Romulus and Remus were too adventurous to sit back and wait for their inheritance, so they ventured out to found their own city. They agreed on a location (on the Tiber River near the site of their rescue by the wolf), but that's where their agreements ended. They argued over every other detail: Who would oversee the design of the city? Who would name it? And most important, who would rule?

Since they couldn't agree about any of these matters, the brothers turned to the gods, asking for an omen to settle their dispute. Each man positioned himself on a hill overlooking the location they'd chosen. Remus saw the six vultures, and then Romulus saw twelve vultures. Each proclaimed himself the winner: Remus saw the birds first, but Romulus saw more birds. The argument became heated and a fight broke out. Remus was killed, and Romulus became the ruler of the new city and named it Rome after himself.

Women Wanted

Romulus needed to populate his city, so he encouraged fugitives and runaways to take refuge in Rome. The city's population grew quickly, but there was a problem — virtually no women lived there, because no man from the surrounding area would allow his daughter to marry the rogues who inhabited Rome. Romulus decided he would have to take women by force.

He planned a great festival, complete with games and theatrical performances, and invited everyone to attend. Once the guests were inside the city, the Romans barred its gates. They attacked their guests, seizing the women and girls, and wounding or killing the men and boys. Once they had a good supply of women, they drove the remaining men out of the city.

The kidnapped women were terrified, but Romulus made a great speech to soothe and reassure them. He won over the women, who became content to stay in Rome.

Of course, the men weren't willing to give up their wives and daughters so easily, and several attacks were made on Rome. Most of the attacks were disorganized and mounted by small bands of men, and the Romans had little difficulty in repelling them. But the Sabine tribe was a different story.

The Sabine men banded together and organized themselves with a strategic plan of attack. Under their king, Titus Tatius, the Sabine men blockaded the city and bribed the daughter of a Roman commander to open the gates to the citadel. When the Sabine men seemed to be winning, the abducted women put themselves and their children between the two armies. The fighting stopped — no one on either side wanted to harm the women, and of course, the women did not want to see their Sabine fathers or their new Roman husbands harmed.

Unable to continue fighting without killing the very thing they were fighting for, the two armies had no choice but to call a truce. The two sides agreed to merge their populations to create a single federation. Romulus and Titus Tatius would rule jointly.

The Death of Romulus

Romulus and Titus Tatius expanded the Roman Kingdom and built a powerful army. The city was growing and flourishing in peace. Then, after nearly forty years as a successful ruler, Romulus suddenly disappeared.

During one of Romulus's routine inspections of his army on the Campus Martius, a violent thunderstorm occurred. Romulus was surrounded by a cloud and vanished from sight.

Those who witnessed his disappearing act claimed that the gods had reached down and lifted Romulus into the heavens. Most of Rome accepted this as truth and honored Romulus's divinity. He was thereafter worshiped as Quirinus, a god of war.