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A language is a part of its culture, as a tool, I think, English can provide ability for us to learn more about culture and history of western conturies . In this essay, I have marked some proper noun. ___________________________________________________________ The founding of Rome goes back to the very early days of civilization. I t is so old, it is today known as 'the eternal city'. The Romans believed th at their city was founded in the year 753 BC. Modern historians though belie ve it was the year 625 BC. Early Rome was governed by kings, but after only seven of them had ruled , the Romans took power over their own city and ruled themselves.They then i nstead had a council known as the 'senate'（元老院，类似于现代的参议院，不过参政议政者并不是普通人能够担任的） which ruled over them. From this point on one speaks of the 'Roman Republic'(罗马共和国。这就是为什么共和制首先在西方诞生，人家有这个传统）.The word 'Republic' itself comes from the Latin (the language of the Romans) words 'res publica' which mean 'public matters' or ' matters of state'. The senate under the kings had only been there to advise the king. Now t he senate appointed a consul（执政官。由元老院选举产生）, who ruled Rome lik e a king, but only for one year. - This was a wise idea, as like that, the c onsul ruled carefully and not as a tyrant, for he knew that otherwise he cou ld be punished by the next consul, once his year was up. Rome knew four classes of people. This division was very important to th e Romans： The lowest class were the slaves. They were owned by other people. They had no rights at all. The next class were the plebeians. They were free people. But they had l ittle say at all. The second highest class were the equestrians (sometimes they are called the 'knights'). Their name means the 'riders', as they were given a horse t o ride if they were called to fight for Rome. To be an equestrian you had to be rich. The highest class were the nobles of Rome. They were called 'patricians' . All the real power in Rome lay with them. The Roman Republic was a very successful government. It lasted from 510 BC until 23 BC - almost 500 years. In comparison the United States of Americ a only exist since 1776 - less than 250 years. The greatest challenge the Roman Republic faced was that of the Carthagi nians（迦太基人）. Carthage was a very powerful city in North Africa which, much like Rome, controlled its own empire. The fight between the two sides w as a long one and took place on land and on sea.The most famous incident cam e when the great Carthaginian general Hannibal（汉尼拔，迦太基名将）， cross ed the mountain chain of the Alps to the north of Italy with all his troops, including his war-elephants!, and invaded Italy.Though Rome in the end won and Carthage was completely destroyed in the year 146 BC. Rome's most famous citizen was no doubt Julius Caesar（朱利安.凯撒）. He was a Roman politician and general who, without having any orders to do so, conquered the vast territory of the Gauls（高卢）to the north of his provin ce in France.In the year 49 BC Caesar crossed the small river between his pr ovince and Italy, called the river Rubicon, and conquered Rome itself which he then ruled as a dictator. His military campaigns also took him to Egypt where he met the famous Cleopa tra（克罗巴克拉，埃及艳后）.His life though was ended as he was infamously m urdered in the senate in Rome. So famous and respected was Caesar that a month of the year is still nam ed after him and his heirs today, July (after Julius Caesar). Also the great English poet Shakespeare wrote a famous play called Julius Caesar about his famous murder. The Roman empire in the end was overrun by millions of barbarians from t he north and east of Europe. It is believed to have happened two or three ti mes in history that huge migrations took place across Europe, where peoples moved to settle in new territories. The great migration proved too much for the Romans to stem. Their armies were designed to defeat other armies, not e ntire folks and peoples flooding toward them. The collapse was completed whe n Rome itself was conquered by the Visigoth Odoacer（西哥特王奥多亚克） and his men in the year AD 476. But what is generally referred to as 'the Fall of Rome' doesn't include the eastern empire（东罗马帝国，即拜占庭）. This, with its centre in Constan tinople（君士坦丁堡，拜占庭帝国首都）, managed to cling on for almost anothe r thousand years until it was eventually conquered by the Turks under their leader Mohammed II（穆罕默德二世） in the year AD 1453.

a brief history of Rome