Early in its history, Rome was a small city located on the Tiber River of the Italian peninsula. As Rome grew, its army conquered many neighboring countries. By 250 B.C., Rome had conquered most of the Italian peninsula. For 250 years, Rome was ruled by Etruscan kings. In 510 B.C., the Romans drove out the king and founded the Roman Republic. A republic is a form of government in which the government's leaders are elected by the people. Every year, the wealthy men of the Roman Republic elected two leaders, called consuls. To make decisions on any public plan, both consuls had to agree. The Romans also had a Senate, which advised the consuls. The Senate was a group of wealthy landowners. There were two classes of citizens in the Roman Republic: patricians and plebeians. The patricians were wealthy men who owned a lot of land. They became consuls and senators. The plebeians were ordinary people. The slaves were the poorest. In 264 B.C., Rome began the Punic Wars. The Punic Wars were against Carthage, a rival city in Northern Africa. There were three difficult wars, but the Romans finally defeated Carthage in 146 B.C. With its victory, Rome became the world's most powerful empire. It lasted for almost 500 years.
在早期的歷史裡，羅馬是一個位於義大利半島台伯河畔的小城市。隨著羅馬逐漸壯大，它的軍隊征服了許多鄰近的國家。到了西元前250年，羅馬已征服了大半個義大利半島。 羅馬被伊特拉斯坎國王統治了兩百五十年。在西元前510年，羅馬人將國王驅逐，建立了羅馬共和國。共和制是一種由人民選舉政府領導人的政體形式。 每一年，羅馬共和國會由富人選出兩名領導者，稱為執政官。任何公共事務的決定都必須經過兩名執政官的同意。羅馬人也擁有元老院，負責為執政官建言。元老院是由一群富裕的地主所組成。 羅馬共和國的公民分為兩個階級：貴族和平民。貴族是擁有許多土地的有錢人，他們可成為執政官和元老院議員。平民則是一般老百姓，而奴隸最貧窮。 西元前264年，羅馬與位於北非的敵對城邦迦太基之間爆發了布匿戰爭。總共發生了三次艱鉅的戰爭，但最終羅馬人在西元前146年擊敗迦太基。此次勝利使得羅馬成為世上最強盛的帝國，延續長達近五百年之久。 | 
