The city of Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river Tiber, a crossroads of traffic and trade.
According to archaeological evidence, the village of Rome was probably founded some time in the 8th century BC, though it may go back as far as the 10th century BC, by members of the Latin tribe of Italy, on the top of the Palatine Hill.

The Etruscans, who had previously settled to the north in Etruria, seem to have established political control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming an aristocratic and monarchical elite.
The Etruscans apparently lost power by the late 6th century BC, and at this point, the original Latin and Sabine tribes reinvented their government by creating a republic, with much greater restraints on the ability of rulers to exercise power.

Roman tradition and archaeological evidence point to a complex within the Forum Romanum as the seat of power for the king and the beginnings of the religious center there as well.
Numa Pompilius the second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus, began Rome's building projects with his royal palace the Regia and the complex of the Vestal virgins.
The city of Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river Tiber, a crossroads of traffic and trade. According to archaeological evidence, the village of Rome was probably founded some time in the 8th century BC, though it may go back as far as the 10th century BC, by members of the Latin tribe of Italy, on the top of the Palatine Hill.
The Etruscans, who had previously settled to the north in Etruria, seem to have established political control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming an aristocratic and monarchical elite. The Etruscans apparently lost power by the late 6th century BC, and at this point, the original Latin and Sabine tribes reinvented their government by creating a republic, with much greater restraints on the ability of rulers to exercise power.
Roman tradition and archaeological evidence point to a complex within the Forum Romanum as the seat of power for the king and the beginnings of the religious center there as well. Numa Pompilius the second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus, began Rome's building projects with his royal palace the Regia and the complex of the Vestal virgins.
Ancient Rome