1.8 to 1.14

The old legends say that Romulus founded the city in 753 BC when the settlements on the seven hills were united. This date is probably too late for the actual founding of the city. Romulus was a mythical person, but there is some evidence that the kings who are said to have followed him actually existed. Legend says that Numa Pompilius succeeded Romulus. He is described as a wise and pious ruler. One of his accomplishments is supposed to have been the adding of two months to the ten-month calendar. Under his successor, Tullus Hostilus, the Romans conquered Alba Longa, the religious center of the Latin people. There is a legend that Tullus was killed by lightning when he was "meddling" with the weather. During the reign of Ancus Martius, the next king, a number of troublesome Latin cities were conquered, and their inhabitants were brought to Rome. Ancus Martius is said to have built Rome's seaport Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber. The Etruscan Conquest Shortly before 600 BC Rome was conquered by several Etruscan princes from across the Tiber River. Dating from this period of time information about Roman history is slightly more reliable, though it is still mixed with myth and legend. Tarquinius Priscus, the first of the Etruscan kings, drained the city's marshes. He improved the Forum, which was the commercial and political center of the town. He also founded a temple to Jupiter and carried on many wars with neighboring people. Under Servius Tullius, the second Etruscan king, a treaty was made with the Latin cities which acknowledged Rome as the head of all Latium. Early historians said that Servius Tullius enlarged the city and built a wall around all seven hills.