Rome was built on seven rolling hills around the Tiber River, near the center of the Italian peninsula. It is the midway point between the Alps and Italy's southern tip. From 1000 to 500 BC, three groups inhabited the region and fought for control of it. They were the Latins, Greeks, and Etruscans. The Latins built the original settlement at Rome. It was a cluster of wooden huts on top of one of the seven hills. Between 750 BC and 600 BC, the Greeks established colonies along the southern part of Italy and Sicily. The cities became very prosperous and commercially active. They brought all of Italy, including Rome, into closer contact with Greek civilization. Etruscans were native to Northern Italy. They were skilled metal workers and engineers. They were very influential in the development of Roman civilization. The Romans adopted their alphabet and some of their architecture, especially the arch. Republic- a form of government in which the power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders. In rome, citizenship with voting rights was granted only to freeborn adult male landowners.
Patricians and Plebeians: In the early Republic, different groups of Romans struggled for power. Patricians were the wealthy landowners who held most of the power while the Plebeians were the common people, they could vote and were usually farmers and merchants. The Patricians inherited their power and social status, and claimed that they had the right to rule due to their ancestry. They barred the Plebeians from holding high offices in the government. In time, the Leaders of Rome, allowed the Plebeians to form their own assembly and elect their own representative to protect their rights from the Patrician officials, they called this their tribunes.
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