Ancient Rome
The Roman Republic

The Roman Republic
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.37

     challenging words:    authenticity, disparity, indigenous, quash, policies, unpopular, destruction, authoritarian, military, pivotal, emperor, senate, selection, dictator, refused, absolute
     content words:    Asia Minor, Tarquinius Superbus, Roman Republic, Twelve Tables, Julius Caesar, Under Roman, On March, Though Augustus, Roman Empire

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The Roman Republic
By Vickie Chao

1     For centuries, Italy's Rome has been an important city, playing a pivotal role both culturally and politically. According to the legend, a pair of twin brothers built Rome from scratch in 753 B.C. As the construction was underway, they quarreled over the height of the city walls. In a rage, Romulus killed Remus. After that, he named the city after himself and became the first ruler of Rome. He reigned 36 years.
2     The story of Romulus and Remus is fascinating. But its authenticity is very much in doubt.
3     Historians have long established the fact that Rome had existed since 900 B.C. By about 600 B.C., a group of people called the Etruscans (pronounced "ih-TRUS-kunz") took power in Rome. They ruled it for nearly a century. Though the Etruscans left behind many imprints, we know very little about them. In fact, we cannot even say for sure where they came from. Some scholars believed that the Etruscans were indigenous people of Italy. Others believed that they were immigrants from Asia Minor (today's Turkey). Regardless of their origin, we know for certain that the Etruscans spoke a language different from that in Rome. We also know for certain that their authoritarian style of governing was very unpopular. In around 510 B.C. or 509 B.C., the Romans revolted. They expelled the last Etruscan king, Tarquinius Superbus (pronounced "tahr-KWIN-ee-us soo-PUR-bus", also known as Tarquin the Proud).

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