History of Italy

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HISTORY OF ITALY

According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by Romulus and
Remus, twin brothers who claimed to be sons of the war god Mars and to have been
raised as infants by a she-wolf. Romulus saw himself as a descendant of the defeated
army of Troy, and wanted Rome to inherit the mantle of that ancient city. When Remus
laughed at the notion, Romulus killed his brother and declared himself the first king of
Rome.

Rome went through seven kings until 509 BC when the last king was overthrown and
the Roman Republic was formed. Rome then came to be ruled by two elected officials
(known as consuls), a Senate made up of wealthy aristocrats (known as patricians), and
a lower assembly that represented the common people (plebeians) and had limited
power. This format of government worked well at first, but as Rome expanded beyond a
mere city-state to take over territory not just in Italy, but overseas as well, the system of
government came under severe strain.

By the First Century BC, Rome was in crisis. Spartacus, a slave, led the common
people in a revolt against the rule of the aristocratic patricians. Rome was able to put
down the rebellion, but at great cost, as the Republic dissolved into a series of military
dictatorships that ended with the assassination of Julius Caesar. In 29 BC, after a long
power struggle, Octavius, which is Julius Caesar nephew, seized power and declared
himself Emperor Augustus. That is how the Roman Empire was born.

This Pax Romana, it is a Latin Word which means "Roman peace," it refers to the time
period from 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E. in the Roman Empire. This 200-year period saw
unprecedented peace and economic prosperity throughout the Empire, which spanned
from England in the north to Morocco in the south and Iraq in the east. Rome's citizens
were relatively secure, and the government generally maintained law, order, and
stability. The Pax Romana began when Octavian became the leader of the Roman
Empire. The 200 years of the Pax Romana saw many advances and accomplishments,
particularly in engineering and the arts. To help maintain their sprawling empire, the
Romans built an extensive system of roads. For the facilitation of movement of troops
and communication. The Romans built aqueducts to carry water overland to cities and
farms. During the Pax Romana, many of Rome's finest writers (such as Horace, Virgil,
Ovid, and Livy) produced literary and poetic masterpieces. Rome became the
economic, political, and cultural capital of the entire Western world..

For the next thousand years, Italy once again became a patchwork of city-states, with
Rome, home to the Catholic Church, being the most powerful. This long period of quiet
stagnation, stagnation occurs when there is a failure to develop, progress, or sa
economy followed by bursts of growth. It was known as the Dark Ages. Why are
they called the Dark Ages? The 'Dark Ages' were between the 5th and 14th centuries,
lasting 900 years. The timeline falls between the fall of the Roman Empire and the
Renaissance. It has been called the 'Dark Ages' because many suggest that this
period saw little scientific and cultural advancement.

Italy remained a centre of power until the 16th century. Plagued by internal political
divisions and with an economy devastated by war, the new Kingdom of Italy was no
Roman Empire. In 1919, a politician named Benito Mussolini launched a movement
that called for the restoration of Italy as a great power. In 1922, impatient with electoral
politics, Mussolini led his supporters, known as Fascists, on a march on Rome to seize
power directly through a coup. Spooked, the Italian king did not put up a fight and
allowed Mussolini to become supreme ruler of Italy.

Mussolini spent the next twenty years consolidating power and building up the Italian
economy, but he never gave up on the idea of restoring Italy as a great power. Calling
himself “El Duce” which means Leader), Mussolini dreamed of leading a new Roman
Empire. In the 1930s, he indulged his dreams of conquest, by invading Ethiopia and
Albania. When the Second World War broke out, Italy remained neutral at first.
However, once it appeared through the Fall of France that Germany would win,
Mussolini eagerly joined Hitler, a fellow Fascist and long-time ally, in the war effort and
rushed to invade Greece, the Balkans, and North Africa. Overextended and unprepared,
Italy quickly found that it could not maintain its military position and had to ask Germany
for help. Before long, Mussolini saw himself losing control of North Africa, the
Mediterranean, and eventually his very own country to the Allies. Fleeing Rome,
Mussolini tried to set up a puppet state in Northern Italy but failed.

After the Second World War, Italy abolished the monarchy and declared itself a
republic. With the strong support of the United States, Italy rebuilt its economy through
loans from the Marshall Plan, joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and
became a strong supporter of what is now the European Union. Today, Italy is one of
the most prosperous and democratic nations in Europe.
Germany's central and southern regions have forested hills and mountains cut
through by the Danube, Main, and Rhine river valleys. In the north, the landscape
flattens out to a wide plain that stretches to the North Sea. Between these
extremes, Germany is a country of incredible variety. Germany's location at the
heart of Europe has shaped its history both for good and bad. It borders nine
neighbors, more than any other European country. Germany's largest wooded
area, and its most famous, is in the southwest near the Swiss border. This is the
Black Forest, a mountainous region full of pines and fir trees. This forest contains
the source of the Danube, one of Europe's longest rivers.

Germany is located in west-central Europe, Germany is the seventh largest country in


Europe and hosts the second largest population on the continent.  Due to its central
position, Germany is bordered by nine countries: Denmark in the north, Poland and the
Czech Republic in the east, Austria and Switzerland in the south, France to the
southwest and Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in the west.  Germany is
divided into sixteen states with Berlin as the capital.  Other major cities include
Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf.

Area:
Its land area: 348,672 sq km
The water: 8,350 sq km Total of 357,022 sq km

The geography of Germany can be divided into three different regions, the North
German Plain, the Central German Uplands and the Southern German Highlands.  The
southern highlands include the Bavarian Alps which host the country’s highest point,
Zugspitze.  This mountain stands at 2,962 m (9,718 ft) tall.  Three of Europe’s main
rivers run through the country, the Rhine, the Elbe and the Danube rivers.  In Germany,
the Rhine runs for 865 km (537.48 mi), the Elbe runs for 727 km (451.73 mi) and the
Danube runs for 687 km (426.88 mi).

Topography: With its irregular, elongated shape, Germany provides an excellent


example of a recurring sequence of landforms found the world over. A plain dotted with
lakes, moors, marshes, and heaths retreats from the sea and reaches inland, where it
becomes a landscape of hills crisscrossed by streams, rivers, and valleys. These hills
lead upward, gradually forming high plateaus and woodlands and eventually climaxing
in spectacular mountain ranges. Geographers often divide Germany into four distinct
topographic regions: the North German Lowland; the Central German Uplands;
Southern Germany; and the Alpine Foreland and the Alps.

It has Land boundaries:


Its border countries are (9): Austria 801 km, Belgium 133 km, Czech Republic 704 km,
Denmark 140 km, France 418 km, Luxembourg 128 km, Netherlands 575 km, Poland
467 km, Switzerland 348 km. With the Total of 3, 714 km.

When it comes of Climate: Germany is in the Temperate Zone and enjoys frequent
weather changes, sometimes daily. The country has four distinct seasons with rainfall
frequent in most months, especially in the autumn. Winter temperatures and snowfall
tend to be more extreme in the southern part of the country where the average elevation
is higher, but even low-lying Berlin has snowfalls and winter temperatures which
occasionally dip below 10°F.

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