History of Florence
Florence was founded in 59 b.c.e as a city for the soldiers for the army of Rome. By the third century Florence was marked as the capital and the market center of the Roman Empire. Florence has been conquered by many different empires, starting off with the Ostrogoths in the 5th century, following with the Byzantines in the 6th century, and last they were conquered by the Langobards, or Lombards. Beginning in the 10th century Florence began to prosper, although in the 12th-13th centuries economics and government improved vastly. In 1293 Florence adopted their first constitution. During the 12th and 13th centuries Florence began to modernize. Some items that began production were cloth and wool. Along side cloth, banking became very popular. Some of the most successful bankers were the Medicis.