorial class to maintain donations to support a population that was too large for the resources available. Even so, strenuous efforts were made to maintain the monumental centre, the palatine, and the largest baths, which continued to function until the Gothic siege of 537. The large baths of Constantine on the Quirinale were even repaired in 443, and the extent of the damage exaggerated and dramatised.<ref>''Rome, An Urban History from Antiquity to the Present'', Rabun Taylor, Katherine W. Rinne and Spiro Kostof, 2016 pp.&nbsp;160–179</ref>

However, the city gave an appearance overall of shabbiness and decay because of the large abandoned areas due to population decline. The population declined to 500,000 by 452 and 100,000 by 500 AD (perhaps larger, though no certain figure can be known). After the Gothic siege of 537, the population dropped to 30,000 but had risen to 90,000 by the papacy of [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory the Great]].<ref>''Rome, Profile of a City: 321–1308'', [[Richard Krautheimer]], p.&nbsp;165</ref> The population decline coincided with the general collapse of urban life in the West in the fifth and sixth centuries, with few exceptions. Subsidized state grain distributions to the poorer members of society continued right through the sixth century and probably prevented the population from falling further.<ref>''Rome, Urban History'', pp.&nbsp;184–185</ref> The figure of 450,000–500,000 is based on the amount of pork, 3,629,000 lbs. distributed to poorer Romans during five winter months at the rate of five Roman lbs per person per month, enough for 145,000 persons or 1/4 or 1/3 of the total population.<ref>Novel 36, 2, Emperor Valeninian III</ref> Grain distribution to 80,000 ticket holders at the same time suggests 400,000 (Augustus set the number at 200,000 or one-fifth of the population).

===Middle Ages===
{{Further|Fall of the Western Roman Empire}}
[[File:Genseric sacking rome 456.jpg|thumb|The [[Vandals]] [[Sack of Rome (455)|sacking Rome in 455]], by [[Karl Briullov]] (1830s)]]

After the [[Decline of the Roman Empire|fall of the Western Roman Empire]] in 476 AD, Rome was first under the control of [[Odoacer]] and then became part of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] before returning to [[Byzantine Empire|East Roman]] control after the [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic War]], which devastated the city [[Sack of Rome (546)|in 546]] and [[Siege of Rome (549–550)|550]]. Its population declined from more than a million in 210 AD to 500,000 in 273<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |url=http://www.mandatory.com/2013/01/24/the-16-greatest-cities-in-human-history/9 |title=travel, history, civilizations, greatest cities, largest cities, Rome |publisher=Mandatory |date=24 January 2013 |access-date=12 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130090938/http://www.mandatory.com/2013/01/24/the-16-greatest-cities-in-human-history/9 |archive-date=30 January 2013}}</ref> to 35,000 after the Gothic War (535–554),<ref>{{cite book |last=Tellier |first=Luc-Normand |title=Urban World History: An Economic and Geographical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC&pg=PA185 |year=2009 |publisher=PUQ |isbn=978-2-7605-2209-1 |page=185 |access-date=29 October 2015 |archive-date=13 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513083650/https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC&pg=PA185 |url-status=live}}</ref> reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins, vegetation, vineyards and market gardens.<ref>Norman John Greville Pounds. ''An Historical Geography of Europe 450 B.C.–A.D. 1330''. p. 192.</ref> It is generally thought the population of the city until 300 AD was 1 million (estimates range from 2 million to 750,000) declining to 750–800,000 in 400 AD, 450–500,000 in 450 AD and down to 80–100,000 in 500 AD (though it may have been twice this).<ref>''Rome in Late Antiquity'', Bernard Lancon, 2001, pp.&nbsp;14, pp. 115–119 {{ISBN|0-415-92976-8}}; ''Rome Profile of a City'', Richard Krautheimer, 2000, pp.&nbsp;4, 65 {{ISBN|0-691-04961-0}}; ''Ancient Rome, The Archaeology of the Eternal City'', Editors Jon Coulston and Hazel Dodge, pp. 142–165 {{ISBN|978-0-947816-55-1}}</ref>

The Bishop of Rome, called the [[Pope]], was important since the early days of Christianity because of the martyrdom of both the apostles [[Simon Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] there. The Bishops of Rome were also seen (and still are seen by Catholics) as the successors of Peter, who is considered the first Bishop of Rome. The city thus became of increasing importance as the centre of the [[Catholic Church]].

After the [[Lombard invasion of Italy#Invasion and conquest of the Italian peninsula|Lombard invasion of Italy]] (569–572), the city remained nominally Byzantine, but in reality, the popes pursued a policy of equilibrium between [[Byzantine Empire|the Byzantines]], the [[Franks]], and the [[Lombards]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=19}} In 729, the Lombard king [[Liutprand, King of the Lombards|Liutprand]] donated the north Latium town of [[Sutri]] to the Church, starting its temporal power.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=19}} In 756, [[Pepin the Short]], after having defeated the Lombards, gave the Pope temporal jurisdiction over the Roman Duchy and the [[Exarchate of Ravenna]], thus creating the [[Papal States]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=19}} Since this period, three powers tried to rule the city: the pope, the nobility (together with the chiefs of militias, the judges, the Senate and the populace), and the Frankish king, as king of the Lombards, patricius, and Emperor.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=19}} These three parties (theocratic, republican, and imperial) were a characteristic of Roman life during the entire Middle Ages.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=19}} On Christmas night of 800, [[Charlemagne]] was crowned in Rome as emperor of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] by [[Pope Leo III]]: on that occasion, the city hosted for the first time the two powers whose struggle for control was to be a constant of the Middle Ages.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=19}}

[[File:Detail coronation Charles the Great (Francis 1st of France) by Pope Leo III (Leo X) Vatican 11.jpg|left|thumb|Detail from an illustration by [[Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino|Raphael]], portraying the crowning of [[Charlemagne]] in [[Old Saint Peter's Basilica]], on 25 December 800]]
In 846, Muslim Arabs [[Arab raid against Rome|unsuccessfully stormed the city's walls]], but managed to loot [[Old St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter]]'s and St. Paul's basilica, both outside the city wall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/06/eust/ht06eust.htm |title=Italian Peninsula, 500–1000 A.D. |date=5 December 2008 |website=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art|The Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205030647/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/06/eust/ht06eust.htm |archive-date=5 December 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref> After the decay of [[Carolingian Empire|Carolingian power]], Rome fell prey to feudal chaos: several noble families fought against the pope, the emperor, and each other. These were the times of [[Theodora (senatrix)|Theodora]] and her daughter [[Marozia]], concubines and mothers of several popes, and of [[Crescentius the Younger|Crescentius]], a powerful feudal lord, who fought against the Emperors [[Otto II]] and [[Otto III]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=20}} The scandals of this period forced the papacy to reform itself: the election of the pope was reserved to the cardinals, and reform of the clergy was attempted. The driving force behind this renewal was the monk [[Ildebrando da Soana]], who once elected pope under the name of [[Pope Gregory VII|Gregory VII]] became involved into the [[Investiture Controversy]] against Emperor [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=20}} Subsequently, Rome [[Sack of Rome (1084)|was sacked and burned]] by the [[Normans]] under [[Robert Guiscard]] who had entered the city in support of the Pope, then besieged in [[Castel Sant'Angelo]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=20}}

During this period, the city was autonomously ruled by a ''senatore'' or ''patrizio''. In the 12th century, this administration, like other European cities, evolved into the [[Medieval commune|commune]], a new form of social organisation controlled by the new wealthy classes.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=20}} Pope [[Lucius II]] fought against the Roman commune, and the struggle was continued by his successor [[Pope Eugenius III]]: by this stage, the commune, allied with the aristocracy, was supported by [[Arnaldo da Brescia]], a monk who was a religious and social reformer.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}} After the pope's death, Arnaldo was taken prisoner by [[Adrianus IV]], which marked the end of the commune's autonomy.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}} Under [[Pope Innocent III]], whose reign marked the apogee of the papacy, the commune liquidated the senate, and replaced it with a ''Senatore'', who was subject to the pope.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}}

In this period, the papacy played a role of secular importance in [[Western Europe]], often acting as arbitrators between Christian [[monarch]]s and exercising additional political powers.<ref name="Faus">Faus, José Ignacio Gonzáles. "''Autoridade da Verdade – Momentos Obscuros do Magistério Eclesiástico''". Capítulo VIII: Os papas repartem terras – Pág.: 64–65 e Capítulo VI: O papa tem poder temporal absoluto – Pág.: 49–55. Edições Loyola. {{ISBN|85-15-01750-4}}. Embora Faus critique profundamente o poder temporal dos papas ("''Mais uma vez isso salienta um dos maiores inconvenientes do status político dos sucessores de Pedro''" – pág.: 64), ele também admite um papel secular positivo por parte dos papas ("''Não podemos negar que intervenções papais desse gênero evitaram mais de uma guerra na Europa''" – pág.: 65).</ref><ref name="Papal Arbitration">{{cathEncy|wstitle=Papal Arbitration |author=Jarrett, Bede}}</ref><ref>Such as regulating the [[colonization]] of the [[New World]]. See [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] and [[Inter caetera]].</ref>

In 1266, [[Charles of Anjou]], who was heading south to fight the [[Hohenstaufen]] on behalf of the pope, was appointed Senator. Charles founded the [[Sapienza University of Rome|Sapienza]], the university of Rome.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}} In that period the pope died, and the cardinals, summoned in [[Viterbo]], could not agree on his successor. This angered the people of the city, who then unroofed the building where they met and imprisoned them until they had nominated the new pope; this marked the birth of the [[conclave]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}} In this period the city was also shattered by continuous fights between the aristocratic families: [[Annibaldi family|Annibaldi]], [[Caetani]], [[Colonna family|Colonna]], [[Orsini family|Orsini]], [[Conti di Segni|Conti]], nested in their fortresses built above ancient Roman edifices, fought each other to control the papacy.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}}
[[File:Giorgio Vasar retour idéalisé de Grégoire XI à Rome.jpg|thumb|Pope [[Gregory XI]] returned to Rome in 1376 and ended the [[Avignon Papacy]].]]

[[Pope Boniface VIII]], born Caetani, was the last pope to fight for the church's [[universal domain]]; he proclaimed a crusade against the [[Colonna family]] and, in 1300, called for the first [[Jubilee (Christianity)|Jubilee of Christianity]], which brought millions of [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrims]] to Rome.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}} However, his hopes were crushed by the French king [[Philip IV of France|Philip the Fair]], who took him prisoner and killed him in [[Anagni]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=21}} Afterwards, a new pope faithful to the French was elected, and the papacy was [[Avignon papacy|briefly relocated]] to [[Avignon]] (1309–1377).{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} During this period Rome was neglected, until a plebeian man, [[Cola di Rienzo]], came to power.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} An idealist and a lover of ancient Rome, Cola dreamed about a rebirth of the Roman Empire: after assuming power with the title of ''[[Tribune|Tribuno]]'', his reforms were rejected by the populace.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} Forced to flee, Cola returned as part of the entourage of Cardinal [[Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz|Albornoz]], who was charged with restoring the Church's power in Italy.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} Back in power for a short time, Cola was soon lynched by the populace, and Albornoz took possession of the city. In 1377, Rome became the seat of the papacy again under [[Gregory XI]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} The return of the pope to Rome in that year unleashed the [[Western Schism]] (1377–1418), and for the next forty years, the city was affected by the divisions which rocked the Church.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}}

===Early modern history===
{{Main|Roman Renaissance}}
[[File:Wolf-Dietrich-Klebeband Städtebilder G 123 III.jpg|thumb|Almost 500 years old, this map of Rome by [[Mario Cartaro]] (from 1575) shows the city's primary monuments.]]
[[File:0 Castel et pont Sant'Angelo (1).JPG|thumb|right|[[Castel Sant'Angelo]], or Hadrian's Mausoleum, is a Roman monument radically altered in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, built in 134 AD and crowned with 16th and 17th-century statues.]]
[[File:Fontana della Barcaccia restaurata, guardando verso Piazza Mignanelli.jpg|thumb|[[Fontana della Barcaccia]], created by [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]] in 1629]]
In 1418, the [[Council of Constance]] settled the [[Western Schism]], and a Roman pope, [[Martin V]], was elected.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} This brought to Rome a century of internal peace, which marked the beginning of the [[Renaissance]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} The ruling popes until the first half of the 16th century, from [[Nicholas V]], founder of the [[Vatican Library]], to [[Pius II]], humanist and literate, from [[Sixtus IV]], a warrior pope, to [[Alexander VI]], immoral and [[Nepotism|nepotist]], from [[Julius II]], soldier and patron, to [[Leo X]], who gave his name to this period ("the century of Leo X"), all devoted their energy to the greatness and the beauty of the Eternal City and to the patronage of the arts.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}}

During those years, the centre of the [[Italian Renaissance]] moved to Rome from Florence. Majestic works, as the new [[St. Peter's Basilica|Saint Peter's Basilica]], the [[Sistine Chapel]] and ''[[Ponte Sisto]]'' (the first bridge to be built across the [[Tiber]] since antiquity, although on Roman foundations) were created. To accomplish that, the Popes engaged the best artists of the time, including [[Michelangelo]], [[Pietro Perugino|Perugino]], [[Raphael]], [[Domenico Ghirlandaio|Ghirlandaio]], [[Luca Signorelli]], [[Sandro Botticelli|Botticelli]], and [[Cosimo Rosselli]].

The period was also infamous for papal corruption, with many Popes fathering children, and engaging in [[nepotism]] and [[simony]]. The corruption of the Popes and the huge expenses for their building projects led, in part, to the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] and, in turn, the [[Counter-Reformation]]. Under extravagant and rich popes, Rome was transformed into a centre of art, poetry, music, literature, education and culture. Rome became able to compete with other major European cities of the time in terms of wealth, grandeur, the arts, learning and architecture.

The Renaissance period changed the face of Rome dramatically, with works like the [[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Pietà]] by Michelangelo and the frescoes of the [[Borgia Apartments]]. Rome reached the highest point of splendour under [[Pope Julius II]] (1503–1513) and his successors [[Pope Leo X|Leo X]] and [[Pope Clement VII|Clement VII]], both members of the [[House of Medici|Medici family]].
[[File:Lingelbach, Johannes - Carneval in Rom - c. 1650-1651.jpg|thumb|[[Carnival]] in Rome, {{circa|1650}}, by [[Johannes Lingelbach]]]]
[[File:View of the Piazza Navona, Rome LACMA 49.17.3.jpg|thumb|''A View of the Piazza Navona, Rome'', by [[Hendrik Frans van Lint]], {{circa|1730}}]]

In this twenty-year period, Rome became one of the greatest centres of art in the world. The old St. Peter's Basilica built by Emperor [[Constantine the Great]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13369b.htm |first1=P.M. |last1=Baumgarten |encyclopedia=Catholic Encyclopedia |title=Basilica of St. Peter |publisher=New Advent |date=1 February 1912 |access-date=3 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110133607/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13369b.htm |archive-date=10 January 2010}}</ref> (which by then was in a dilapidated state) was demolished and a new one begun. The city hosted artists like [[Ridolfo Ghirlandaio|Ghirlandaio]], [[Pietro Perugino|Perugino]], [[Sandro Botticelli|Botticelli]] and [[Donato Bramante|Bramante]], who built the temple of [[San Pietro in Montorio]] and planned a great project to renovate the [[Apostolic Palace|Vatican]]. Raphael, who in Rome became one of the most famous painters of Italy, created frescoes in the [[Villa Farnesina]], the [[Raphael Rooms|Raphael's Rooms]], plus many other famous paintings. Michelangelo started the decoration of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and executed the famous statue of the [[Moses]] for the tomb of Julius II.

Its economy was rich, with the presence of several Tuscan bankers, including [[Agostino Chigi]], who was a friend of Raphael and a patron of arts. Before his early death, Raphael also promoted for the first time the preservation of the ancient ruins. The [[War of the League of Cognac]] caused the first plunder of the city in more than five hundred years since [[Sack of Rome (1084)|the previous sack]]; in 1527, the [[Landsknecht]]s of Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] [[Sack of Rome (1527)|sacked the city]], bringing an abrupt end to the golden age of the Renaissance in Rome.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}}

Beginning with the [[Council of Trent]] in 1545, the Church began the Counter-Reformation in response to the Reformation, a large-scale questioning of the Church's authority on spiritual matters and governmental affairs. This loss of confidence led to major shifts of power away from the Church.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} Under the popes from [[Pius IV]] to [[Sixtus V]], Rome became the centre of a reformed Catholicism and saw the building of new monuments which celebrated the papacy.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=23}} The popes and cardinals of the 17th and early 18th centuries continued the movement by having the city's landscape enriched with baroque buildings.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=23}}

This was another nepotistic age; the new aristocratic families ([[Barberini family|Barberini]], [[Pamphili family|Pamphili]], [[Chigi family|Chigi]], [[Rospigliosi family|Rospigliosi]], [[Altieri family|Altieri]], [[Odescalchi family|Odescalchi]]) were protected by their respective popes, who built huge baroque buildings for their relatives.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=23}} During the [[Age of Enlightenment]], new ideas reached the Eternal City, where the papacy supported archaeological studies and improved the people's welfare.{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}} But not everything went well for the Church during the Counter-Reformation. There were setbacks in the attempts to assert the Church's power, a notable example being in 1773 when Pope Clement XIV was forced by secular powers to have the [[Suppression of the Society of Jesus|Jesuit order suppressed]].{{sfn | Bertarelli | 1925 | p=22}}

===Late modern and contemporary===
[[File:Breccia di Porta Pia Ademollo.jpg|thumb|[[Bersaglieri]] troops breaching the [[Aurelian Walls]] at [[Porta Pia]] during the ''[[Capture of Rome]]'' (1870), the final event of the [[Italian unification]]. Painting by [[Carlo Ademollo]].]]

The rule of the Popes was interrupted by the short-lived [[Roman Republic (18th century)|Roman Republic]] (1798–1800), which was established under the influence of the [[French Revolution]]. The [[Papal States]] were restored in June 1800, but during [[Napoleon]]'s reign Rome was [[Rome (department)|annexed as a ''Département'']] of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]]: first as ''Département du Tibre'' (1808–1810) and then as ''Département Rome'' (1810–1814). After the fall of Napoleon, the Papal States were reconstituted by a decision of the [[Congress of Vienna]] of 1814.

In 1849, [[Roman Republic (19th century)|a second Roman Republic]] was proclaimed during a year of [[revolutions in 1848]]. Two of the most influential figures of the [[Italian unification]], [[Giuseppe Mazzini]] and [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], fought for the short-lived republic.

Rome then became the focus of hopes of Italian reunification after the rest of Italy was united as the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in 1861 with the temporary capital in [[Florence]]. That year Rome was declared the capital of Italy even though it was still under the Pope's control. During the 1860s, the last vestiges of the Papal States were under French protection thanks to the foreign policy of [[Napoleon III]]. French troops were stationed in the region under Papal control. In 1870 the French troops were withdrawn due to the outbreak of the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. Italian troops were able to [[Capture of Rome|capture Rome]] entering the city through a breach near [[Porta Pia]]. [[Pope Pius IX]] declared himself a [[prisoner in the Vatican]]. In 1871 the capital of Italy was moved from Florence to Rome.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12134b.htm |date=1911 |last1=Ott |first1=M. |encyclopedia=Catholic Encyclopedia |title=Pope Pius IX |publisher=New Advent |access-date=3 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308223209/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12134b.htm |archive-date=8 March 2017}}</ref> In 1870 the population of the city was 212,000, all of whom lived with the area circumscribed by the ancient city, and in 1920, the population was 660,000. A significant portion lived outside the walls in the north and across the Tiber in the Vatican area.

[[File:Bombardamento di Roma.gif|thumb|right|Bombardment of Rome by [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] planes, 1943]]

Soon after World War I in late 1922 Rome witnessed the rise of [[Italian Fascism]] led by [[Benito Mussolini]], who led a [[March on Rome|march on the city]]. He did away with democracy by 1926, eventually declaring a new [[Imperial Italy (fascist)|Italian Empire]] and allying Italy with [[Nazi Germany]] in 1938. Mussolini demolished fairly large parts of the city centre in order to build wide avenues and squares which were supposed to celebrate the fascist regime and the resurgence and glorification of classical Rome.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cederna |first1=Antonio |title=Mussolini urbanista |date=1979 |publisher=Laterza |location=Bari |pages=passim |language=it}}</ref> The interwar period saw a rapid growth in the city's population which surpassed one million inhabitants soon after 1930. During World War II, due to the art treasuries and the presence of the Vatican, Rome largely escaped the tragic destiny of other European cities. However, on 19 July 1943, the [[Quartiere San Lorenzo|San Lorenzo district]] was [[Bombing of Rome in World War II|subject to Allied bombing raids]], resulting in about 3,000 fatalities and 11,000 injuries, of whom another 1,500 died.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baily|first=Virginia|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/25/liberation-of-rome-italian-imagination|title=How the Nazi occupation of Rome has gripped Italy's cultural imagination|work=The Guardian|date=25 July 2015|access-date=5 January 2022}}</ref> Mussolini [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|was arrested on 25 July 1943]]. On the date of the [[Armistice of Cassibile|Italian Armistice]] 8 September 1943 the city was occupied by the Germans.  Allied bombing raids continued throughout 1943 and extended into 1944. Rome was liberated on 4 June 1944.

Rome developed greatly after the war as part of the "[[Italian economic miracle]]" of post-war reconstruction and modernisation in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, the years of ''la dolce vita'' ("the sweet life"), Rome became a fashionable city, with popular classic films such as ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben Hur]]'', ''[[Quo Vadis (1951 film)|Quo Vadis]]'', ''[[Roman Holiday]]'' and ''[[La Dolce Vita]]'' filmed in the city's iconic [[Cinecittà|Cinecittà Studios]]. The rising trend in population growth continued until the mid-1980s when the ''comune'' had more than 2.8 million residents. After this, the population declined slowly as people began to move to nearby suburbs.