THE ROMAN CIVILIZATION
Feya, the wife of the war God, Mars, gave birth to two twin boys in 753 B.C. But the exuberance melted in tears when she overheard the judgement of the God. Lord Mars in grief pronounced, "My two kids are born for a purpose. They are not meant to be loved by their mother and father but to love and breed the human race. I am sorry Feya, you will have to let them go! Rejoice for our kids as they are chosen to serve humanity". With these words, Mars braced the twins in a basket and casted the basket off on the river Tiber. Freya squealing, "Dear Lord, I shall follow them and take care of them. Let me go with them". Mars embraced Feya tight consoling her for the good of the humanity.
That night, the river Tiber was calm and a dead silence prevailed on earth in the sorrow of mother Feya. The four deep dark eyes twinkling like stars were inquisitive enough to harbor the curiosity of the world. Watching her kids floating on the calm river of her tears, Feya named them as Romulus and Remus. During those days, Alba Longa, was the king guarding the borders of river Tiber. Out on hunting, he chanced to see two kids floating along the streams of the river. He shouted, "Watch out! I just saw two kids in the basket". The knights reacted with wary, "Lord! stay back, let us have a look first".
The basket above the waters and the five on-lookers with wide-open mouths were wondering, "This is some sort of ploy by the enemies". Knights in a spry picked up their spears and ran towards the bank to hold the floating basket. When the king shouted, "Stop mutton-heads! let them sink in the horrendous waters of Tiber. Even the Gods are in my favor". Howls of a wolf, diffused through the dense forest with leaden steps. "Wolf, My Lord, It's a wolf, we should take refuge, shouted one of the knight. The knights took positions and guarded their king to the post.
A she-wolf thirsty and mutilated struggled to the Tiber banks to survive. Gulping an ounce of water, the wolf unexpectedly gazed it. She clutched the handle of the basket with her jaws and pulled the basket with a veritable force. She sniffed around the soggy basket and picked it up carrying the twins in the middle of the jungle. Hours passed by carrying the twins, but the she-wolf didn't give up. It appeared as if she wanted the kids to be safe somewhere. The tear jerking and heat-warming love of the wolf for the kids, moved Feya, the mother of the twins, so much that she transmuted the wolf to a human being, to a lady. In the wake of the transformation, the she-wolf, bowed in thankfulness and wished for a pair of clothes. Feya, granted her the wish happily. The kids stumbled on to a new mother that day.
The lady raised the kids with bottomless assiduity. The kids reached adolescence, when the tyrant king, Alba Longa, attacked their wooden house in the middle of the jungle. In the combat, the lady couldn't survive and breathed her last at the hands of a knight. The wooden house was set on fire while Romulus and Remus, escaped to a new land. The king with his knights followed the twins and in a conflict, the twins disposed off all the knights within fraction of seconds. The king knew that he had lost it and so he escaped in oblivion. The second to none twins screamed in triumph. Panting Romulus uttered, "I am the king and as far as I can gaze, is my kingdom. Remus interrupted, "Brother, we both can rule the world. Let's do it together. Mother, always taught, Unity is strength". Romulus neared Remus hugged him and replied, "True Brother, But there is always one king in a jungle. And that would be Romulussssss". He stabbed Remus back with a dagger, which he chanced to snatch while fighting one of the knights. Remus fell on his back quivering, "Brother, you will have to pay for it". A wind of ascendancy blew through every nook and corner of the kingdom. Even the grasses could feel the power of a half God.
A new dawn with the every new king followed a non-hereditary succession. The fathom of tyranny gradually increased with every heir to the new throne. Till almost seventh coronation, the monarchy was at it's pinnacle. In 509 B.C., the seventh tyrant monarch, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, during a public gathering groped a virtuous noblewoman, Lucretia, and raped her brutally. The pangs of Lucretia boiled the people into a mob, leading to an uprise. The hostile mob killed the tyrant along with his army, turning Rome into a republic. Rome was now the property of the people, not completely though. The Senate which flourished since the time of Romulus, was still a part of the republic. Two magistrates were chosen on the votes of the common people, who were assimilated in the Senate, comprising of senators pure in blood. The struggle between the representatives of common people (known as plebeians) and the pure in blood senators ( known as patricians) defined the new politics in Rome. By the end of the 450 B.C., Roman codes of conduct were pronounced and were inscribed on the bronze tablets. However, at the end of the 300 B.C., the real power vested with the Senate which included both the patricians and the plebeians.
At the behest of the Senate, the military power was formed indulging both the common people and the senators. A military hero Camillus, in 260 B.C., led the Romans in a series of war, known as Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa. The Romans won the wars in succession, under the leadership of Camillus. Rome expanded it's province to a hefty part of South Africa as well. Without the leadership of a king, the Senate dealt with lot of internal disputes and conflicts. Therefore, the Senate decided to select the first of 6 men (also known as consul) by the beginning of 107 B.C.. The senate was a mixed bag of classes. Some were rich and privileged while some were poor and commoner. It was decided to bring the people of mix kind in order to mark the Rome as Republic. Marius, a commoner from the military was the first one to be chosen for consul. Followed by General Sulla, one of the privileged kind. The conflict of opinions between the two, often led to disparity and commotion in the Senate. Time passed by and the two retired by the end of 63 B.C..Marius was replaced by Marcus Cicero, while Sulla was overcome by Pompey as consul. Marcus had the reputation of being one of the greatest orators of Rome, which Pompey always star-crossed.
After returning triumphant in some battles, Pompey and Marcus joined hands to form the first triumvirate of Rome. The alliance seemed to be bit uneasy but the biggest opponent, who was rising as a star that time was Julius Ceaser. Julius, part of the military, with intensified glory in Spain and many other neighboring provinces, was hailed by people for his bravery. He was the apple of every eye. He was bestowed the governance-ship of three wealthy provinces of Rome while his eyes were set on conquering the entire Rome. Pompey grew jealous of Ceaser. His powers were eclipsed by the glory of Ceaser. Pompey plotted against Ceaser with his allies, but all in vein. The benign Ceaser had now conquered Italy igniting a civil war in Rome in 45 B.C. Rome had now one dictator, "Julius Ceaser".
But Ceaser didn't live long to see more suns. He was murdered brutally at the hands of his own friends and consuls, Brutus and Cassius with the dagger of faith. A republic unrest startled Rome on the death of their glorious governor, Julius Ceaser. Consuls close to Ceaser joined hands to avenge Ceaser's death. Antony, a powerful orator and a influential consul summoned people and mourned the death of a true governor. He was joined in with Octavian, the nephew of Ceaser and an adopted heir to Ceaser's governance. When an ex-consul, Lepidus happened to know about the transgression of Brutus and Cassius, he joined hands with Octavian and Antony, to form the second triumvirate and crumple up the guiltiest. The triumvirate was now ruling Rome. Octavian conquered the Western province, Antony the eastern one while Lepidus was leading the African dominion. Antony in the wage of glory joined hands with the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra. Cleopatra was more of an opportunist. Her love flew with power. Her rumpy-pumpy with Ceaser was once in terrific discussion in Rome. This time, she fell in love with Antony, which she believed to be a true love. Cleopatra's beauty was invincible and so even Octavian fell for her. The triumvirate dissolved and the quest to conquer Cleopatra led to an unrest in Rome.
Octavian declared war on Antony, in the wake of which, the two lovers, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, for the knew they would loose the battle and would live as slaves till death. In the entire Rome, Octavian was the only king. Even Lepidus had threw in the sponge. With the title Augustus, Octavian ruled Rome for almost 65 years, restoring peace, flourishing art and literature. As the journey began, so it ended. Heirs to the thrones woke up to power and freedom but drew close to bloating the legacy. Many emperors rose to the title of Augustus but internal warfare and greed for the wealth brought the Roman empire on the brinks of without a penny to one's name. The last Roman king, Constantine, declared Christianity as the official religion of Rome. Consequently, peace restored in the Rome for 30 years until his death.
The great Roman empire wracked up substantially at the hands of Britain followed by Spain and then by North Africa. The last king of the conquered Rome was Romulus Augustus, who rose to be a great king of Italy.
Not always a woman, slaughters a civilization, like the Roman Civilization. :P
Comments