Romulus

Romulus therefore at once marched against them, overcame them in battle, and killed six thousand of them. He also took their city, transplanted half of the survivors to Rome, and sent to Cameria as colonists from Rome twice the number he had left there, and this on the first of August. So many citizens had he to spare after dwelling in Rome less than sixteen years. Among other spoils he brought also a bronze four-horse chariot from Cameria, and dedicated it in the temple of Vulcan. For it he had a statue made of himself, with a figure of Victory crowning him.

The Roman state thus gathering strength, its weaker neighbours submitted to it, and were satisfied to be let alone; but the powerful ones, out of fear and jealousy, thought they ought not to tolerate, but resist and check the growing power of Romulus. And of the Tuscans, the people of Veii, who possessed much territory and dwelt in a great city, were the first to begin war[*](Cf. Livy, i. 15. 1-5.) with a demand for Fidenae, which they said belonged to them.

Now this was not only unjust, it was actually ridiculous, that they, who had not come to the aid of the people of Fidenae when they were in the perils of war, but suffered them to perish, then demanded their houses and land from those who had come into possession of them. Accordingly, Romulus gave them contemptuous answers, upon which they divided themselves into two armies, attacked Fidenae with one, and confronted Romulus with the other. Before Fidenae, then, they overpowered two thousand Romans and slew them; but they were defeated by Romulus with a loss of eight thousand men.