According to Roman Mythology, the ancient city of Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BC by the half-god twins Romulus and Remus. Romulus killed Remus, thus becoming the first King of Rome and the fair city was named after him. The city started out small, atop one of the seven hills overlooking Rome called the Palatine Hill. Slowly, but surely, the city of Rome grew into a behemoth — the capital of an empire that at its prime stretched from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates river, and from Scottland’s highlands to the Sahara desert.

It’s thought that during Rome’s heyday, the city numbered more than a million residents who lived in a sparkling metropolis fitted with infrastructure, public services, and grand buildings the likes of which we wouldn’t see again for more than 1,500 years. This infographic beautifully illustrates the sophistication of the ancient city of Rome — a place of innovation, the Silicon Valley of antiquity.

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