The Romans believed they were descendants of the Trojans who escaped the destruction of Troy. Under Aeneas they traveled to Rome and were the seeds of the Roman Empire.
Does anyone know if there was even a shred of evidence to support that idea?
Just Virgl IIRC
The Aeneid was commissioned as a work of political propaganda, an origin myth superimposed on the native origin myth of the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. My guess is that the Etruscan origins in the eastern Med, like so many other things, seeped into Roman society and were adopted as Roman. IOW, there’s no truth to it per se.
http://www.varchive.org/nldag/carthage.htm