- ‘Ab urbe condita’ AUC means ‘from the founding of the City’ (of Rome).
- Rome was founded on the 21st April 753 BCE which is 1 AUC.
History
- In 753 BCE 21st April, the Romans believed the City of Rome was founded on the Palatine Hill by Romulus.
- In 121 CE, the 21st April became the new festival of ‘Roma Aeterna’, the Goddess of the City of Rome. The ‘Dies Natalis Urbis’ meant ‘birthday of the city’. The festival included chariot races held in the Circus Maximus. Before the races started, a Procession travelled along the Via Sacra through the Forum Romanum and into the Circus.
- In 248 CE Rome celebrated its first millennium, 1,000 AUC, under Philip the Arab.
Palatine Hill, Rome