The geographical scope of ancient Rome included the Italian Peninsula and the island of Sicily at its southern tip. Rome was located in the central part of the Italian Peninsula. The climate and land are both suitable for the development of agriculture (Sicily is known as the "granary of ancient Europe"), but there are few good ports, not as good as Greece. Its inhabitants are mainly Latins, one of the Indo-European races in central Italy. They entered Italy in the early 2000s BC, entered the Iron Age at the end of the 10th century BC, and the "Villanova culture" appeared. Around the 8th century BC, the Etruscans, who were more civilized than the local residents, came to Italy and ruled Rome for a time. They established cities, developed agriculture and handicrafts, and produced many exquisite works of art, forming a historical The "Etruscan civilization" that Rome had a profound influence on.
It is said that the city of Rome was built in 753 BC (some say around 600 BC). Legend has it that the "Royal Age" of Rome lasted from about 753 BC to 510 BC, and there were seven kings. This era was a period of transition from the commune system of primitive society to the state. In 509 BC, a people's uprising overthrew the monarchy and entered the period of peace and harmony, with the king replaced by a term-based consul.
Rome was originally a small state. After the decline of the Etruscan power, through continuous wars starting in 406 BC, they finally conquered all of Italy except the Po River after 278 BC. Hegemony was established. Subsequently, Rome began to expand. By the 6th century BC, its territory included the western coast of North Africa, southern Spain, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily. After that, three more "Punic Wars" were fought (the Romans called the Phoenicians "Punic"). In 146 BC, Rome massacred the residents of Carthage and razed the city, leaving only 600,000 residents. 50,000 women, children, old and disabled people (who were also sold into slavery), a once prosperous and famous city disappeared. At the same time, Rome expanded eastward and captured the city of Corinth in 146 BC, and Greece was conquered. As a result, the Romans controlled the entire area around the Mediterranean, spanning the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and established a huge empire. After the social transformation period from 146 BC to 30 BC, it gradually evolved from a communist system to an imperial system. In the struggle between enlightened nobles and conservative senators, reform and counter-reform, revolution and dictatorship, several large-scale slave uprisings broke out. Among them, the "Spartacus Rebellion" dealt a heavy blow to the Roman senatorial politics and accelerated In the process of the demise of the French Republic, Caesar became the de facto first emperor of Rome in 48 BC (assassinated by the peaceful nobles in 44 BC). In 31 BC, Octavian took over military and political power, ended the long-term turmoil, created a relatively stable era, and became the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
In the first two centuries of the Roman Empire, handicrafts and commerce developed, and cities gradually emerged and prospered. In the 9th year of Emperor Yanxi of the Han Dynasty (166 AD) in the Eastern Han Dynasty (2nd century), the Roman Emperor Antonius sent envoys to China. Chinese silk then spread throughout Europe through the "Silk Road" and was highly valued. However, from the end of the 2nd century to the end of the 3rd century, a comprehensive crisis broke out in the Roman Empire in terms of politics and economy (known as the "Crisis of the 3rd Century" in history), and the empire began to decline and gradually perish. Despite the efforts of Emperor Constantine (reigned 306-337) and others, they could not save the Roman Empire from destruction. After Constantine came to the throne, he moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium in the east and named it "Constantinople". In 395 AD, the Roman Empire was officially divided into the Eastern Roman Empire with Constantinople as its capital and the Western Roman Empire with Rome as its capital. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476.
Christianity, which had a great influence on European music, should be mentioned here. "Christ" in English means "Savior", which originates from ancient Hebrew (meaning "anointed one"). The Latin word for Messiah is Christus (meaning "Savior"), and its sound is " Christus", simply called "Christ". The general name for various sects that have been formed and developed since the 1st century AD and believe in Jesus as "Christ". It originated from a sect of Judaism practiced by the Jews under Roman rule. It is said that Jesus was executed by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.
His classic work was the New Testament, written in Greek between the second half of the first century and the second century.
Although Roman culture is not as extensive and profound as Greek culture, it is the disseminator of Greek culture. The Romans' systematic and sound legal system, Latin literary achievements, and Christianity all had a profound impact on Western politics, law, and values. Its architecture is famous for its grandeur and solemnity.
The same is true in music. Ancient Roman music culture mainly came from ancient Greece, Babylon, Egypt, Syria, Spain and other places, but it lost the universal, healthy and refreshing nature of Greek culture. Ancient Roman music advocated entertainment and had huge choruses and bands. The army used it to show off military power, and the court nobles used it to show off their power or reduced music to a tool of pure entertainment. They had hydraulic organs and castrati, and big businessmen owned slave bands. Among the people, masked burlesque and solo pantomime, accompanied by singing and noisy bands, also developed and were performed in the open air. The reason for this is related to the ruling class's suppression of democratic literature and art. In the "Law of the Twelve Tables" promulgated in 450 BC, there is a provision to execute people who fabricate or sing lyrics that contain slander or insult to others. .