The people of Rome developed the last great civilization of the ancient world in the West. They based their culture on the country now known as Italy, but expanded into North Africa, much of Western Europe, and much of Western Asia. They were to have a significant impact on Palestine during both testamentary eras (Old and New). Around 3,000 BC tribes from different parts of Europe and Asia formed small towns and farming communities in the mountainous pockets of the Italian peninsula. The rough shape of the Apennines allowed many of these small tribes to exist separately. Some of them had emigrated to Italy from areas north of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Historians call these people Indo-Europeans, meaning they came from Europe, Southwest Asia, and India. These Indo-Europeans also influenced Greek culture of the time. (Packer).Among them were the Etruscans, originating from the region of Asia Minor occupied by modern Turkey. By 800 BC, when Jehoahaz was on the throne of Israel and Joash on the throne of Judah (Packer), the Etruscans had formed the first city-state in Italy. We know very little about the Etruscans, they may have come from Turkey, they were great builders and engineers, they cleared forests, drained marshes and built fortified towns. The Etruscans made tools and weapons from copper, bronze and iron. They took control of the city now called Rome around the 6th century BC, at the time of the Jewish exile. The Etruscan kings were driven out of Rome by the unified Latin tribes, who founded the Roman Republic around 510 BC. While Etruscan culture was developing on the western shore of the Apennines, the Phoenicians had begun to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Middle of paper......Alexander the Great fought for the share of his vast conquests, the Romans conquered the Greeks of southern Italy. By 270 BC, the Romans controlled all of Italy. Works Cited Freeman, Charles. (2004). Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean 2nd ed. New York, NY Oxford University Press. Gardner, Joseph L. (1983). Bible Atlas: An Illustrated Guide to the Holy Land. Pleasantville, NY. Reader's Digest Association. Packer, JI et al. (1995). Nelson's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Facts. Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson's Publishers. Penrose, Jane (2005). Rome and its enemies: an empire created and destroyed by war. University Park, IL. Osprey Publishing. Winks, Robin W et al. (1992). A History of Civilization: Volume I: From Prehistory to 1715. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall Inc.