Hello, and welcome to the History of Rome.

At the opening of the sixth book of his monumental History of Rome since its foundation,

Livy Road, the history of the Romans from the foundation of the city to its capture,

first under kings, then under consuls and dictators, to Semvari and consular Tribune,

wars abroad and dissensions at home.

I have set out in five books, covering matters which were obscure, both through their great

antiquity, like objects dimly perceived in the far distance, and because in those days

there were few written records, the only reliable means of preserving a memory of past events.

A further reason was the loss of most of such accounts as were preserved in the commentaries

of the Pontiffs and other public and private records when the city was destroyed by fire.

From now on, a clearer and more reliable account can be given of the city's civil and

military history, after it made a second start, reborn as it were from its old roots

with increased vigor and productivity.

That seems like a good place to start this week.

Rome was devastated.

The city was in ruins and the population, what remained of it anyway, dispared.

Officially the subject of abandoning Rome had been closed, but unofficially the idea

was still a potent force.

Why rebuild when perfectly good homes sat vacant in a well-positioned, defensible city?

The Romans had been merciless in their annihilation of the veights, and the entrusted city was practically

a ghost town.

But the senate's mind was made up, and the Romans were ordered to rebuild, each according

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