Banks, in one way or another, have been around for an incredibly long time. All the way back to 2000 BC, when merchants gave grain loans to travelling farmers. Some form of money lending can be found in ancient cultures around the world, including Persia and Mesopotamia. The lending of food and animals was also subject to modern ideas of interest. Before the founding of banks with steel safes, wealthy Romans needed another way to keep their money protected. Traditionally, it was kept in temples, with coins and jewelry stored in the basement. As well as storing the money, temples would also loan money out. This practice was also adopted by wealthy merchants. While temples handled larger loans, the merchants would deal with the rest. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the idea of European banking faded with it. It only began to rise again with the establishment of merchant banks in medieval times. The Bank of Venice is thought to be the first national bank to be founded within Europe. This was established in Venice in 1157, and continued to operate until it was forced to close during the French invasion in 1797. From this initial establishment, banks continued to grow across Europe. Italian banking families gained power, including the famous house of Medici, who founded their bank in 1327. It was in operation until 1494. While banking as we know it didn’t arise until the end of the 17th century, banking is an incredibly ancient practice. Evidence of historical banking has been found almost worldwide, with lenders and interest being a fairly common part of many ancient lives.