Lesson 1: Geography and The Rise of Rome (Ancient Rome)

🌍 Where Rome Was Built

Rome was built in Italy, a country shaped like a boot in southern Europe. Long ago, Italy had rich soil, warm weather, and rivers—great for farming and building a city.

🏔️ The Seven Hills of Rome

Rome was not built on flat land. It was built on seven hills! These hills helped protect the city from attacks. The high land also gave the Romans a good view of the area around them.

🚤 The Tiber River

The Tiber River runs through Rome. It gave people fresh water and a way to travel. Romans used boats to move goods and visit other cities.

🌊 The Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea was like a superhighway for Roman traders! They could sail to Africa, Greece, Spain, and more. This helped Rome become rich and powerful.

🐺 The Legend of Romulus and Remus

A fun story from Roman legend says two baby brothers, Romulus and Remus, were left by a river. A wolf found them and raised them as her own! When they grew up, they wanted to build a city. But they fought over where to build it. Romulus won, and the city became Rome, named after him!

👑 Kings, Republics, and Dictators

At first, Rome had kings. The kings ruled for many years. But the people didn’t like that only one man had power.

So they made a new system called a republic. In a republic, the people chose leaders to make laws and decisions.

But sometimes, Rome was in great danger, like during wars. During those times, they chose a dictator—a leader with almost absolute power, but only for a short time. The dictator helped the city stay safe, and then gave up power.