Founding of Rome. According to legend, on April 21, 753 BC, twins Romulus and Remus founded Rome on the site where they had been suckled by a she-wolf after being abandoned as infants. The two soon became divided by disagreements, and when Remus climbed over a wall Romulus was building, his brother killed him. Romulus assumed command of the settlement, which was named Rome in his honor. Over the next 1,000 years, the city of Rome grew from a small center of local importance to the heart of the great Roman Empire. In 330 AD, after centuries of dominance in the classical world, Emperor Constantine moved the capital to Constantinople, and great Rome fell prey to the barbarian invasions. Although the papacy remained in Rome until the Middle Ages, Rome returned to its ancient glories only in the 15th century, under Pope Nicholas V.
