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LEFT ROME 101 HOME organized the empire, and for nearly 200 years these reforms delayed the in- evitable disruption; but in 395 the em- pire separated into two divisions; the Eastern, or Byzantine (q. v.) and the Western; and in 476 the Western, or Roman empire was finally overthrown, and Odoacer, a German, became King of Italy. See Italy: Romance Languages. HOME, the capital of Italy, as for- merly of the Roman empire, republic, and kingdom, and long the religious center of Western Christendom, is one of the most ancient and interesting cities of the world. It stands on both sides of the Tiber, about 15 miles from the sea, the river here having a general direction from N. to S., but making two nearly equal bends, the upper of which incloses a large alluvial flat, little raised above the level of the stream, and well known by the ancient name of Campus Martius. A large part of the modern city stands on this flat, but the ancient city lay mostly to the E. and S. E. of this, occupying a series of eminences of small elevation known as the seven hills of Rome (the Capitoline, the Palatine, the Aventine, the Quirinal, the Viminal, the Esquiline, and the Caelian Hill), while a small portion stood on the other side of the river, embracing an eighth hill (Janiculum). The city is tolerably healthy during most of the year. Ancient Rome, Topography, etc. — The streets of ancient Rome were crooked and narrow, the city having been rebuilt, after its destruction by the Gauls in 390 B. c, with great haste and without re- gard to regularity. The dwelling-houses were often very high, those of the poorer classes being in flats, as in modern con- tinental towns. It was greatly improved by Augustus, who extended the limits of the city and embellished it with works of splendor. The Campus Martius dur- ing his reign was gradually covered with public buildings, temples, porticoes, the- aters, etc. The general character of the city, however, remained much the same till after the fire that took place in Nero's reign, when the new streets were made both wide and straight. In the reign of Augustus the population is be- lieved to have amounted to about 1,300,- 000, and in that of Trajan was not far short of 2,000,000. Rome is said to have been surrounded by walls at three dif- ferent times. The first of these was ascribed to Romulus, and inclosed only the original city on the Palatine. The second wall, attributed to Servius Tul- lius, was 7 miles in circuit, and em- braced all the hills that gave to Rome the name of the City of Seven Hills. The third wall is known as that of Au- relian, because it was begun and in great part finished by the emperor of that name. It is mostly the same with the wall that still bounds the city on the left or E. bank of the Tiber; but on the right or W. bank, the wall of Aurelian only embraced the summit of the Janic- ulum and a district between it and the river, whereas the more modern wall on that side (that of Urban VIII.) em- braces also the Vatican Hill. The wall of Aurelian was about 11 miles in length, that of modern Rome 14 miles. Ancient Rome had eight or nine bridges across the Tiber, of which several still stand. The open spaces in ancient Rome, of which there were a great number, were distinguished into campi, areas cov- ered with grass; fora, which were paved; and arese, a term applied to open spaces ROMULUS AND REMUS generally, and hence to all those which were neither campi nor fora, such as the squares in front of palaces and temples. Of the campi the most celebrated was the Campus Martius already mentioned, and after it the Campus Esquilinus on the E. of the city. Among the latter the Forum Romanum, which lay N. W. and S. E. between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills; and the Forum of Tra- jan, between the Capitoline and Quiri- nal, are the most worthy of mention. The first was the most famous and the second the most splendid of them all. The great central street of the city was the Via Sacra (Sacred Way), which began in the space between the Esqui- line and Caelian Hills, proceeded thence first S. W., then W., and then N. W., skirting the N. E. slope of the Palatine, and passing along the N. side of the Forum, and terminated at the base of the Capitoline. The two principal roads leading out of Rome were the Via Fla- minia (Flaminian Way) or great N. road, and the Via Appia (Appian Way) or great S. road. Ancient Buildings. — Ancient Rome was