Whom did the Romans consider the founders of their state? Do historians confirm an ancient legend?

All Romans considered their forefathers the brothers Romulus and Remus, whom the king’s daughter, Rhea Sylvia, gave birth to from the god Mars. Rhea’s legal husband hated the woman, for betrayal with Mars and threw her into prison, and put the brothers in a basket and threw them into the Tiber River. The basket washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine Hill, where a she-wolf found and nursed them. Here, on the banks of the Tiber, the brothers founded a colony, but the brothers often quarreled and as a result Romulus killed Remus. Then Romulus founded a fortified settlement on the Palatine, which was named after him. Some historians, referring to the excavations, admit that Rome was founded by Romulus.