Ancient Rome - wikipedia Ancient Rome For the modern - day city, see Rome. For other uses, see Ancient Rome ( disambiguation ). This article uses citations without providing full publisher and source details. Please consider adding fuller citations so that the article remains verifiable and that the origin of sources becomes clearer. Several templates are available to assist in formatting. ( January 2017 ) Ancient Rome Roma 753 BC -- 476 AD Senātus Populus que Rōmānus Territories of the Roman civilization : Roman Republic Roman Empire Western Roman Empire Eastern Roman Empire Capital Rome, several others during the late Empire, notably Constantinople and Ravenna. Languages Latin Government Kingdom ( 753 BC -- 509 BC ) Republic ( 509 BC -- 27 BC ) Empire ( 27 BC -- 476 AD ) Historical era Ancient history Founding of Rome 753 BC Overthrow of Tarquin the Proud 509 BC Octavian proclaimed Augustus 27 BC Collapse of the Western Roman Empire 476 AD Ancient Rome This article is part of a series on the politics and government of ancient Rome Periods Roman Kingdom 753 -- 509 BC Roman Republic 509 -- 27 BC Roman Empire 27 BC -- AD 395 Principate Dominate Western AD 395 -- 476 Eastern AD 395 -- 1453 Empire of Trebizond AD 1204 -- 1461 Timeline Roman Constitution Constitution of the Kingdom Constitution of the Republic Constitution of the Empire Constitution of the Late Empire Senate Legislative assemblies Executive magistrates Ordinary magistrates Consul Praetor Quaestor Promagistrate Aedile Tribune Censor Governor Extraordinary magistrates Dictator Magister equitum Consular tribune Rex Triumviri Decemviri Titles and honours Emperor Legatus Dux Officium Praefectus Vicarius Vigintisexviri Lictor Magister militum Imperator Princeps senatus Pontifex maximus Augustus Caesar Tetrarch Precedent and law Roman law Ius Imperium Mos maiorum Collegiality Auctoritas Roman citizenship Cursus honorum Senatus consultum Senatus consultum ultimum Assemblies Centuriate Curiate Plebeian Tribal Other countries Atlas In historiography, ancient Rome is Roman civilization from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire until the fall of the western empire. The term is sometimes used to just refer to the kingdom and republic periods, excluding the subsequent empire. The civilization began as an Italic settlement in the Italian peninsula, dating from the 8th century BC, that grew into the city of Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it ruled and to the widespread civilisation the empire developed. The Roman empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world, though still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants ( roughly 20 % of the world 's population ) and covering 5.0 million square kilometres at its height in AD 117. In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a Classical Republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it eventually dominated the Mediterranean region, Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, and parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. It is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco - Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language, and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the construction of an extensive system of aqueducts and roads, as well as the construction of large monuments, palaces, and public facilities. By the end of the Republic ( 27 BC ), Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond : its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia and from the mouth of the Rhine to North Africa. The Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman - Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia. It would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak. Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would temporarily divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the western part of the empire broke up into independent `` barbarian '' kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of universal history from the pre-medieval `` Dark Ages '' of Europe. The eastern part of the empire endured through the 5th century and remained a power throughout the `` Dark Ages '' and medieval times until its fall in 1453 AD. Though the citizens of the empire made no distinction, the empire is most commonly referred to as the `` Byzantine Empire '' by modern historians during the Middle Ages to differentiate between the state of antiquity and the nation it grew into. Contents 1 Founding myth 2 Kingdom 3 Republic 3.1 Punic Wars 4 Late Republic 4.1 Marius and Sulla 4.2 Caesar and the First Triumvirate 4.3 Octavian and the Second Triumvirate 5 Empire -- the Principate 5.1 Julio - Claudian dynasty 5.1. 1 Augustus 5.1. 2 From Tiberius to Nero 5.2 Flavian dynasty 5.2. 1 Vespasian 5.2. 2 Titus and Domitian 5.3 Nerva -- Antonine dynasty 5.3. 1 Trajan 5.3. 2 From Hadrian to Commodus 5.4 Severan dynasty 5.4. 1 Septimius Severus 5.4. 2 From Caracalla to Alexander Severus 5.5 Crisis of the Third Century 6 Empire -- the Dominate 6.1 Diocletian 6.2 Constantine and Christianity 7 Fall of the Western Roman Empire 8 Society 8.1 Class structure 8.2 Family 8.3 Education 8.4 Government 8.5 Law 8.6 Economy 8.7 Military 9 Culture 9.1 Language 9.2 Religion 9.3 Art, music and literature 9.4 Cuisine 9.5 Games and recreation 9.6 Ethics and morality 10 Technology 11 Legacy 12 Historiography 12.1 In Roman times 12.2 In modern times 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 Further reading 17 External links Founding myth Main article : Founding of Rome According to the founding myth of Rome, the city was founded on 21 April 753 BC by the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who descended from the Trojan prince Aeneas, and who were grandsons of the Latin King Numitor of Alba Longa. King Numitor was deposed by his brother, Amulius, while Numitor 's daughter, Rhea Silvia, gave birth to the twins. Because Rhea Silvia had been raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half - divine. According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she - wolf The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, so he ordered them to be drowned. A she - wolf ( or a shepherd 's wife in some accounts ) saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. The twins then founded their own city, but Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over the location of the Roman Kingdom, though some sources state the quarrel was about who was going to rule or give his name to the city. Romulus became the source of the city 's name. In order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem, in that Rome came to have a large male population but was bereft of women. Romulus visited neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables he was refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins with the Sabines. Another legend, recorded by Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, says that Prince Aeneas led a group of Trojans on a sea voyage to found a new Troy, since the original was destroyed at the end of the Trojan War. After a long time in rough seas, they landed on the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, but the women who were traveling with them did not want to leave. One woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent their leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they soon realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships. The Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid, where the Trojan prince Aeneas is destined by the gods to found a new Troy. In the epic, the women also refuse to go back to the sea, but they were not left on the Tiber. After reaching Italy, Aeneas, who wanted to marry Lavinia, was forced to wage war with her former suitor, Turnus. According to the poem, the Alban kings were descended from Aeneas, and thus Romulus, the founder of Rome, was his descendant. Kingdom Main article : Roman Kingdom Etruscan painting ; dancer and musicians, Tomb of the Leopards, in Tarquinia, Italy The city of Rome grew from settlements around a ford on the river Tiber, a crossroads of traffic and trade. According to archaeological evidence, the village of Rome was probably founded some time in the 8th century BC, though it may go back as far as the 10th century BC, by members of the Latin tribe of Italy, on the top of the Palatine Hill. The Etruscans, who had previously settled to the north in Etruria, seem to have established political control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming an aristocratic and monarchical elite. The Etruscans apparently lost power by the late 6th century BC, and at this point, the original Latin and Sabine tribes reinvented their government by creating a republic, with much greater restraints on the ability of rulers to exercise power. Roman tradition and archaeological evidence point to a complex within the Forum Romanum as the seat of power for the king and the beginnings of the religious center there as well. Numa Pompilius the second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus, began Rome 's building projects with his royal palace the Regia and the complex of the Vestal virgins. Republic Main article : Roman Republic This bust from the Capitoline Museums is traditionally identified as a portrait of Lucius Junius Brutus, Roman bronze sculpture, 4th to late 3rd centuries BC According to tradition and later writers such as Livy, the Roman Republic was established around 509 BC, when the last of the seven kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed by Lucius Junius Brutus and a system based on annually elected magistrates and various representative assemblies was established. A constitution set a series of checks and balances, and a separation of powers. The most important magistrates were the two consuls, who together exercised executive authority such as imperium, or military command. The consuls had to work with the senate, which was initially an advisory council of the ranking nobility, or patricians, but grew in size and power. Other magistrates of the Republic include tribunes, quaestors, aediles, praetors and censors. The magistracies were originally restricted to patricians, but were later opened to common people, or plebeians. Republican voting assemblies included the comitia centuriata ( centuriate assembly ), which voted on matters of war and peace and elected men to the most important offices, and the comitia tributa ( tribal assembly ), which elected less important offices. Italy in 400 BC In the 4th century BC, Rome had come under attack by the Gauls, who now extended their power in the Italian peninsula beyond the Po Valley and through Etruria. On 16 July 390 BC, a Gallic army under the leadership of a tribal chieftain named Brennus, met the Romans on the banks of the Allia River just ten miles north of Rome. Brennus defeated the Romans, and the Gauls marched directly to Rome. Most Romans had fled the city, but some barricaded themselves upon the Capitoline Hill for a last stand. The Gauls looted and burned the city, then laid siege to the Capitoline Hill. The siege lasted seven months, the Gauls then agreed to give the Romans peace in exchange for 1,000 pounds ( 450 kg ) of gold. ( According to later legend, the Roman supervising the weighing noticed that the Gauls were using false scales. The Romans then took up arms and defeated the Gauls ; their victorious general Camillus remarked `` With iron, not with gold, Rome buys her freedom. '' ) The Romans gradually subdued the other peoples on the Italian peninsula, including the Etruscans. The last threat to Roman hegemony in Italy came when Tarentum, a major Greek colony, enlisted the aid of Pyrrhus of Epirus in 281 BC, but this effort failed as well. The Romans secured their conquests by founding Roman colonies in strategic areas, thereby establishing stable control over the region of Italy they had conquered. Punic wars Main article : Punic Wars This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) The Temple of Hercules Victor, Rome, built in the mid 2nd century BC, most likely by Lucius Mummius Achaicus, Roman commander in the Achaean War that destroyed Corinth The Temple of Portunus, Rome, built between 120 -- 80 BC Roman bronze bust of Scipio Africanus the Elder from the Naples National Archaeological Museum ( Inv. No. 5634 ), dated mid 1st century BC Excavated from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum by Karl Jakob Weber, 1750 -- 65 In the 3rd century BC Rome faced a new and formidable opponent : Carthage. Carthage was a rich, flourishing Phoenician city - state that intended to dominate the Mediterranean area. The two cities were allies in the times of Pyrrhus, who was a menace to both, but with Rome 's hegemony in mainland Italy and the Carthaginian thalassocracy, these cities became the two major powers in the Western Mediterranean and their contention over the Mediterranean led to conflict. The First Punic War began in 264 BC, when the city of Messana asked for Carthage 's help in their conflicts with Hiero II of Syracuse. After the Carthaginian intercession, Messana asked Rome to expel the Carthaginians. Rome entered this war because Syracuse and Messana were too close to the newly conquered Greek cities of Southern Italy and Carthage was now able to make an offensive through Roman territory ; along with this, Rome could extend its domain over Sicily. Although the Romans had experience in land battles, to defeat this new enemy, naval battles were necessary. Carthage was a maritime power, and the Roman lack of ships and naval experience would make the path to the victory a long and difficult one for the Roman Republic. Despite this, after more than 20 years of war, Rome defeated Carthage and a peace treaty was signed. Among the reasons for the Second Punic War was the subsequent war reparations Carthage acquiesced to at the end of the First Punic War. The Second Punic War is famous for its brilliant generals : on the Punic side Hannibal and Hasdrubal ; on the Roman, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus and Publius Cornelius Scipio. Rome fought this war simultaneously with the First Macedonian War. The war began with the audacious invasion of Hispania by Hannibal, the Carthaginian general who had led operations on Sicily in the First Punic War. Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca, rapidly marched through Hispania to the Italian Alps, causing panic among Rome 's Italian allies. The best way found to defeat Hannibal 's purpose of causing the Italians to abandon Rome was to delay the Carthaginians with a guerrilla war of attrition, a strategy propounded by Quintus Fabius Maximus, who would be nicknamed Cunctator ( `` delayer '' in Latin ), and whose strategy would be forever after known as Fabian. Due to this, Hannibal 's goal was unachieved : he could not bring enough Italian cities to revolt against Rome and replenish his diminishing army, and he thus lacked the machines and manpower to besiege Rome. Still, Hannibal 's invasion lasted over 16 years, ravaging Italy. Finally, when the Romans perceived that Hannibal 's supplies were running out, they sent Scipio, who had defeated Hannibal 's brother Hasdrubal in Spain, to invade the unprotected Carthaginian hinterland and force Hannibal to return to defend Carthage itself. The result was the ending of the Second Punic War by the famously decisive Battle of Zama in October 202 BC, which gave to Scipio his agnomen Africanus. At great cost, Rome had made significant gains : the conquest of Hispania by Scipio, and of Syracuse, the last Greek realm in Sicily, by Marcellus. More than a half century after these events, Carthage was humiliated and Rome was no more concerned about the African menace. The Republic 's focus now was only to the Hellenistic kingdoms of Greece and revolts in Hispania. However, Carthage, after having paid the war indemnity, felt that its commitments and submission to Rome had ceased, a vision not shared by the Roman Senate. When in 151 BC Numidia invaded Carthage, Carthage asked for Roman intercession. Ambassadors were sent to Carthage, among them was Marcus Porcius Cato, who after seeing that Carthage could make a comeback and regain its importance, ended all his speeches, no matter what the subject was, by saying : `` Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam '' ( `` Furthermore, I think that Carthage must be destroyed '' ). As Carthage fought with Numidia without Roman consent, the Third Punic War began when Rome declared war against Carthage in 149 BC. Carthage resisted well at the first strike, with the participation of all the inhabitants of the city. However, Carthage could not withstand the attack of Scipio Aemilianus, who entirely destroyed the city and its walls, enslaved and sold all the citizens and gained control of that region, which became the province of Africa. Thus ended the Punic War period. All these wars resulted in Rome 's first overseas conquests ( Sicily, Hispania and Africa ) and the rise of Rome as a significant imperial power and began the end of democracy. Late Republic After defeating the Macedonian and Seleucid Empires in the 2nd century BC, the Romans became the dominant people of the Mediterranean Sea. The conquest of the Hellenistic kingdoms brought the Roman and Greek cultures in closer contact and the Roman elite, once rural, became a luxurious and cosmopolitan one. At this time Rome was a consolidated empire -- in the military view -- and had no major enemies. Gaius Marius, a Roman general and politician who dramatically reformed the Roman military Foreign dominance led to internal strife. Senators became rich at the provinces ' expense ; soldiers, who were mostly small - scale farmers, were away from home longer and could not maintain their land ; and the increased reliance on foreign slaves and the growth of latifundia reduced the availability of paid work. Income from war booty, mercantilism in the new provinces, and tax farming created new economic opportunities for the wealthy, forming a new class of merchants, called the equestrians. The lex Claudia forbade members of the Senate from engaging in commerce, so while the equestrians could theoretically join the Senate, they were severely restricted in political power. The Senate squabbled perpetually, repeatedly blocked important land reforms and refused to give the equestrian class a larger say in the government. Violent gangs of the urban unemployed, controlled by rival Senators, intimidated the electorate through violence. The situation came to a head in the late 2nd century BC under the Gracchi brothers, a pair of tribunes who attempted to pass land reform legislation that would redistribute the major patrician landholdings among the plebeians. Both brothers were killed and the Senate passed reforms reversing the Gracchi brother 's actions. This led to the growing divide of the plebeian groups ( populares ) and equestrian classes ( optimates ). Marius and Sulla Gaius Marius, a novus homo, who started his political career with the help of the powerful Metelli family soon become a leader of the Republic, holding the first of his seven consulships ( an unprecedented number ) in 107 BC by arguing that his former patron Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was not able to defeat and capture the Numidian king Jugurtha. Marius then started his military reform : in his recruitment to fight Jugurtha, he levied very poor ( an innovation ) and many landless men entered the army ; this was the seed of securing loyalty of the army to the General in command. At this time, Marius began his quarrel with Lucius Cornelius Sulla : Marius, who wanted to capture Jugurtha, asked Bocchus, son - in - law of Jugurtha, to hand him over. As Marius failed, Sulla, a general of Marius at that time, in a dangerous enterprise, went himself to Bocchus and convinced Bocchus to hand Jugurtha over to him. This was very provocative to Marius, since many of his enemies were encouraging Sulla to oppose Marius. Despite this, Marius was elected for five consecutive consulships from 104 to 100 BC, as Rome needed a military leader to defeat the Cimbri and the Teutones, who were threatening Rome. Lucius Cornelius Sulla After Marius 's retirement, Rome had a brief peace, during which the Italian socii ( `` allies '' in Latin ) requested Roman citizenship and voting rights. The reformist Marcus Livius Drusus supported their legal process but was assassinated, and the socii revolted against the Romans in the Social War. At one point both consuls were killed ; Marius was appointed to command the army together with Lucius Julius Caesar and Sulla. By the end of the Social War, Marius and Sulla were the premier military men in Rome and their partisans were in conflict, both sides jostling for power. In 88 BC, Sulla was elected for his first consulship and his first assignment was to defeat Mithridates VI of Pontus, whose intentions were to conquer the Eastern part of the Roman territories. However, Marius 's partisans managed his installation to the military command, defying Sulla and the Senate, and this caused Sulla 's wrath. To consolidate his own power, Sulla conducted a surprising and illegal action : he marched to Rome with his legions, killing all those who showed support to Marius 's cause and impaling their heads in the Roman Forum. In the following year, 87 BC, Marius, who had fled at Sulla 's march, returned to Rome while Sulla was campaigning in Greece. He seized power along with the consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna and killed the other consul, Gnaeus Octavius, achieving his seventh consulship. In an attempt to raise Sulla 's anger, Marius and Cinna revenged their partisans by conducting a massacre. Marius died in 86 BC, due to age and poor health, just a few months after seizing power. Cinna exercised absolute power until his death in 84 BC. Sulla after returning from his Eastern campaigns, had a free path to reestablish his own power. In 83 BC he made his second march in Rome and began a time of terror : thousands of nobles, knights and senators were executed. Sulla also held two dictatorships and one more consulship, which began the crisis and decline of Roman Republic. Caesar and the first Triumvirate This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) Bust of Caesar from the Naples National Archaeological Museum In the mid-1st century BC, Roman politics were restless. Political divisions in Rome became identified with two groupings, populares ( who hoped for the support of the people ) and optimates ( the `` best '', who wanted to maintain exclusive aristocratic control ). Sulla overthrew all populist leaders and his constitutional reforms removed powers ( such as those of the tribune of the plebs ) that had supported populist approaches. Meanwhile, social and economic stresses continued to build ; Rome had become a metropolis with a super-rich aristocracy, debt - ridden aspirants, and a large proletariat often of impoverished farmers. The latter groups supported the Catilinarian conspiracy -- a resounding failure, since the consul Marcus Tullius Cicero quickly arrested and executed the main leaders of the conspiracy. Onto this turbulent scene emerged Gaius Julius Caesar, from an aristocratic family of limited wealth. His aunt Julia was Marius ' wife, and Caesar identified with the populares. To achieve power, Caesar reconciled the two most powerful men in Rome : Marcus Licinius Crassus, who had financed much of his earlier career, and Crassus ' rival, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ( anglicized as Pompey ), to whom he married his daughter. He formed them into a new informal alliance including himself, the First Triumvirate ( `` three men '' ). This satisfied the interests of all three : Crassus, the richest man in Rome, became richer and ultimately achieved high military command ; Pompey exerted more influence in the Senate ; and Caesar obtained the consulship and military command in Gaul. So long as they could agree, the three were in effect the rulers of Rome. In 54 BC, Caesar 's daughter, Pompey 's wife, died in childbirth, unraveling one link in the alliance. In 53 BC, Crassus invaded Parthia and was killed in the Battle of Carrhae. The Triumvirate disintegrated at Crassus ' death. Crassus had acted as mediator between Caesar and Pompey, and, without him, the two generals manoeuvred against each other for power. Caesar conquered Gaul, obtaining immense wealth, respect in Rome and the loyalty of battle - hardened legions. He also became a clear menace to Pompey and was loathed by many optimates. Confident that Caesar could be stopped by legal means, Pompey 's party tried to strip Caesar of his legions, a prelude to Caesar 's trial, impoverishment, and exile. To avoid this fate, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River and invaded Rome in 49 BC. Pompey and his party fled from Italy, pursued by Caesar. The Battle of Pharsalus was a brilliant victory for Caesar and in this and other campaigns he destroyed all of the optimates ' leaders : Metellus Scipio, Cato the Younger, and Pompey 's son, Gnaeus Pompeius. Pompey was murdered in Egypt in 48 BC. Caesar was now pre-eminent over Rome, attracting the bitter enmity of many aristocrats. He was granted many offices and honours. In just five years, he held four consulships, two ordinary dictatorships, and two special dictatorships : one for ten years and another for perpetuity. He was murdered in 44 BC, on the Ides of March by the Liberatores. Octavian and the Second Triumvirate The Battle of Actium, by Laureys a Castro, painted 1672, National Maritime Museum, London Caesar 's assassination caused political and social turmoil in Rome ; without the dictator 's leadership, the city was ruled by his friend and colleague, Mark Antony. Soon afterward, Octavius, whom Caesar adopted through his will, arrived in Rome. Octavian ( historians regard Octavius as Octavian due to the Roman naming conventions ) tried to align himself with the Caesarian faction. In 43 BC, along with Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Caesar 's best friend, he legally established the Second Triumvirate. This alliance would last for five years. Upon its formation, 130 -- 300 senators were executed, and their property was confiscated, due to their supposed support for the Liberatores. In 42 BC, the Senate deified Caesar as Divus Iulius ; Octavian thus became Divi filius, the son of the deified. In the same year, Octavian and Antony defeated both Caesar 's assassins and the leaders of the Liberatores, Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, in the Battle of Philippi. The Second Triumvirate was marked by the proscriptions of many senators and equites : after a revolt led by Antony 's brother Lucius Antonius, more than 300 senators and equites involved were executed on the anniversary of the Ides of March, although Lucius was spared. The Triumvirate proscribed several important men, including Cicero, whom Antony hated ; Quintus Tullius Cicero, the younger brother of the orator ; and Lucius Julius Caesar, cousin and friend of the acclaimed general, for his support of Cicero. However, Lucius was pardoned, perhaps because his sister Julia had intervened for him. The Triumvirate divided the Empire among the triumvirs : Lepidus was given charge of Africa, Antony, the eastern provinces, and Octavian remained in Italia and controlled Hispania and Gaul. The Second Triumvirate expired in 38 BC but was renewed for five more years. However, the relationship between Octavian and Antony had deteriorated, and Lepidus was forced to retire in 36 BC after betraying Octavian in Sicily. By the end of the Triumvirate, Antony was living in Ptolemaic Egypt, an independent and rich kingdom ruled by Antony 's lover, Cleopatra VII. Antony 's affair with Cleopatra was seen as an act of treason, since she was queen of another country. Additionally, Antony adopted a lifestyle considered too extravagant and Hellenistic for a Roman statesman. Following Antony 's Donations of Alexandria, which gave to Cleopatra the title of `` Queen of Kings '', and to Antony 's and Cleopatra 's children the regal titles to the newly conquered Eastern territories, war between Octavian and Antony broke out. Octavian annihilated Egyptian forces in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Now Egypt was conquered by the Roman Empire, and for the Romans, a new era had begun. Empire -- the Principate Main article : Roman Empire In 27 BC and at the age of 36, Octavian was the sole Roman leader. In that year, he took the name Augustus. That event is usually taken by historians as the beginning of Roman Empire -- although Rome was an `` imperial '' state since 146 BC, when Carthage was razed by Scipio Aemilianus and Greece was conquered by Lucius Mummius. Officially, the government was republican, but Augustus assumed absolute powers. His reform of the government brought about a two - century period colloquially referred to by Romans as the Pax Romana. Julio - Claudian dynasty The Julio - Claudian dynasty was established by Augustus. The emperors of this dynasty were : Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. The dynasty is so - called due to the gens Julia, family of Augustus, and the gens Claudia, family of Tiberius. The Julio - Claudians started the destruction of republican values, but on the other hand, they boosted Rome 's status as the central power in the world. While Caligula and Nero are usually remembered as dysfunctional emperors in popular culture, Augustus and Claudius are remembered as emperors who were successful in politics and the military. This dynasty instituted imperial tradition in Rome and frustrated any attempt to reestablish a Republic. Augustus Augustus gathered almost all the republican powers under his official title, princeps : he had powers of consul, princeps senatus, aedile, censor and tribune -- including tribunician sacrosanctity. This was the base of an emperor 's power. Augustus also styled himself as Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar divi filius, `` Commander Gaius Julius Caesar, son of the deified one ''. With this title he not only boasted his familial link to deified Julius Caesar, but the use of Imperator signified a permanent link to the Roman tradition of victory. The Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century AD, depicting Augustus, the first Roman emperor He also diminished the Senatorial class influence in politics by boosting the equestrian class. The senators lost their right to rule certain provinces, like Egypt ; since the governor of that province was directly nominated by the emperor. The creation of the Praetorian Guard and his reforms in the military, creating a standing army with a fixed size of 28 legions, ensured his total control over the army. Compared with the Second Triumvirate 's epoch, Augustus ' reign as princeps was very peaceful. This peace and richness ( that was granted by the agrarian province of Egypt ) led the people and the nobles of Rome to support Augustus increasing his strength in political affairs. In military activity, Augustus was absent at battles. His generals were responsible for the field command ; gaining such commanders as Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Nero Claudius Drusus and Germanicus much respect from the populace and the legions. Augustus intended to extend the Roman Empire to the whole known world, and in his reign, Rome conquered Cantabria Aquitania, Raetia, Dalmatia, Illyricum and Pannonia. Under Augustus 's reign, Roman literature grew steadily in what is known as the Golden Age of Latin Literature. Poets like Virgil, Horace, Ovid and Rufus developed a rich literature, and were close friends of Augustus. Along with Maecenas, he stimulated patriotic poems, as Virgil 's epic Aeneid and also historiographical works, like those of Livy. The works of this literary age lasted through Roman times, and are classics. Augustus also continued the shifts on the calendar promoted by Caesar, and the month of August is named after him. Augustus brought a peaceful and thriving era to Rome, known as Pax Augusta or Pax Romana. Augustus died in 14 AD, but the empire 's glory continued after his era. From Tiberius to Nero The Julio - Claudians continued to rule Rome after Augustus ' death and remained in power until the death of Nero in 68 AD. Augustus ' favorites for succeeding him were already dead in his senescence : his nephew Marcellus died in 23 BC, his friend and military commander Agrippa in 12 BC and his grandson Gaius Caesar in 4 AD. Influenced by his wife, Livia Drusilla, Augustus appointed her son from another marriage, Tiberius, as his heir. Extent of the Roman Empire under Augustus. The yellow legend represents the extent of the Republic in 31 BC, the shades of green represent gradually conquered territories under the reign of Augustus, and pink areas on the map represent client states ; areas under Roman control shown here were subject to change even during Augustus ' reign, especially in Germania. The Senate agreed with the succession, and granted to Tiberius the same titles and honors once granted to Augustus : the title of princeps and Pater patriae, and the Civic Crown. However, Tiberius was not an enthusiast of political affairs : after agreement with the Senate, he retired to Capri in 26 AD, and left control of the city of Rome in the hands of the praetorian prefect Sejanus ( until 31 AD ) and Macro ( from 31 to 37 AD ). Tiberius was regarded as an evil and melancholic man, who may have ordered the murder of his relatives, the popular general Germanicus in 19 AD, and his own son Drusus Julius Caesar in 23 AD. Tiberius died ( or was killed ) in 37 AD. The male line of the Julio - Claudians was limited to Tiberius ' nephew Claudius, his grandson Tiberius Gemellus and his grand - nephew Caligula. As Gemellus was still a child, Caligula was chosen to rule the Empire. He was a popular leader in the first half of his reign, but became a crude and insane tyrant in his years controlling government. Suetonius states that he committed incest with his sisters, killed some men just for amusement and nominated a horse for a consulship. The Praetorian Guard murdered Caligula four years after the death of Tiberius, and, with belated support from the senators, proclaimed his uncle Claudius as the new emperor. Claudius was not as authoritarian as Tiberius and Caligula. Claudius conquered Lycia and Thrace ; his most important deed was the beginning of the conquest of Britain. Claudius was poisoned by his wife, Agrippina the Younger in 54 AD. His heir was Nero, son of Agrippina and her former husband, since Claudius ' son Britannicus had not reached manhood upon his father 's death. Nero is widely known as the first persecutor of Christians and for the Great Fire of Rome, rumoured to have been started by the emperor himself. Nero faced many revolts during his reign, like the Pisonian conspiracy and the First Jewish - Roman War. Although Nero defeated these rebels, he could not overthrow the revolt led by Servius Sulpicius Galba. The Senate soon declared Nero a public enemy, and he committed suicide. Flavian dynasty The Flavians were the second dynasty to rule Rome. By 68 AD, year of Nero 's death, there was no chance of return to the old and traditional Roman Republic, thus a new emperor had to rise. After the turmoil in the Year of the Four Emperors, Titus Flavius Vespasianus ( anglicized as Vespasian ) took control of the Empire and established a new dynasty. Under the Flavians, Rome continued its expansion, and the state remained secure. Vespasian Bust of Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty Vespasian was a general under Claudius and Nero. He fought as a commander in the First Jewish - Roman War along with his son Titus. Following the turmoil of the Year of the Four Emperors, in 69 AD, four emperors were enthroned : Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and, lastly, Vespasian, who crushed Vitellius ' forces and became emperor. He reconstructed many buildings which were uncompleted, like a statue of Apollo and the temple of Divus Claudius ( `` the deified Claudius '' ), both initiated by Nero. Buildings once destroyed by the Great Fire of Rome were rebuilt, and he revitalized the Capitol. Vespasian also started the construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, more commonly known as the Colosseum. The historians Josephus and Pliny the Elder wrote their works during Vespasian 's reign. Vespasian was Josephus ' sponsor and Pliny dedicated his Naturalis Historia to Titus, son of Vespasian. Vespasian sent legions to defend the eastern frontier in Cappadocia, extended the occupation in Britain and reformed the tax system. He died in 79 AD. Titus and Domitian Titus had a short - lived rule ; he was emperor from 79 -- 81 AD. He finished the Flavian Amphitheater, which was constructed with war spoils from the First Jewish - Roman War, and promoted games celebrating the victory over the Jews that lasted for a hundred days. These games included gladiatorial combats, chariot races and a sensational mock naval battle on the flooded grounds of the Colosseum. Titus constructed a line of roads and fortifications on the borders of modern - day Germany ; and his general Gnaeus Julius Agricola conquered much of Britain, extending the Roman world to as far as Scotland. On the other hand, his failed war against Dacia was a humiliating defeat. Titus died of fever in 81 AD, and was succeeded by his brother Domitian. As emperor, Domitian assumed totalitarian characteristics, thought he could be a new Augustus, and tried to make a personal cult of himself. Domitian ruled for fifteen years, and his reign was marked by his attempts to compare himself to the gods. He constructed at least two temples in honour of Jupiter, the supreme deity in Roman religion. He also liked to be called `` Dominus et Deus '' ( `` Master and God '' ). The nobles disliked his rule, and he was murdered by a conspiracy in 96 AD. Nerva -- Antonine dynasty The Roman Empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan in AD 117 The Nerva -- Antonine dynasty from 96 AD to 192 AD was the rule of the emperors Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus. During their rule, Rome reached its territorial and economical apogee. This was a time of peace for Rome. The criteria for choosing an emperor were the qualities of the candidate and no longer ties of kinship ; additionally, there were no civil wars or military defeats in this period. Following Domitian 's murder, the Senate rapidly appointed Nerva to hold imperial dignity. This was the first time that senators chose the emperor since Octavian was honored with the titles of princeps and Augustus. Nerva had a noble ancestry, and he had served as an advisor to Nero and the Flavians. His rule restored many of the liberties once assumed by Domitian and started the last golden era of Rome. Trajan The Justice of Trajan ( fragment ) by Eugène Delacroix Nerva died in 98 AD and his successor and heir was the general Trajan. Trajan was born in a non-patrician family from Hispania and his preeminence emerged in the army, under Domitian. He is the second of the Five Good Emperors, the first being Nerva. Trajan was greeted by the people of Rome with enthusiasm, which he justified by governing well and without the bloodiness that had marked Domitian 's reign. He freed many people who had been unjustly imprisoned by Domitian and returned private property that Domitian had confiscated ; a process begun by Nerva before his death. Trajan conquered Dacia, and defeated the king Decebalus, who had defeated Domitian 's forces. In the First Dacian War ( 101 -- 102 ), the defeated Dacia became a client kingdom ; in the Second Dacian War ( 105 -- 106 ), Trajan completely devastated the enemy 's resistance and annexed Dacia to the Empire. Trajan also annexed the client state of Nabatea to form the province of Arabia Petraea, which included the lands of southern Syria and northwestern Arabia. He erected many buildings that survive to this day, such as Trajan 's Forum, Trajan 's Market and Trajan 's Column. His main architect was Apollodorus of Damascus ; Apollodorus made the project of the Forum and of the Column, and also reformed the Pantheon. Trajan 's triumphal arches in Ancona and Beneventum are other constructions projected by him. In the Second Dacian War, Apollodorus made a great bridge over the Danube for Trajan. Marble bust of Trajan Trajan 's final war was against Parthia. When Parthia appointed a king for Armenia who was unacceptable to Rome ( Parthia and Rome shared dominance over Armenia ), he declared war. He probably wanted to be the first Roman leader to conquer Parthia, and repeat the glory of Alexander the Great, conqueror of Asia, whom Trajan next followed in the clash of Greek - Romans and the Persian cultures. In 113 he marched to Armenia and deposed the local king. In 115 Trajan turned south into the core of Parthian hegemony, took the Northern Mesopotamian cities of Nisibis and Batnae, organized a province of Mesopotamia ( 116 ), and issued coins announcing that Armenia and Mesopotamia was under the authority of the Roman people. In that same year, he captured Seleucia and the Parthian capital Ctesiphon. After defeating a Parthian revolt and a Jewish revolt, he withdrew due to health issues. In 117, his illness grew and he died of edema. He nominated Hadrian as his heir. Under Trajan 's leadership the Roman Empire reached the peak of its territorial expansion ; Rome 's dominion now spanned 2,500,000 square miles ( 6,474,970 square kilometres ). From Hadrian to Commodus The prosperity brought by Nerva and Trajan continued in the reigns of subsequent emperors, from Hadrian to Marcus Aurelius. Hadrian withdrew all the troops stationed in Parthia and Mesopotamia, abandoning Trajan 's conquests. Although facing another revolt in Judea, Hadrian 's government was very peaceful, since he avoided wars : he constructed fortifications and walls, like the famous Hadrian 's Wall between Roman Britain and the barbarians of modern - day Scotland. The Pantheon, Rome, built during the reign of Hadrian, which still contains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world A famous philhellenist, Hadrian promoted culture, specially the Greek. He also forbade torture and humanized the laws. Hadrian built many aqueducts, baths, libraries and theaters ; additionally, he traveled nearly every single province in the Empire to check the military and infrastructural conditions. After Hadrian 's death in 138 AD, his successor Antoninus Pius built temples, theaters, and mausoleums, promoted the arts and sciences, and bestowed honours and financial rewards upon the teachers of rhetoric and philosophy. Antoninus made few initial changes when he became emperor, leaving intact as far as possible the arrangements instituted by Hadrian. Antoninus expanded the Roman Britain by invading southern Scotland and building the Antonine Wall. He also continued Hadrian 's policy of humanizing the laws. He died in 161 AD. Marcus Aurelius, known as the Philosopher, was the last of the Five Good Emperors. He was a stoic philosopher and wrote the Meditations. He defeated barbarian tribes in the Marcomannic Wars as well as the Parthian Empire. His co-emperor, Lucius Verus died in 169 AD, probably victim of the Antonine Plague, a pandemic that killed nearly five million people through the Empire in 165 -- 180 AD. From Nerva to Marcus Aurelius, the empire achieved an unprecedented happy and glorious status. The powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. All the citizens enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth. The image of a free constitution was preserved with decent reverence. The Roman senate appeared to possess the sovereign authority, and devolved on the emperors all the executive powers of government. The Five Good Emperors ' rule is considered the golden era of the Empire. Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, became emperor after his father 's death. He is not counted as one of the Five Good Emperors. Firstly, this was due to his direct kinship with the latter emperor ; in addition, he was passive in comparison with his predecessors, who were frequently leading their armies in person. Commodus usually took part on gladiatorial combats, which often symbolized brutality and roughness. He killed many citizens, and his reign was the beginning of Roman decadence, as stated Cassius Dio : `` ( Rome has transformed ) from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust. '' Severan dynasty Commodus was killed by a conspiracy involving Quintus Aemilius Laetus and his wife Marcia in late 192 AD. The following year is known as the Year of the Five Emperors, during which Helvius Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus held the imperial dignity. Pertinax, a member of the senate who had been one of Marcus Aurelius 's right hand men, was the choice of Laetus, and he ruled vigorously and judiciously. Laetus soon became jealous and instigated Pertinax 's murder by the Praetorian Guard, who then auctioned the empire to the highest bidder, Didius Julianus, for 25,000 sesterces per man. The people of Rome were appalled and appealed to the frontier legions to save them. The legions of three frontier provinces -- Britain, Pannonia Superior, and Syria -- resented being excluded from the `` donative '' and replied by declaring their individual generals to be emperor. Lucius Septimius Severus Geta, the Pannonian commander, bribed the opposing forces, pardoned the Praetorian Guards and installed himself as emperor. He and his successors governed with the legions ' support. The changes on coinage and military expenditures were the root of the financial crisis that marked the Crisis of the Third Century. Septimius Severus The Severan Tondo, c. 199, Severus, Julia Domna, Caracalla and Geta, whose face is erased Severus was enthroned after invading Rome and having Didius Julianus killed. His two other rivals, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus, were both were hailed by other factions as Imperator. Severus quickly subdued Niger in Byzantium and promised to Albinus the title of Caesar ( which meant he would be a co-emperor ). However, Severus betrayed Albinus by blaming him for a plot against his life. Severus marched to Gaul and defeated Albinus. For these acts, Machiavelli said that Severus was `` a ferocious lion and a clever fox '' Severus attempted to revive totalitarianism and in an address to people and the Senate, he praised the severity and cruelty of Marius and Sulla, which worried the senators. When Parthia invaded Roman territory, Severus waged war against that country. He seized the cities of Nisibis, Babylon and Seleucia. Reaching Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital, he ordered plundering and his army slew and captured many people. Albeit this military success, he failed in invading Hatra, a rich Arabian city. Severus killed his legate, as the latter was gaining respect from the legions ; and his soldiers were hit by famine. After this disastrous campaign, he withdrew. Severus also intended to vanquish the whole of Britain. To achieve this, he waged war against the Caledonians. After many casualties in the army due to the terrain and the barbarians ' ambushes, Severus went himself to the field. However, he became ill and died in 211 AD, at the age of 65. From Caracalla to Alexander Severus Bust of Caracalla from the Pergamon Museum, Berlin Upon the death of Severus, his sons Caracalla and Geta were made emperors. During their youth, their squabbles had divided Rome into two factions. In that same year Caracalla had his brother, a youth, assassinated in his mother 's arms, and may have murdered 20,000 of Geta 's followers. Like his father, Caracalla was warlike. He continued Severus ' policy, and gained respect from the legions. Caracalla was a cruel man, and was pursued by the guilt of his brother 's murder. He ordered the death of people of his own circle, like his tutor, Cilo, and a friend of his father, Papinian. Knowing that the citizens of Alexandria disliked him and were speaking ill of his character, he served a banquet for its notable citizens, after which his soldiers killed all the guests. From the security of the temple of Sarapis, he then directed an in - discriminant slaughter of Alexandria 's people. In 212, he issued the Edict of Caracalla, giving full Roman citizenship to all free men living in the Empire, and at the same time raised the inheritance tax, levied only on Roman citizens, to ten percent. A report that a soothsayer had predicted that the Praetorian prefect Macrinus and his son were to rule over the empire was dutifully sent to Caracalla. But the report fell into the hands of Macrinus, who felt he must act or die. Macrinus conspired to have Caracalla assassinated by one of his soldiers during a pilgrimage to the Temple of the Moon in Carrhae, in 217 AD. The incompetent Macrinus, assumed power, but soon removed himself from Rome to the east and Antioch. His brief reign ended in 218, when the youngster Bassianus, high priest of the temple of the Sun at Emesa, and supposedly illegitimate son of Caracalla, was declared Emperor by the disaffected soldiers of Macrinus. Bribes gained Bassianus support from the legionaries and they fought against Macrinus and his Praetorian guards. He adopted the name of Antoninus but history has named him after his Sun god Elagabalus, represented on Earth in the form of a large black stone. Elagabalus was an incompetent and lascivious ruler, who was well known for extreme extravagance, that offended all but his favorites. Cassius Dio, Herodian and the Historia Augusta have many accounts about his extravagance. He adopted his cousin, Alexander Severus, as Caesar, grew jealous, and attempted to assassinate him. The Praetorian guard preferred Alexander, murdered Elagabalus, dragged his mutilated corpse through the streets of Rome, and threw it into the Tiber. Elagabalus was succeeded by his cousin Alexander Severus. Alexander waged war against many foes, like the revitalized Persia and German peoples who invaded Gaul. His losses made the soldiers dissatisfied with the emperor, and some of them killed him during his German campaign, in 235 AD. Crisis of the Third century Main article : Crisis of the Third Century The Roman Empire suffered internal schisms, forming the Palmyrene Empire and the Gallic Empire A disastrous scenario emerged after the death of Alexander Severus : the Roman state was plagued by civil wars, external invasions, political chaos, pandemics and economic depression. The old Roman values had fallen, and Mithraism and Christianity had begun to spread through the populace. Emperors were no longer men linked with nobility ; they usually were born in lower - classes of distant parts of the Empire. These men rose to prominence through military ranks, and became emperors through civil wars. There were 26 emperors in a 49 - year period, a signal of political instability. Maximinus Thrax was the first ruler of that time, governing for just three years. Others ruled just for a few months, like Gordian I, Gordian II, Balbinus and Hostilian. The population and the frontiers were abandoned, since the emperors were mostly concerned with defeating rivals and establishing their power. The economy also suffered during that epoch. The massive military expenditures from the Severi caused a devaluation of Roman coins. Hyperinflation came at this time as well. The Plague of Cyprian broke out in 250 and killed a huge portion of the population. In 260 AD, the provinces of Syria Palaestina, Asia Minor and Egypt separated from the rest of the Roman state to form the Palmyrene Empire, ruled by Queen Zenobia and centered on Palmyra. In that same year the Gallic Empire was created by Postumus, retaining Britain and Gaul. These countries separated from Rome after the capture of emperor Valerian by the Sassanids of Persia, the first Roman ruler to be captured by his enemies ; it was a humiliating fact for the Romans. The crisis began to recede during the reigns of Claudius Gothicus ( 268 -- 270 ), who defeated the Gothic invaders, and Aurelian ( 271 -- 275 ), who reconquered both the Gallic and Palmyrene Empires. The crisis was overcome during the reign of Diocletian. Empire -- the dominate Main article : Roman Empire Diocletian A Roman follis depicting the profile of Diocletian In 284 AD, Diocletian was hailed as Imperator by the eastern army. Diocletian healed the empire from the crisis, by political and economic shifts. A new form of government was established : the Tetrarchy. The Empire was divided among four emperors, two in the West and two in the East. The first tetrarchs were Diocletian ( in the East ), Maximian ( in the West ), and two junior emperors, Galerius ( in the East ) and Flavius Constantius ( in the West ). To adjust the economy, Diocletian made several tax reforms. Diocletian expelled the Persians who plundered Syria and conquered some barbarian tribes with Maximian. He adopted many behaviors of Eastern monarchs, like wearing pearls and golden sandals and robes. Anyone in the presence of the emperor had now to prostrate himself -- a common act in the East, but never practiced in Rome before. Diocletian did not use a disguised form of Republic, as the other emperors since Augustus had done. Between 290 and 330, half a dozen new capitals had been established by the members of the Tetrarchy, officially or not : Antioch, Nicomedia, Thessalonike, Sirmium, Milan, and Trier. Diocletian was also responsible for a significant Christian persecution. In 303 he and Galerius started the persecution and ordered the destruction of all the Christian churches and scripts and forbade Christian worship. Diocletian abdicated in 305 AD together with Maximian, thus, he was the first Roman emperor to resign. His reign ended the traditional form of imperial rule, the Principate ( from princeps ) and started the Dominate ( from Dominus, `` Master '' ). The Aula Palatina of Trier, Germany ( then part of the Roman province of Gallia Belgica ), a Christian basilica built during the reign of Constantine I ( r. 306 -- 337 AD ) Constantine and Christianity Constantine assumed the empire as a tetrarch in 306. He conducted many wars against the other tetrarchs. Firstly he defeated Maxentius in 312. In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan, which granted liberty for Christians to profess their religion. Constantine was converted to Christianity, enforcing the Christian faith. He began the Christianization of the Empire and of Europe -- a process concluded by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. He was defeated by the Franks and the Alamanni during 306 -- 308. In 324 he defeated another tetrarch, Licinius, and controlled all the empire, as it was before Diocletian. To celebrate his victories and Christianity 's relevance, he rebuilt Byzantium and renamed it Nova Roma ( `` New Rome '' ) ; but the city soon gained the informal name of Constantinople ( `` City of Constantine '' ). The city served as a new capital for the Empire. In fact, Rome had lost its central importance since the Crisis of the Third Century - -- Mediolanum was the western capital from 286 to 330, until the reign of Honorius, when Ravenna was made capital, in the 5th century. Constantine 's administrative and monetary reforms, that reunited the Empire under one emperor, and rebuilt the city of Byzantium changed the high period of the ancient world. Germanic and Hunnic invasions of the Roman Empire, 100 -- 500 AD Fall of the Western Roman Empire Main article : Fall of the Western Roman Empire In the late 4th and 5th centuries the Western Empire entered a critical stage which terminated with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Under the last emperors of the Constantinian dynasty and the Valentinian dynasty, Rome lost decisive battles against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic barbarians : in 363, emperor Julian the Apostate was killed in the Battle of Samarra, against the Persians and the Battle of Adrianople cost the life of emperor Valens ( 364 -- 378 ) ; the victorious Goths were never expelled from the Empire nor assimilated. The next emperor, Theodosius I ( 379 -- 395 ), gave even more force to the Christian faith, and after his death, the Empire was divided into the Eastern Roman Empire, ruled by Arcadius and the Western Roman Empire, commanded by Honorius, both of which were Theodosius ' sons. The situation became more critical in 408, after the death of Stilicho, a general who tried to reunite the Empire and repel barbarian invasion in the early years of the 5th century. The professional field army collapsed. In 410, the Theodosian dynasty saw the Visigoths sack Rome. During the 5th century, the Western Empire experienced a significant reduction of its territory. The Vandals conquered North Africa, the Visigoths claimed Gaul, Hispania was taken by the Suebi, Britain was abandoned by the central government, and the Empire suffered further from the invasions of Attila, chief of the Huns. General Orestes refused to meet the demands of the barbarian `` allies '' who now formed the army, and tried to expel them from Italy. Unhappy with this, their chieftain Odoacer defeated and killed Orestes, invaded Ravenna and dethroned Romulus Augustus, son of Orestes. This event of 476, usually marks the end of Classical antiquity and beginning of the Middle Ages. After some 1200 years of independence and nearly 700 years as a great power, the rule of Rome in the West ended. Various reasons for Rome 's fall have been proposed ever since, including loss of Republicanism, moral decay, military tyranny, class war, slavery, economic stagnation, environmental change, disease, the decline of the Roman race, as well as the inevitable ebb and flow that all civilizations experience. At the time many pagans argued that Christianity and the decline of traditional Roman religion were responsible ; some rationalist thinkers of the modern era attribute the fall to a change from a martial to a more pacifist religion that lessened the number of available soldiers ; while Christians such as Augustine of Hippo argued that the sinful nature of Roman society itself was to blame. The Eastern Empire had a different fate. It survived for almost 1000 years after the fall of its Western counterpart and became the most stable Christian realm during the Middle Ages. During the 6th century, Justinian reconquered Northern Africa and Italy. But within a few years of Justinian 's death, Byzantine possessions in Italy were greatly reduced by the Lombards who settled in the peninsula. In the east, partially due to the weakening effect of the Plague of Justinian, the Byzantines were threatened by the rise of Islam. Its followers rapidly brought about the conquest of Syria, the conquest of Armenia and the conquest of Egypt during the Byzantine - Arab Wars, and soon presented a direct threat to Constantinople. In the following century, the Arabs also captured southern Italy and Sicily. On the west, Slavic populations were also able to penetrate deep into the Balkans. The Byzantines, however, managed to stop further Islamic expansion into their lands during the 8th century and, beginning in the 9th century, reclaimed parts of the conquered lands. In 1000 AD, the Eastern Empire was at its height : Basil II reconquered Bulgaria and Armenia, and culture and trade flourished. However, soon after, this expansion was abruptly stopped in 1071 with the Byzantine defeat in the Battle of Manzikert. The aftermath of this battle sent the empire into a protracted period of decline. Two decades of internal strife and Turkic invasions ultimately led Emperor Alexios I Komnenos to send a call for help to the Western European kingdoms in 1095. The West responded with the Crusades, eventually resulting in the Sack of Constantinople by participants of the Fourth Crusade. The conquest of Constantinople in 1204 fragmented what remained of the Empire into successor states ; the ultimate victor was the Empire of Nicaea. After the recapture of Constantinople by Imperial forces, the Empire was little more than a Greek state confined to the Aegean coast. The Byzantine Empire collapsed when Mehmed the Conqueror conquered Constantinople on 29 May, 1453. Society The Roman Forum, the political, economic, cultural, and religious center of the city during the Republic and later Empire This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) The imperial city of Rome was the largest urban center in the empire, with a population variously estimated from 450,000 to close to one million. The public spaces in Rome resounded with such a din of hooves and clatter of iron chariot wheels that Julius Caesar had once proposed a ban on chariot traffic during the day. Historical estimates show that around 20 percent of the population under jurisdiction of ancient Rome ( 25 -- 40 %, depending on the standards used, in Roman Italy ) lived in innumerable urban centers, with population of 10,000 and more and several military settlements, a very high rate of urbanization by pre-industrial standards. Most of those centers had a forum, temples, and other buildings similar to Rome 's. Average life expectancy was about 28. Class structure Main articles : Social class in ancient Rome and Status in Roman legal system The Patrician Torlonia bust of Cato the Elder, 1st century BC The Orator, c. 100 BC, an Etrusco - Roman bronze statue depicting Aule Metele ( Latin : Aulus Metellus ), an Etruscan man wearing a Roman toga while engaged in rhetoric ; the statue features an inscription in the Etruscan alphabet Roman society is largely viewed as hierarchical, with slaves ( servi ) at the bottom, freedmen ( liberti ) above them, and free - born citizens ( cives ) at the top. Free citizens were also divided by class. The broadest, and earliest, division was between the patricians, who could trace their ancestry to one of the 100 Patriarchs at the founding of the city, and the plebeians, who could not. This became less important in the later Republic, as some plebeian families became wealthy and entered politics, and some patrician families fell economically. Anyone, patrician or plebeian, who could count a consul as his ancestor was a noble ( nobilis ) ; a man who was the first of his family to hold the consulship, such as Marius or Cicero, was known as a novus homo ( `` new man '' ) and ennobled his descendants. Patrician ancestry, however, still conferred considerable prestige, and many religious offices remained restricted to patricians. A class division originally based on military service became more important. Membership of these classes was determined periodically by the Censors, according to property. The wealthiest were the Senatorial class, who dominated politics and command of the army. Next came the equestrians ( equites, sometimes translated `` knights '' ), originally those who could afford a warhorse, and who formed a powerful mercantile class. Several further classes, originally based on the military equipment their members could afford, followed, with the proletarii, citizens who had no property at all, at the bottom. Before the reforms of Marius they were ineligible for military service and are often described as being just above freed slaves in wealth and prestige. Voting power in the Republic depended on class. Citizens were enrolled in voting `` tribes '', but the tribes of the richer classes had fewer members than the poorer ones, all the proletarii being enrolled in a single tribe. Voting was done in class order, from top down, and stopped as soon as most of the tribes had been reached, so the poorer classes were often unable to cast their votes. Women shared some basic rights with their male counterparts, but were not fully regarded as citizens and were thus not allowed to vote or take part in politics. At the same time the limited rights of women were gradually expanded ( due to emancipation ) and women reached freedom from paterfamilias, gained property rights and even had more juridical rights than their husbands, but still no voting rights, and were absent from politics. Allied foreign cities were often given the Latin Right, an intermediary level between full citizens and foreigners ( peregrini ), which gave their citizens rights under Roman law and allowed their leading magistrates to become full Roman citizens. While there were varying degrees of Latin rights, the main division was between those cum suffragio ( `` with vote '' ; enrolled in a Roman tribe and able to take part in the comitia tributa ) and sine suffragio ( `` without vote '' ; could not take part in Roman politics ). Some of Rome 's Italian allies were given full citizenship after the Social War of 91 -- 88 BC, and full Roman citizenship was extended to all free - born men in the Empire by Caracalla in 212. Family A gold glass portrait of a Roman family. According to legend, it has been believed to depict Galla Placidia and her children, and even Queen Ansa and her children ; the Greek inscription on the medallion may indicate either the name of the artist or the pater familias who is absent in the portrait. Academics have suggested it may actually be a family from Roman Egypt ( with clear similarities to the Fayum mummy portraits ) ; the central knot worn by the woman in the center most likely indicates her as a cult follower of the Egyptian goddess Isis ; gold glass portrait ( most likely by an Alexandrian Greek due to the Egyptian dialect of the inscription ), dated 3rd century AD The basic units of Roman society were households and families. Households included the head ( usually the father ) of the household, pater familias ( father of the family ), his wife, children, and other relatives. In the upper classes, slaves and servants were also part of the household. The power of the head of the household was supreme ( patria potestas, `` father 's power '' ) over those living with him : He could force marriage ( usually for money ) and divorce, sell his children into slavery, claim his dependents ' property as his own, and even had the right to punish or kill family members ( though this last right apparently ceased to be exercised after the 1st century BC ). Patria potestas even extended over adult sons with their own households : A man was not considered a paterfamilias, nor could he truly hold property, while his own father lived. During the early period of Rome 's history, a daughter, when she married, fell under the control ( manus ) of the paterfamilias of her husband 's household, although by the late Republic this fell out of fashion, as a woman could choose to continue recognizing her father 's family as her true family. However, as Romans reckoned descent through the male line, any children she had belonged to her husband 's family. Little affection was shown for the children of Rome. The mother or an elderly relative often raised both boys and girls. Unwanted children were often sold as slaves. Children might have waited on tables for the family, but they could not have participated in the conversation. In noble families a Greek nurse usually taught the children Latin and Greek. Their father taught the boys how to swim and ride, although he sometimes hired a slave to teach them instead. At seven, a boy began his education. Having no school building, classes were held on a rooftop ( if dark, the boy had to carry a lantern to school ). Wax - covered boards were used as paper, papyrus, and parchment were too expensive -- or he could just write in the sand. A loaf of bread to be eaten was also carried. Groups of related households formed a family ( gens ). Families were based on blood ties or adoption, but were also political and economic alliances. Especially during the Roman Republic, some powerful families, or Gentes Maiores, came to dominate political life. In ancient Rome, marriage was often regarded more as a financial and political alliance than as a romantic association, especially in the upper classes ( see marriage in ancient Rome ). Fathers usually began seeking husbands for their daughters when these reached an age between twelve and fourteen. The husband was usually older than the bride. While upper class girls married very young, there is evidence that lower class women often married in their late teens or early 20s. Education Main article : Roman school In the early Republic, there were no public schools, so boys were taught to read and write by their parents, or by educated slaves, called paedagogi, usually of Greek origin. The primary aim of education during this period was to train young men in agriculture, warfare, Roman traditions, and public affairs. Young boys learned much about civic life by accompanying their fathers to religious and political functions, including the Senate for the sons of nobles. The sons of nobles were apprenticed to a prominent political figure at the age of 16, and campaigned with the army from the age of 17 ( this system was still in use among some noble families into the imperial era ). Educational practices were modified after the conquest of the Hellenistic kingdoms in the 3rd century BC and the resulting Greek influence, although Roman educational practices were still much different from Greek ones. If their parents could afford it, boys and some girls at the age of 7 were sent to a private school outside the home called a ludus, where a teacher ( called a litterator or a magister ludi, and often of Greek origin ) taught them basic reading, writing, arithmetic, and sometimes Greek, until the age of 11. Beginning at age 12, students went to secondary schools, where the teacher ( now called a grammaticus ) taught them about Greek and Roman literature. At the age of 16, some students went on to rhetoric school ( where the teacher, usually Greek, was called a rhetor ). Education at this level prepared students for legal careers, and required that the students memorize the laws of Rome. Pupils went to school every day, except religious festivals and market days. There were also summer holidays. Government Main articles : Roman Constitution and History of the Roman Constitution This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) Initially, Rome was ruled by kings, who were elected from each of Rome 's major tribes in turn. The exact nature of the king 's power is uncertain. He may have held near - absolute power, or may also have merely been the chief executive of the Senate and the people. At least in military matters, the king 's authority ( Imperium ) was likely absolute. He was also the head of the state religion. In addition to the authority of the King, there were three administrative assemblies : the Senate, which acted as an advisory body for the King ; the Comitia Curiata, which could endorse and ratify laws suggested by the King ; and the Comitia Calata, which was an assembly of the priestly college that could assemble the people to bear witness to certain acts, hear proclamations, and declare the feast and holiday schedule for the next month. Representation of a sitting of the Roman Senate : Cicero attacks Catilina, from a 19th - century fresco The class struggles of the Roman Republic resulted in an unusual mixture of democracy and oligarchy. The word republic comes from the Latin res publica, which literally translates to `` public business ''. Roman laws traditionally could only be passed by a vote of the Popular assembly ( Comitia Tributa ). Likewise, candidates for public positions had to run for election by the people. However, the Roman Senate represented an oligarchic institution, which acted as an advisory body. In the Republic, the Senate held actual authority ( auctoritas ), but no real legislative power ; it was technically only an advisory council. However, as the Senators were individually very influential, it was difficult to accomplish anything against the collective will of the Senate. New Senators were chosen from among the most accomplished patricians by Censors ( Censura ), who could also remove a Senator from his office if he was found `` morally corrupt '' ; a charge that could include bribery or, as under Cato the Elder, embracing one 's wife in public. Later, under the reforms of the dictator Sulla, Quaestors were made automatic members of the Senate, though most of his reforms did not survive. The Republic had no fixed bureaucracy, and collected taxes through the practice of tax farming. Government positions such as quaestor, aedile, or praefect were funded by the office - holder. To prevent any citizen from gaining too much power, new magistrates were elected annually and had to share power with a colleague. For example, under normal conditions, the highest authority was held by two consuls. In an emergency, a temporary dictator could be appointed. Throughout the Republic, the administrative system was revised several times to comply with new demands. In the end, it proved inefficient for controlling the ever - expanding dominion of Rome, contributing to the establishment of the Roman Empire. In the early Empire, the pretense of a republican form of government was maintained. The Roman Emperor was portrayed as only a princeps, or `` first citizen '', and the Senate gained legislative power and all legal authority previously held by the popular assemblies. However, the rule of the Emperors became increasingly autocratic, and the Senate was reduced to an advisory body appointed by the Emperor. The Empire did not inherit a set bureaucracy from the Republic, since the Republic did not have any permanent governmental structures apart from the Senate. The Emperor appointed assistants and advisers, but the state lacked many institutions, such as a centrally planned budget. Some historians have cited this as a significant reason for the decline of the Roman Empire. Further information : History of citizenship § Roman conceptions of citizenship Law Main article : Roman law The roots of the legal principles and practices of the ancient Romans may be traced to the Law of the Twelve Tables promulgated in 449 BC and to the codification of law issued by order of Emperor Justinian I around 530 AD ( see Corpus Juris Civilis ). Roman law as preserved in Justinian 's codes continued into the Byzantine Empire, and formed the basis of similar codifications in continental Western Europe. Roman law continued, in a broader sense, to be applied throughout most of Europe until the end of the 17th century. The major divisions of the law of ancient Rome, as contained within the Justinian and Theodosian law codes, consisted of Ius Civile, Ius Gentium, and Ius Naturale. The Ius Civile ( `` Citizen Law '' ) was the body of common laws that applied to Roman citizens. The Praetores Urbani ( sg. Praetor Urbanus ) were the people who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens. The Ius Gentium ( `` Law of nations '' ) was the body of common laws that applied to foreigners, and their dealings with Roman citizens. The Praetores Peregrini ( sg. Praetor Peregrinus ) were the people who had jurisdiction over cases involving citizens and foreigners. Ius Naturale encompassed natural law, the body of laws that were considered common to all beings. Economy Main articles : Roman agriculture, Roman commerce, Roman finance, and Roman currency Night view of Trajan 's Market, built by Apollodorus of Damascus Ancient Rome commanded a vast area of land, with tremendous natural and human resources. As such, Rome 's economy remained focused on farming and trade. Agricultural free trade changed the Italian landscape, and by the 1st century BC, vast grape and olive estates had supplanted the yeoman farmers, who were unable to match the imported grain price. The annexation of Egypt, Sicily and Tunisia in North Africa provided a continuous supply of grains. In turn, olive oil and wine were Italy 's main exports. Two - tier crop rotation was practiced, but farm productivity was low, around 1 ton per hectare. Industrial and manufacturing activities were smaller. The largest such activities were the mining and quarrying of stones, which provided basic construction materials for the buildings of that period. In manufacturing, production was on a relatively small scale, and generally consisted of workshops and small factories that employed at most dozens of workers. However, some brick factories employed hundreds of workers. The economy of the early Republic was largely based on smallholding and paid labor. However, foreign wars and conquests made slaves increasingly cheap and plentiful, and by the late Republic, the economy was largely dependent on slave labor for both skilled and unskilled work. Slaves are estimated to have constituted around 20 % of the Roman Empire 's population at this time and 40 % in the city of Rome. Only in the Roman Empire, when the conquests stopped and the prices of slaves increased, did hired labor become more economical than slave ownership. Although barter was used in ancient Rome, and often used in tax collection, Rome had a very developed coinage system, with brass, bronze, and precious metal coins in circulation throughout the Empire and beyond -- some have even been discovered in India. Before the 3rd century BC, copper was traded by weight, measured in unmarked lumps, across central Italy. The original copper coins ( as ) had a face value of one Roman pound of copper, but weighed less. Thus, Roman money 's utility as a unit of exchange consistently exceeded its intrinsic value as metal. After Nero began debasing the silver denarius, its legal value was an estimated one - third greater than its intrinsic value. Horses were expensive and other pack animals were slower. Mass trade on the Roman roads connected military posts, where Roman markets were centered. These roads were designed for wheels. As a result, there was transport of commodities between Roman regions, but increased with the rise of Roman maritime trade in the 2nd century BC. During that period, a trading vessel took less than a month to complete a trip from Gades to Alexandria via Ostia, spanning the entire length of the Mediterranean. Transport by sea was around 60 times cheaper than by land, so the volume for such trips was much larger. Some economists consider the Roman Empire a market economy, similar in its degree of capitalistic practices to 17th century Netherlands and 18th century England. Military Main articles : Military history of ancient Rome, Military of ancient Rome, Structural history of the Roman military, Roman army, and Roman navy Part of a series on the Military of ancient Rome 753 BC -- AD 476 Structural history Army Unit types and ranks Decorations and punishments Legions Auxilia Generals Navy Fleets Admirals Campaign history Wars and battles Technological history Military engineering Castra Siege engines Triumphal arches Roads Political history Strategy and tactics Infantry tactics Frontiers and fortifications Limes Limes Britannicus Antonine Wall Hadrian 's Wall Saxon Shore Limes Germanicus Alb Limes Lauter Valley Limes Lower Germanic Limes Main Limes Neckar - Odenwald Limes Upper Germanic - Rhaetian Limes Wetterau Limes Danube -- Iller -- Rhine Limes Norican Limes Claustra Alpium Iuliarum Pannonian Limes Limes Alutanus Limes Moesiae Trajan 's Wall Anastasian Wall Limes Sarmatiae Limes Arabicus Limes Tripolitanus Limes Mauretaniae Military of ancient Rome portal Modern replica of lorica segmentata type armor, used in conjunction with the popular chainmail after the 1st century AD Roman tower ( reconstruction ) at Limes -- Taunus / Germany The early Roman army ( c. 500 BC ) was, like those of other contemporary city - states influenced by Greek civilization, a citizen militia that practiced hoplite tactics. It was small ( the population of free men of military age was then about 9,000 ) and organized in five classes ( in parallel to the comitia centuriata, the body of citizens organized politically ), with three providing hoplites and two providing light infantry. The early Roman army was tactically limited and its stance during this period was essentially defensive. By the 3rd century BC, the Romans abandoned the hoplite formation in favor of a more flexible system in which smaller groups of 120 ( or sometimes 60 ) men called maniples could maneuver more independently on the battlefield. Thirty maniples arranged in three lines with supporting troops constituted a legion, totalling between 4,000 and 5,000 men. The early Republican legion consisted of five sections, each of which was equipped differently and had different places in formation : the three lines of manipular heavy infantry ( hastati, principes and triarii ), a force of light infantry ( velites ), and the cavalry ( equites ). With the new organization came a new orientation toward the offensive and a much more aggressive posture toward adjoining city - states. At nominal full strength, an early Republican legion included 4,000 to 5,000 men : 3,600 to 4,800 heavy infantry, several hundred light infantry, and several hundred cavalrymen. Legions were often significantly understrength from recruitment failures or following periods of active service due to accidents, battle casualties, disease and desertion. During the Civil War, Pompey 's legions in the east were at full strength because they were recently recruited, while Caesar 's legions were often well below nominal strength after long active service in Gaul. This pattern also held true for auxiliary forces. Until the late Republican period, the typical legionary was a property - owning citizen farmer from a rural area ( an adsiduus ) who served for particular ( often annual ) campaigns, and who supplied his own equipment and, in the case of equites, his own mount. Harris suggests that down to 200 BC, the average rural farmer ( who survived ) might participate in six or seven campaigns. Freedmen and slaves ( wherever resident ) and urban citizens did not serve except in rare emergencies. After 200 BC, economic conditions in rural areas deteriorated as manpower needs increased, so that the property qualifications for service were gradually reduced. Beginning with Gaius Marius in 107 BC, citizens without property and some urban - dwelling citizens ( proletarii ) were enlisted and provided with equipment, although most legionaries continued to come from rural areas. Terms of service became continuous and long -- up to twenty years if emergencies required although six - or seven - year terms were more typical. Beginning in the 3rd century BC, legionaries were paid stipendium ( amounts are disputed but Caesar famously `` doubled '' payments to his troops to 225 denarii a year ), could anticipate booty and donatives ( distributions of plunder by commanders ) from successful campaigns and, beginning at the time of Marius, often were granted allotments of land upon retirement. Cavalry and light infantry attached to a legion ( the auxilia ) were often recruited in the areas where the legion served. Caesar formed a legion, the Fifth Alaudae, from non-citizens in Transalpine Gaul to serve in his campaigns in Gaul. By the time of Caesar Augustus, the ideal of the citizen - soldier had been abandoned and the legions had become fully professional. Legionaries received 900 sesterces a year and could expect 12,000 sesterces on retirement. At the end of the Civil War, Augustus reorganized Roman military forces, discharging soldiers and disbanding legions. He retained 28 legions, distributed through the provinces of the Empire. During the Principate, the tactical organization of the Army continued to evolve. The auxilia remained independent cohorts, and legionary troops often operated as groups of cohorts rather than as full legions. A new versatile type of unit - the cohortes equitatae -- combined cavalry and legionaries in a single formation. They could be stationed at garrisons or outposts and could fight on their own as balanced small forces or combine with other similar units as a larger legion - sized force. This increase in organizational flexibility helped ensure the long - term success of Roman military forces. The Emperor Gallienus ( 253 -- 268 AD ) began a reorganization that created the last military structure of the late Empire. Withdrawing some legionaries from the fixed bases on the border, Gallienus created mobile forces ( the Comitatenses or field armies ) and stationed them behind and at some distance from the borders as a strategic reserve. The border troops ( limitanei ) stationed at fixed bases continued to be the first line of defense. The basic unit of the field army was the `` regiment '', legiones or auxilia for infantry and vexellationes for cavalry. Evidence suggests that nominal strengths may have been 1,200 men for infantry regiments and 600 for cavalry, although many records show lower actual troop levels ( 800 and 400 ). Many infantry and cavalry regiments operated in pairs under the command of a comes. In addition to Roman troops, the field armies included regiments of `` barbarians '' recruited from allied tribes and known as foederati. By 400 AD, foederati regiments had become permanently established units of the Roman army, paid and equipped by the Empire, led by a Roman tribune and used just as Roman units were used. In addition to the foederati, the Empire also used groups of barbarians to fight along with the legions as `` allies '' without integration into the field armies. Under the command of the senior Roman general present, they were led at lower levels by their own officers. Military leadership evolved over the course of the history of Rome. Under the monarchy, the hoplite armies were led by the kings of Rome. During the early and middle Roman Republic, military forces were under the command of one of the two elected consuls for the year. During the later Republic, members of the Roman Senatorial elite, as part of the normal sequence of elected public offices known as the cursus honorum, would have served first as quaestor ( often posted as deputies to field commanders ), then as praetor. Julius Caesar 's most talented, effective and reliable subordinate in Gaul, Titus Labienus, was recommended to him by Pompey. Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus, c. 122 BC ; the altar shows two Roman infantrymen equipped with long scuta and a cavalryman with his horse. All are shown wearing chain mail armour. Following the end of a term as praetor or consul, a Senator might be appointed by the Senate as a propraetor or proconsul ( depending on the highest office held before ) to govern a foreign province. More junior officers ( down to but not including the level of centurion ) were selected by their commanders from their own clientelae or those recommended by political allies among the Senatorial elite. Under Augustus, whose most important political priority was to place the military under a permanent and unitary command, the Emperor was the legal commander of each legion but exercised that command through a legatus ( legate ) he appointed from the Senatorial elite. In a province with a single legion, the legate commanded the legion ( legatus legionis ) and also served as provincial governor, while in a province with more than one legion, each legion was commanded by a legate and the legates were commanded by the provincial governor ( also a legate but of higher rank ). During the later stages of the Imperial period ( beginning perhaps with Diocletian ), the Augustan model was abandoned. Provincial governors were stripped of military authority, and command of the armies in a group of provinces was given to generals ( duces ) appointed by the Emperor. These were no longer members of the Roman elite but men who came up through the ranks and had seen much practical soldiering. With increasing frequency, these men attempted ( sometimes successfully ) to usurp the positions of the Emperors who had appointed them. Decreased resources, increasing political chaos and civil war eventually left the Western Empire vulnerable to attack and takeover by neighboring barbarian peoples. Less is known about the Roman navy than the Roman army. Prior to the middle of the 3rd century BC, officials known as duumviri navales commanded a fleet of twenty ships used mainly to control piracy. This fleet was given up in 278 AD and replaced by allied forces. The First Punic War required that Rome build large fleets, and it did so largely with the assistance of and financing from allies. This reliance on allies continued to the end of the Roman Republic. The quinquereme was the main warship on both sides of the Punic Wars and remained the mainstay of Roman naval forces until replaced by the time of Caesar Augustus by lighter and more maneuverable vessels. As compared with a trireme, the quinquereme permitted the use of a mix of experienced and inexperienced crewmen ( an advantage for a primarily land - based power ), and its lesser maneuverability permitted the Romans to adopt and perfect boarding tactics using a troop of about 40 marines in lieu of the ram. Ships were commanded by a navarch, a rank equal to a centurion, who was usually not a citizen. Potter suggests that because the fleet was dominated by non-Romans, the navy was considered non-Roman and allowed to atrophy in times of peace. Information suggests that by the time of the late Empire ( 350 AD ), the Roman navy comprised several fleets including warships and merchant vessels for transportation and supply. Warships were oared sailing galleys with three to five banks of oarsmen. Fleet bases included such ports as Ravenna, Arles, Aquilea, Misenum and the mouth of the Somme River in the West and Alexandria and Rhodes in the East. Flotillas of small river craft ( classes ) were part of the limitanei ( border troops ) during this period, based at fortified river harbors along the Rhine and the Danube. That prominent generals commanded both armies and fleets suggests that naval forces were treated as auxiliaries to the army and not as an independent service. The details of command structure and fleet strengths during this period are not well known, although fleets were commanded by prefects. Culture Main article : Culture of ancient Rome The seven hills of Rome Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, located on seven hills. The city had a vast number of monumental structures like the Colosseum, the Forum of Trajan and the Pantheon. It had theatres, gymnasiums, marketplaces, functional sewers, bath complexes complete with libraries and shops, and fountains with fresh drinking water supplied by hundreds of miles of aqueducts. Throughout the territory under the control of ancient Rome, residential architecture ranged from modest houses to country villas. In the capital city of Rome, there were imperial residences on the elegant Palatine Hill, from which the word palace derives. The low Plebeian and middle Equestrian classes lived in the city center, packed into apartments, or Insulae, which were almost like modern ghettos. These areas, often built by upper class property owners to rent, were often centred upon collegia or taberna. These people, provided with a free supply of grain, and entertained by gladatorial games, were enrolled as clients of patrons among the upper class Patricians, whose assistance they sought and whose interests they upheld. Language Main article : Latin Roman fresco of a blond maiden reading a text, Pompeian Fourth Style ( 60 -- 79 AD ), Pompeii, Italy The native language of the Romans was Latin, an Italic language the grammar of which relies little on word order, conveying meaning through a system of affixes attached to word stems. Its alphabet was based on the Etruscan alphabet, which was in turn based on the Greek alphabet. Although surviving Latin literature consists almost entirely of Classical Latin, an artificial and highly stylized and polished literary language from the 1st century BC, the spoken language of the Roman Empire was Vulgar Latin, which significantly differed from Classical Latin in grammar and vocabulary, and eventually in pronunciation. While Latin remained the main written language of the Roman Empire, Greek came to be the language spoken by the well - educated elite, as most of the literature studied by Romans was written in Greek. In the eastern half of the Roman Empire, which later became the Byzantine Empire, Latin was never able to replace Greek, and after the death of Justinian, Greek became the official language of the Byzantine government. The expansion of the Roman Empire spread Latin throughout Europe, and Vulgar Latin evolved into dialects in different locations, gradually shifting into many distinct Romance languages. Religion Main articles : Religion in ancient Rome, Roman mythology, and Roman temple Further information : Constantine the Great and Christianity and State church of the Roman Empire Punishment of Ixion : in the center is Mercury holding the caduceus and on the right Juno sits on her throne. Behind her Iris stands and gestures. On the left is Vulcan ( blond figure ) standing behind the wheel, manning it, with Ixion already tied to it. Nephele sits at Mercury 's feet ; a Roman fresco from the eastern wall of the triclinium in the House of the Vettii, Pompeii, Fourth Style ( 60 -- 79 AD ). Archaic Roman religion, at least concerning the gods, was made up not of written narratives, but rather of complex interrelations between gods and humans. Unlike in Greek mythology, the gods were not personified, but were vaguely defined sacred spirits called numina. Romans also believed that every person, place or thing had its own genius, or divine soul. During the Roman Republic, Roman religion was organized under a strict system of priestly offices, which were held by men of senatorial rank. The College of Pontifices was uppermost body in this hierarchy, and its chief priest, the Pontifex Maximus, was the head of the state religion. Flamens took care of the cults of various gods, while augurs were trusted with taking the auspices. The sacred king took on the religious responsibilities of the deposed kings. In the Roman Empire, emperors were deified, and the formalized imperial cult became increasingly prominent. As contact with the Greeks increased, the old Roman gods became increasingly associated with Greek gods. Thus, Jupiter was perceived to be the same deity as Zeus, Mars became associated with Ares, and Neptune with Poseidon. The Roman gods also assumed the attributes and mythologies of these Greek gods. Under the Empire, the Romans absorbed the mythologies of their conquered subjects, often leading to situations in which the temples and priests of traditional Italian deities existed side by side with those of foreign gods. Beginning with Emperor Nero in the 1st century AD, Roman official policy towards Christianity was negative, and at some points, simply being a Christian could be punishable by death. Under Emperor Diocletian, the persecution of Christians reached its peak. However, it became an officially supported religion in the Roman state under Diocletian 's successor, Constantine I, with the signing of the Edict of Milan in 313, and quickly became dominant. All religions except Christianity were prohibited in 391 AD by an edict of Emperor Theodosius I. Art, music and literature Main articles : Roman art, Latin literature, Music of ancient Rome, Roman sculpture, and Theatre of ancient Rome Woman playing a kithara, from the Villa Boscoreale, 40 -- 30 BC Roman painting styles show Greek influences, and surviving examples are primarily frescoes used to adorn the walls and ceilings of country villas, though Roman literature includes mentions of paintings on wood, ivory, and other materials. Several examples of Roman painting have been found at Pompeii, and from these art historians divide the history of Roman painting into four periods. The first style of Roman painting was practiced from the early 2nd century BC to the early - or mid-1st century BC. It was mainly composed of imitations of marble and masonry, though sometimes including depictions of mythological characters. The second style of Roman painting began during the early 1st century BC, and attempted to depict realistically three - dimensional architectural features and landscapes. The third style occurred during the reign of Augustus ( 27 BC -- 14 AD ), and rejected the realism of the second style in favor of simple ornamentation. A small architectural scene, landscape, or abstract design was placed in the center with a monochrome background. The fourth style, which began in the 1st century AD, depicted scenes from mythology, while retaining architectural details and abstract patterns. Portrait sculpture during the period utilized youthful and classical proportions, evolving later into a mixture of realism and idealism. During the Antonine and Severan periods, ornate hair and bearding, with deep cutting and drilling, became popular. Advancements were also made in relief sculptures, usually depicting Roman victories. Latin literature was, from its start, influenced heavily by Greek authors. Some of the earliest extant works are of historical epics telling the early military history of Rome. As the Republic expanded, authors began to produce poetry, comedy, history, and tragedy. Roman music was largely based on Greek music, and played an important part in many aspects of Roman life. In the Roman military, musical instruments such as the tuba ( a long trumpet ) or the cornu ( similar to a French horn ) were used to give various commands, while the bucina ( possibly a trumpet or horn ) and the lituus ( probably an elongated J - shaped instrument ), were used in ceremonial capacities. Music was used in the amphitheaters between fights and in the odea, and in these settings is known to have featured the cornu and the hydraulis ( a type of water organ ). Most religious rituals featured musical performances, with tibiae ( double pipes ) at sacrifices, cymbals and Tambourines at orgiastic cults, and rattles and hymns across the spectrum. Some music historians believe that music was used at almost all public ceremonies. Music historians are not certain if Roman musicians made a significant contribution to the theory or practice of music. The graffiti, brothels, paintings, and sculptures found in Pompeii and Herculaneum suggest that the Romans had a sex - saturated culture. Cuisine Main article : Ancient Roman cuisine This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. ( September 2014 ) Ancient Roman cuisine changed over the long duration of this ancient civilization. Dietary habits were affected by the influence of Greek culture, the political changes from kingdom to republic to empire, and empire 's enormous expansion, which exposed Romans to many new, provincial culinary habits and cooking techniques. In the beginning the differences between social classes were relatively small, but disparities evolved with the empire 's growth. Men and women drank wine with their meals, a tradition that has been carried through to the present day. Games and recreation This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) Choregos and theater actors, from the House of the Tragic Poet, Pompeii, Italy. Naples National Archeological Museum The `` bikini girls '' mosaic, showing women playing sports, from the Villa Romana del Casale, Roman province of Sicilia ( Sicily ), 4th century AD The youth of Rome had several forms of athletic play and exercise, such as jumping, wrestling, boxing, and racing. In the countryside, pastimes for the wealthy also included fishing and hunting. The Romans also had several forms of ball playing, including one resembling handball. Dice games, board games, and gamble games were popular pastimes. Women did not take part in these activities. For the wealthy, dinner parties presented an opportunity for entertainment, sometimes featuring music, dancing, and poetry readings. Plebeians sometimes enjoyed similar parties through clubs or associations, but for most Romans, recreational dining usually meant patronizing taverns. Children entertained themselves with toys and such games as leapfrog. Public games were sponsored by leading Romans who wished to advertise their generosity and court popular approval ; in the Imperial era, this usually meant the emperor. Several venues were developed specifically for public games. The Colisseum was built in the Imperial era to host, among other events, gladiatorial combats. These combats had begun as funeral games around the 4th century BC, and became popular spectator events in the late Republic and Empire. Gladiators had an exotic and inventive variety of arms and armour. They sometimes fought to the death, but more often to an adjudicated victory, dependent on a referee 's decision. The outcome was usually in keeping with the mood of the watching crowd. Shows of exotic animals were popular in their own right ; but sometimes animals were pitted against human beings, either armed professionals or unarmed criminals who had been condemned to a spectacular and theatrical public death in the arena. Some of these encounters were based on episodes from Roman or Greek mythology. Chariot racing was extremely popular among all classes. In Rome, these races were usually held at the Circus Maximus, which had been purpose - built for chariot and horse - racing and, as Rome 's largest public place, was also used for festivals and animal shows. It could seat around 150,000 people ; The charioteers raced in teams, identified by their colours. The track was divided lengthwise by a barrier that contained obelisks, temples, statues and lap - counters. The best seats were at the track - side, close to the action ; they were reserved for Senators. Behind them sat the equites ( knights ), and behind the knights were the plebs ( commoners ) and non-citizens. The donor of the games sat on a high platform in the stands alongside images of the gods, visible to all. Large sums were bet on the outcomes of races. Some Romans offered prayers and sacrifices on behalf of their favourites, or laid curses on the opposing teams, and some aficionados were members of extremely, even violently partisan circus factions. Ethics and morality Like many ancient cultures, concepts of ethics and morality, while sharing some commonalities with modern society, differed greatly in several important ways. Because ancient civilizations like Rome were under constant threat of attack from marauding tribes, their culture was necessarily militaristic with martial skills being a prized attribute. Whereas modern societies consider compassion a virtue, Roman society considered compassion a vice, a moral defect. Indeed, one of the primary purposes of the gladiatorial games was to inoculate Roman citizens from this weakness. Romans instead prized virtues such as courage and conviction ( virtus ), a sense of duty to one 's people, moderation and avoiding excess ( moderatio ), forgiveness and understanding ( clementia ), fairness ( severitas ), and loyalty ( pietas ). Contrary to popular descriptions, Roman society had well - established and restrictive norms related to sexuality, though as with many societies, the lion 's share of the responsibilities fell on women. Women were generally expected to be monogamous having only a single husband during their life ( univira ). Women were expected to be modest in public avoiding any provocative appearance and to demonstrate absolute fidelity to their husbands ( pudicitia ). Indeed, wearing a veil was a common expectation to preserve modesty. Sex outside of marriage was generally frowned upon for men and women and indeed was made illegal during the imperial period. Nevertheless, prostitution was seen entirely differently and indeed was an accepted and regulated practice. Technology Main article : Roman technology This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) Pont du Gard in France is a Roman aqueduct built in c. 19 BC. It is a World Heritage Site. Ancient Rome boasted impressive technological feats, using many advancements that were lost in the Middle Ages and not rivaled again until the 19th and 20th centuries. An example of this is insulated glazing, which was not invented again until the 1930s. Many practical Roman innovations were adopted from earlier Greek designs. Advancements were often divided and based on craft. Artisans guarded technologies as trade secrets. Roman civil engineering and military engineering constituted a large part of Rome 's technological superiority and legacy, and contributed to the construction of hundreds of roads, bridges, aqueducts, baths, theaters and arenas. Many monuments, such as the Colosseum, Pont du Gard, and Pantheon, remain as testaments to Roman engineering and culture. The Romans were renowned for their architecture, which is grouped with Greek traditions into `` Classical architecture ''. Although there were many differences from Greek architecture, Rome borrowed heavily from Greece in adhering to strict, formulaic building designs and proportions. Aside from two new orders of columns, composite and Tuscan, and from the dome, which was derived from the Etruscan arch, Rome had relatively few architectural innovations until the end of the Republic. The Appian Way ( Via Appia ), a road connecting the city of Rome to the southern parts of Italy, remains usable even today In the 1st century BC, Romans started to use concrete widely. Concrete was invented in the late 3rd century BC. It was a powerful cement derived from pozzolana, and soon supplanted marble as the chief Roman building material and allowed many daring architectural forms. Also in the 1st century BC, Vitruvius wrote De architectura, possibly the first complete treatise on architecture in history. In the late 1st century BC, Rome also began to use glassblowing soon after its invention in Syria about 50 BC. Mosaics took the Empire by storm after samples were retrieved during Lucius Cornelius Sulla 's campaigns in Greece. With solid foundations and good drainage, Roman roads were known for their durability and many segments of the Roman road system were still in use a thousand years after the fall of Rome. The construction of a vast and efficient travel network throughout the Empire dramatically increased Rome 's power and influence. They allowed Roman legions to be deployed rapidly, with predictable marching times between key points of the empire, no matter the season. These highways also had enormous economic significance, solidifying Rome 's role as a trading crossroads -- the origin of the saying `` all roads lead to Rome ''. The Roman government maintained a system of way stations, known as the cursus publicus, that provided refreshments to couriers at regular intervals along the roads and established a system of horse relays allowing a dispatch to travel up to 80 km ( 50 mi ) a day. The Romans constructed numerous aqueducts to supply water to cities and industrial sites and to aid in their agriculture. By the third century, the city of Rome was supplied by 11 aqueducts with a combined length of 450 km ( 280 mi ). Most aqueducts were constructed below the surface, with only small portions above ground supported by arches. Sometimes, where valleys deeper than 500 m ( 1,640 ft ) had to be crossed, inverted siphons were used to convey water across a valley. The Romans also made major advancements in sanitation. Romans were particularly famous for their public baths, called thermae, which were used for both hygienic and social purposes. Many Roman houses came to have flush toilets and indoor plumbing, and a complex sewer system, the Cloaca Maxima, was used to drain the local marshes and carry waste into the Tiber river. Some historians have speculated that lead pipes in the sewer and plumbing systems led to widespread lead poisoning, which contributed to the decline in birth rate and general decay of Roman society leading up to the fall of Rome. However, lead content would have been minimized because the flow of water from aqueducts could not be shut off ; it ran continuously through public and private outlets into the drains, and only a few taps were in use. Other authors have raised similar objections to this theory, also pointing out that Roman water pipes were thickly coated with deposits that would have prevented lead from leaching into the water. Legacy Main articles : Legacy of the Roman Empire and Classics External video Ancient Rome ( 13 : 47 ), Smarthistory at Khan Academy Ancient Rome is the progenitor of Western civilization. The customs, religion, law, technology, architecture, political system, military, literature, languages, alphabet, government and many factors and aspects of western civilization are all inherited from Roman advancements. The rediscovery of Roman culture revitalized Western civilization, playing a role in the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. Historiography Main article : Roman historiography This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2014 ) Although there has been a diversity of works on ancient Roman history, many of them are lost. As a result of this loss, there are gaps in Roman history, which are filled by unreliable works, such as the Historia Augusta and other books from obscure authors. However, there remains a number of reliable accounts of Roman history. In Roman times The first historians used their works for the lauding of Roman culture and customs. By the end of Republic, some historians distorted their histories to flatter their patrons -- especially at the time of Marius 's and Sulla 's clash. Caesar wrote his own histories to make a complete account of his military campaigns in Gaul and during the Civil War. In the Empire, the biographies of famous men and early emperors flourished, examples being The Twelve Caesars of Suetonius, and Plutarch 's Parallel Lives. Other major works of Imperial times were that of Livy and Tacitus. Polybius -- The Histories Sallust -- Bellum Catilinae and Bellum Jugurthinum Julius Caesar -- De Bello Gallico and De Bello Civili Livy -- Ab urbe condita Dionysius of Halicarnassus -- Roman Antiquities Pliny the Elder -- Naturalis Historia Josephus -- The Jewish War Suetonius -- The Twelve Caesars ( De Vita Caesarum ) Tacitus -- Annales and Histories Plutarch -- Parallel Lives ( a series of biographies of famous Roman and Greek men ) Cassius Dio -- Historia Romana Herodian -- History of the Roman Empire since Marcus Aurelius Ammianus Marcellinus -- Res Gestae In modern times Part of a series on the History of Italy Ancient Prehistoric Italy Etruscan civilization ( 12th -- 6th c. BC ) Magna Graecia ( 8th -- 7th c. BC ) Ancient Rome ( Roman Italy ) ( 753 BC -- 476 AD ) Medieval Italy in the Middle Ages Kingdom ( 476 - 774 ) Odoacer 's Ostrogothic Vandal Lombard Byzantine reconquest of Italy ( 6th -- 8th c. ) Italy in the Carolingian Empire and HRE Islam and Normans in southern Italy Maritime republics and Italian city - states Guelphs and Ghibellines Early modern Italian Renaissance ( 14th -- 16th c. ) Italian Wars ( 1494 -- 1559 ) Foreign domination ( 1559 -- 1814 ) Italian unification ( 1815 -- 1861 ) Modern Monarchy ( 1861 -- 1945 ) Italy in World War I ( 1914 -- 1918 ) Fascism and Colonial Empire ( 1918 -- 1945 ) Italy in World War II ( 1940 -- 1945 ) Social Republic ( 1943 -- 1945 ) Republic ( 1945 -- present ) Years of Lead ( 1970s -- 1980s ) By topic List of historic states Citizenship Currency Economy Fashion Genetic Military Music Postage Railway Timeline Italy portal Interest in studying, and even idealizing, ancient Rome became prevalent during the Italian Renaissance, and continues until the present day. Charles Montesquieu wrote a work Reflections on the Causes of the Grandeur and Declension of the Romans. The first major work was The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, which encompassed the Roman civilization from the end of the 2nd century to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. Like Montesquieu, Gibbon paid tribute to the virtue of Roman citizens. Barthold Georg Niebuhr was a founder of the examination of ancient Roman history and wrote The Roman History, tracing the period until the First Punic war. Niebuhr tried to determine the way the Roman tradition evolved. According to him, Romans, like other people, had an historical ethos preserved mainly in the noble families. During the Napoleonic period a work titled The History of Romans by Victor Duruy appeared. It highlighted the Caesarean period popular at the time. History of Rome, Roman constitutional law and Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, all by Theodor Mommsen, became very important milestones. Later the work Greatness and Decline of Rome by Guglielmo Ferrero was published. The Russian work Очерки по истории римского землевладения, преимущественно в эпоху Империи ( The Outlines on Roman Landownership History, Mainly During the Empire ) by Ivan Grevs contained information on the economy of Pomponius Atticus, one of the largest landowners at the end of the Republic. Edward Gibbon ( 1737 -- 1794 ) -- The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire John Bagnall Bury ( 1861 -- 1927 ) -- History of the Later Roman Empire Michael Grant ( 1914 -- 2004 ) -- The Roman World Barbara Levick ( born 1932 ) -- Claudius Barthold Georg Niebuhr ( 1776 -- 1831 ) Michael Rostovtzeff ( 1870 -- 1952 ) Howard Hayes Scullard ( 1903 -- 1983 ) -- The History of the Roman World Ronald Syme ( 1903 -- 1989 ) -- The Roman Revolution Adrian Goldsworthy ( born 1969 ) -- Caesar : The Life of a Colossus and How Rome fell See also Ancient Rome portal Ancient Roman architecture Daqin, the Chinese name for the Roman Empire, see Sino - Roman relations Outline of classical studies Outline of ancient Rome Constitution of the Roman Republic History of Rome Timeline of Roman history Legacy of the Roman Empire Regions in Greco - Roman antiquity Roman agriculture List of ancient Romans List of Roman Emperors Roman culture Notes Jump up ^ `` ancient Rome Facts, Maps, & History ''. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Ancient Rome ''. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ There are several different estimates for the population of the Roman Empire. Scheidel ( 2006, p. 2 ) estimates 60. Goldsmith ( 1984, p. 263 ) estimates 55. Beloch ( 1886, p. 507 ) estimates 54. Maddison ( 2006, p. 51, 120 ) estimates 48. Roman Empire Population estimates 65 ( while mentioning several other estimates between 55 and 120 ). McLynn, Frank ( 2011 ). Marcus Aurelius : Warrior, Philosopher, Emperor. Random House. p. 3. ISBN 9781446449332. ( T ) he most likely estimate for the reign of Marcus Aurelius is somewhere between seventy and eighty million. McEvedy and Jones ( 1978 ). an average of figures from different sources as listed at the US Census Bureau 's Historical Estimates of World Population Archived 13 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Kremer, Michael ( 1993 ). `` Population Growth and Technological Change : One Million B.C. to 1990 '' in The Quarterly Journal of Economics 108 ( 3 ) : 681 -- 716. Jump up ^ * Taagepera, Rein ( 1979 ). `` Size and Duration of Empires : Growth - Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D ''. Social Science History. Duke University Press. 3 ( 3 / 4 ) : 125. doi : 10.2307 / 1170959. JSTOR 1170959. Turchin, Peter ; Adams, Jonathan M. ; Hall, Thomas D ( December 2006 ). `` East - West Orientation of Historical Empires ''. Journal of world - systems research. 12 ( 2 ) : 222. ISSN 1076 - 156X. Retrieved 16 September 2016. Jump up ^ Furet, François ; Ozouf, Mona, eds. ( 1989 ). A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution. Harvard University Press. p. 793. ISBN 0674177282. Jump up ^ Luckham, Robin ; White, Gordon ( 1996 ). Democratization in the South : The Jagged Wave. Manchester University Press. p. 11. ISBN 0719049423. Jump up ^ Sellers, Mortimer N. ( 1994 ). American Republicanism : Roman Ideology in the United States Constitution. NYU Press. p. 90. ISBN 0814780059. Jump up ^ Ferrero, Guglielmo ( 1909 ). The Greatness and Decline of Rome, Volume 2. Translated by Zimmern, Sir Alfred Eckhard ; Chaytor, Henry John. G.P. Putnam 's Sons. p. 215. Jump up ^ Hadfield, Andrew Hadfield ( 2005 ). Shakespeare and Republicanism. Cambridge University Press. p. 68. ISBN 0521816076. Jump up ^ Gray, Christopher B ( 1999 ). The Philosophy of Law : An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 741. ISBN 0815313446. Jump up ^ `` Byzantine Empire ''. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 05. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Cavazzi, F. `` The Founding of Rome ''. Illustrated History of the Roman Empire. Retrieved 8 March 2007. ^ Jump up to : Livius, Titus ( Livy ) ( 1998 ). The Rise of Rome, Books 1 -- 5. Translated by Luce, T.J. Oxford : Oxford World 's Classics. pp. 8 -- 11. ISBN 0 - 19 - 282296 - 9. ^ Jump up to : Durant, Will ; Durant, Ariel ( 1944 ). The Story of Civilization -- Volume III : Caesar and Christ. United States : Simon and Schuster, Inc. pp. 12 -- 14. ISBN 978 - 1567310238. Jump up ^ Roggen, Hesse, Haastrup, Omnibus I, H. Aschehoug & Co 1996 Jump up ^ Myths and Legends - Rome, the Wolf, and Mars. Retrieved 8 March 2007. Jump up ^ Mellor, Ronald and McGee Marni, The Ancient Roman World p. 15 ( Cited 15 March 2009 ) Jump up ^ Matyszak, Philip ( 2003 ). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London : Thames & Hudson. p. 19. ISBN 0 - 500 - 05121 - 6. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 129. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Jump up ^ Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire by Michael Kerrigan. Dorling Kindersley, London : 2001. ISBN 0 - 7894 - 8153 - 7. page 12. Jump up ^ Langley, Andrew and Souza, de Philip, `` The Roman Times '', Candle Wick Press, Massachusetts Jump up ^ Matyszak, Philip ( 2003 ). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London : Thames & Hudson. pp. 43 -- 44. ISBN 0 - 500 - 05121 - 6. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. pp. 41 -- 42. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Hooker, Richard ( June 6, 1999 ). `` Rome : The Roman Republic ''. Washington State University. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2007. Jump up ^ Magistratus by George Long, M.A. Appearing on pages 723 -- 724 of A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities by William Smith, D.C.L., LL. D. Published by John Murray, London, 1875. Website written 8 December 2006. Retrieved 24 March 2007. Jump up ^ Livius, Titus ( Livy ) ( 1998 ). `` Book II ''. The Rise of Rome, Books 1 -- 5. Translated by Luce, T.J. Oxford : Oxford World 's Classics. ISBN 0 - 19 - 282296 - 9. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 39. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ These are literally Roman `` libra, '' from which the pound is derived. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Camillus, XXIX, 2. ^ Jump up to : Haywood, Richard ( 1971 ). The Ancient World. United States : David McKay Company, Inc. pp. 350 -- 358. Jump up ^ Pyrrhus of Epirus ( 2 ) and Pyrrhus of Epirus ( 3 ) by Jona Lendering. Livius.org. Retrieved 21 March 2007. Jump up ^ AncientRome.ru. `` THE DATABASE OF ANCIENT ART. '' Retrieved 25 August 2016. Jump up ^ AncientRome.ru. `` Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. '' Retrieved 25 August 2016. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, XI, XLIII. Jump up ^ New historical atlas and general history By Robert Henlopen Labberton. Page 35. Jump up ^ Hugh Chisholm ( 1911 ). The Encyclopædia Britannica : A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. Encyclopædia Britannica Company. pp. 652 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. ^ Jump up to : Haywood, Richard ( 1971 ). The Ancient World. United States : David McKay Company, Inc. pp. 376 -- 393. Jump up ^ Rome : The Punic Wars by Richard Hooker. Washington State University. Written 6 June 1999. Retrieved 22 March 2007. Jump up ^ Bury, John Bagnell ( 1889 ). History of the Later Roman Empire. London, New York : MacMillan and Co. Jump up ^ Rome : The Conquest of the Hellenistic Empires Archived 1 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. by Richard Hooker. Washington State University. Written 6 June 1999. Retrieved 22 March 2007. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. pp. 136 -- 137. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Jump up ^ Fall of the Roman Republic, 133 -- 27 BC. Purdue University. Retrieved 24 March 2007. ^ Jump up to : Eques ( Knight ) by Jona Lendering. Livius.org. Retrieved 24 March 2007. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 38. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Tuma, Elias H. ( 1965 ). Twenty - six Centuries of Agrarian Reform : A Comparative Analysis. University of California Press. p. 34. ^ Jump up to : William Harrison De Puy ( 1893 ). The Encyclopædia britannica : a dictionary of arts, sciences, and general literature ; the R.S. Peale reprint, with new maps and original American articles. Werner Co. pp. 760 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Henry George Liddell ( 1855 ). A history of Rome, to the establishment of the empire. pp. 305 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Plutarch Parallel Lives, Life of Caesar, I, 2 Jump up ^ Scullard, Howard Hayes ( 1982 ). From the Gracchi to Nero ( 5th ed. ). Routledge. ISBN 0 - 415 - 02527 - 3. Chapters VI - VIII. Jump up ^ Julius Caesar ( 100BC -- 44BC ). ( 3 ). Retrieved 21 March 2007. Jump up ^ ( 4 ) Plutarch, Life of Caesar. Retrieved 1 October 2011 Jump up ^ Augustus ( 31 BC -- 14 AD ) by Garrett G. Fagan. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 5 July 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2007. Jump up ^ Coins of the Emperor Augustus Archived 25 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. ; examples are a coin of 38 BC inscribed `` Divi Iuli filius '', and another of 31 BC bearing the inscription `` Divi filius '' ( Auguste vu par lui - même et par les autres by Juliette Reid Archived 19 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine. ). Jump up ^ ( 5 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XV. Jump up ^ ( 6 ) Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Antony, II, 1. Jump up ^ Ancient Library Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine... Retrieved 9 September 2011 Jump up ^ ( 7 ) Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Antony, LXXI, 3 -- 5. Jump up ^ Augustus ( 63 BC. -- AD14 ) from bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2007. Jump up ^ Langley, Andrew and Souza, de Philip : `` The Roman Times '' pg. 14, Candle Wick Press, 1996 Jump up ^ The Julio - Claudian Dynasty ( 27 BC − 68 AD ). by the Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Written October 2000. Retrieved 18 March 2007. Jump up ^ James Orr ( 1915 ). The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Howard - Severance Company. pp. 2598 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Charles Phineas Sherman ( 1917 ). Roman law in the modern world. The Boston book company. pp. 50 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ ( 8 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XXVII, 3. Jump up ^ Werner Eck, The Age of Augustus Jump up ^ ( 9 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XVIII, 2. Jump up ^ Hugh Chisholm ( 1910 ). Encyclopædia Britannica : A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. Encyclopædia Britannica Company. pp. 912 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ ( 10 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XXI, 1. Jump up ^ ( 11 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, XXI. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 140. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Jump up ^ ( 12 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Augustus, LXIII. Jump up ^ ( 13 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LVII, 12. ^ Jump up to : John Charles Tarver ( 1902 ). Tiberius, the tyrant. A. Constable. pp. 342 -- 428. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Johann Jakob Herzog ; John Henry Augustus Bomberger ( 1858 ). The Protestant Theological and Ecclesiastical Encyclopedia : Being a Condensed Translation of Herzog 's Real Encyclopedia. Lindsay & Blakiston. pp. 99 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ The Chautauquan. M. Bailey. 1881. pp. 445 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ ( 14 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Caligula, LV, 3. Jump up ^ Compendium ( 1858 ). A compendium of universal history. Ancient and modern, by the author of ' Two thousand questions on the Old and New Testaments '. pp. 109 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Sir William Smith ( 1890 ). Abaeus - Dysponteus. J. Murray. pp. 776 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ ( 15 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Claudius, XVII. Jump up ^ Claudius By Barbara Levick. Page 77. Jump up ^ ( 16 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Nero, XVI. Jump up ^ ( 17 ) Tacitus, Annales, XXXVIII. Jump up ^ Nero ( 54 -- 68 AD ) by Herbert W. Benario. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 10 November 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2007. Jump up ^ Suetonius Jump up ^ O'Connell, Robert ( 1989 ). Of Arms and Men : A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 0 - 19 - 505359 - 1. Jump up ^ Kreis, Stephen. `` Augustus Caesar and the Pax Romana ''. The History Guide. Retrieved March 21, 2007. Jump up ^ ( 18 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian, I. Jump up ^ ( 19 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian, IX. Jump up ^ ( 20 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVI. Jump up ^ ( 21 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Titus, VII, 3. Jump up ^ ( 22 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVII, 6. Jump up ^ ( 23 ) Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Domitian, X. Jump up ^ ( 24 ) from roman-empire.net -- Titus Flavius Domitianus. Retrieved 29 October 2011. Jump up ^ Five Good Emperors from UNRV History. Retrieved 12 March 2007. Jump up ^ ( 25 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 1. Jump up ^ ( 26 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 6. Jump up ^ ( 27 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 14. Jump up ^ ( 28 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 13. Jump up ^ Ferdinand Gregorovius ( 1898 ). The Emperor Hadrian : A Picture of the Graeco - Roman World in His Time. Macmillan. pp. 16 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ ( 29 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXVIII, 17 -- 30. ^ Jump up to : Scarre, Chris ( September 1995 ). The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome. Penguin Books. ISBN 0 - 14 - 051329 - 9. Jump up ^ ( 30 ) Historia Augusta, Life of Hadrian. Jump up ^ ( 31 ) Historia Augusta, Life of Antoninus Pius, V, 4. Jump up ^ ( 32 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVII. Jump up ^ Past pandemics that ravaged Europe by Verity Murphy. BBC News. 7 November 2005. Jump up ^ Gibbon, Edward ( 1906 ). `` Chapter I ''. In Bury, J.B. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( Online version ). Fred de Fau and Co. Jump up ^ ( 33 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXII, 36, 4. Jump up ^ Cary, Max ( 1967 ). A History of Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine ( Second ed. ). New York : St. Martin 's Press. p. 704. Jump up ^ ( 34 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXV, 13. Jump up ^ ( 35 ) Machiavelli, Il Principe, XIX ( in Italian ). Jump up ^ ( 36 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVI, 7. Jump up ^ ( 37 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVI, 9 -- 12. Jump up ^ ( 38 ) Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXVIII, 22 -- 23. Jump up ^ ( 39 ) Historia Augusta, The Life of Caracalla, VI. Jump up ^ ( 40 ) Historia Augusta, The Life of Alexander Severus, LIX. Jump up ^ Skip Knox, E.L. `` Crisis of the Third Century ( 235 -- 285 ) ''. History of Western Civilization. Boise State University. Archived from the original on May 3, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2007. ^ Jump up to : Gibbon, Edward ( 1906 ). `` Chapter X ''. In Bury, J.B. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( Online version ). Fred de Fau and Co. Jump up ^ ( 41 ) Historia Augusta, The Lives of the Thirty Pretenders, III et XXX. Jump up ^ ( 42 ) Historia Augusta, The Life of Aurelian, XXXII. Jump up ^ ( 43 ) Historia Augusta, The Life of Claudius, I. Jump up ^ ( 44 ) Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, VII. Jump up ^ Joannes Zonaras, Epitome : From Diocletian to the death of Galerius. Jump up ^ Diocletian ( 284 -- 305 AD ) by Ralph W. Mathisen. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 17 March 1997. Retrieved 20 March 2007. Jump up ^ Ward - Perkins, John Bryan ( 1994 ). Roman Imperial Architecture. New Haven, CT : Yale University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 300 - 05292 - 3. Jump up ^ ( 45 ) Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, X-XVI. Jump up ^ Gibbon, Edward ( 1906 ). `` Chapter XX ''. In Bury, J.B. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( Online version ). Fred de Fau and Co. Jump up ^ Gibbon, Edward ( 1906 ). `` Chapter XVII ''. In Bury, J.B. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( Online version ). Fred de Fau and Co. Jump up ^ Constantine I ( 306 -- 337 AD ) by Hans A. Pohlsander. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 8 January 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2007. Jump up ^ Honorius ( 395 -- 423 AD ) by Ralph W. Mathisen. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 2 June 1999. Retrieved 21 March 2007. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 155. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Jump up ^ Gibbon, Edward ( 1906 ). `` Chapter XXVI ''. In Bury, J.B. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( Online version ). Fred de Fau and Co. Jump up ^ Lapham, Lewis ( 1997 ). The End of the World. New York : Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0 - 312 - 25264 - 1. pages 47 -- 50. Jump up ^ ( 46 ) Bury, J.B. : History of the Later Roman Empire, 8, § 2. Jump up ^ ( 47 ) Bury, J.B. : History of the Later Roman Empire, 6, § 4. Jump up ^ ( 48 ) Bury, J.B. : History of the Later Roman Empire, 6, § 3. Jump up ^ ( 49 ) Bury, J.B. : History of the Later Roman Empire, 9. Jump up ^ `` The Germanic Invasions of Western Europe ''. University of Calgary. August 1996. Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2007. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 157. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Jump up ^ `` Roman Emperors -- DIR Romulus Augustulus ''. www.roman-emperors.org. Jump up ^ Romulus Augustulus ( 475 -- 476 AD ) -- Two Views by Ralph W. Mathisen and Geoffrey S. Nathan. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 26 August 1997. Retrieved 22 March 2007. Jump up ^ Durant, Will ; Durant, Ariel ( 1944 ). The Story of Civilization -- Volume III : Caesar and Christ. United States : Simon and Schuster, Inc. p. 670. ISBN 978 - 1567310238. Jump up ^ Morris Bishop, The Middle Ages, 1996. p. 8 Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 347. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. ^ Jump up to : Hooker, Richard ( June 6, 1999 ). `` The Byzantine Empire ''. Washington State University. Archived from the original on February 24, 1999. Retrieved April 8, 2007. Jump up ^ Bray, R.S. ( 2004 ). Armies of Pestilence. Cambridge : James Clarke & Co. p. 26. ISBN 978 - 0 - 227 - 17240 - 7. Jump up ^ Kreutz, Barbara M. ( 1996 ). Before the Normans : Southern Italy in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8122 - 1587 - 8. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 349. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Jump up ^ Basil II ( AD 976 -- 1025 ) by Catherine Holmes. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 1 April 2003. Retrieved 22 March 2007. Jump up ^ Gibbon, Edward ( 1906 ). `` Chapter LXI ''. In Bury, J.B. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( Online version ). Fred de Fau and Co. Jump up ^ Mehmet II by Korkut Ozgen. Theottomans.org. Retrieved 3 April 2007. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 149. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Jump up ^ Abstract of The population of ancient Rome. by Glenn R. Storey. HighBeam Research. Written 1 December 1997. Retrieved 22 April 2007. Jump up ^ The Population of Rome by Whitney J. Oates. Originally published in Classical Philology. Vol. 29, No. 2 ( April 1934 ), pp 101 -- 116. Retrieved 22 April 2007. Jump up ^ N. Morley, Metropolis and Hinterland ( Cambridge, 1996 ) 174 - 83 Jump up ^ Gawande, Atul ( 2014 ). Being Mortal. London : Profile Books. p. 32. ISBN 9781846685828. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Frank Frost Abbott, Society and Politics in Ancient Rome, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009, p. 41 Jump up ^ See `` Masterpieces. Desiderius ' Cross ''. Fondazione Brescia Musei. Retrieved 2 October 2016. Jump up ^ For a description of scholarly research on the Brescia Medallion, see Daniel Thomas Howells ( 2015 ). `` A Catalogue of the Late Antique Gold Glass in the British Museum ( PDF ). '' London : the British Museum ( Arts and Humanities Research Council ), p. 7. Accessed 2 October 2016. `` Other important contributions to scholarship included the publication of an extensive summary of gold glass scholarship under the entry ' Fonds de coupes ' in Fernand Cabrol and Henri Leclercq 's comprehensive Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie in 1923. Leclercq updated Vopel 's catalogue, recording 512 gold glasses considered to be genuine, and developed a typological series consisting of eleven iconographic subjects : biblical subjects ; Christ and the saints ; various legends ; inscriptions ; pagan deities ; secular subjects ; male portraits ; female portraits ; portraits of couples and families ; animals ; and Jewish symbols. In a 1926 article devoted to the brushed technique gold glass known as the Brescia medallion ( Pl. 1 ), Fernand de Mély challenged the deeply ingrained opinion of Garrucci and Vopel that all examples of brushed technique gold glass were in fact forgeries. The following year, de Mély 's hypothesis was supported and further elaborated upon in two articles by different scholars. A case for the Brescia medallion 's authenticity was argued for, not on the basis of its iconographic and orthographic similarity with pieces from Rome ( a key reason for Garrucci 's dismissal ), but instead for its close similarity to the Fayoum mummy portraits from Egypt. Indeed, this comparison was given further credence by Walter Crum 's assertion that the Greek inscription on the medallion was written in the Alexandrian dialect of Egypt. De Mély noted that the medallion and its inscription had been reported as early as 1725, far too early for the idiosyncrasies of Graeco - Egyptian word endings to have been understood by forgers. '' `` Comparing the iconography of the Brescia medallion with other more closely dated objects from Egypt, Hayford Peirce then proposed that brushed technique medallions were produced in the early 3rd century, whilst de Mély himself advocated a more general 3rd - century date. With the authenticity of the medallion more firmly established, Joseph Breck was prepared to propose a late 3rd to early 4th century date for all of the brushed technique cobalt blue - backed portrait medallions, some of which also had Greek inscriptions in the Alexandrian dialect. Although considered genuine by the majority of scholars by this point, the unequivocal authenticity of these glasses was not fully established until 1941 when Gerhart Ladner discovered and published a photograph of one such medallion still in situ, where it remains to this day, impressed into the plaster sealing in an individual loculus in the Catacomb of Panfilo in Rome ( Pl. 2 ). Shortly after in 1942, Morey used the phrase ' brushed technique ' to categorize this gold glass type, the iconography being produced through a series of small incisions undertaken with a gem cutter 's precision and lending themselves to a chiaroscuro - like effect similar to that of a fine steel engraving simulating brush strokes. '' Jump up ^ Joseph Breck ( 1927 ). `` The Ficoroni Medallion and Some Other Gilded Glasses in the Metropolitan Museum of Art ''. The Art Bulletin. 9 ( 4 ) : 352 -- 356. doi : 10.2307 / 3046553. JSTOR 3046553. Jump up ^ Vickers, Michael, `` The Wilshere Collection of Early Christian and Jewish Antiquities in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, '' Miscellanea a Emilio Marin Sexagenario Dicata, Kacic, 41 -- 43 ( 2009 -- 2011 ), pp. 605 -- 614, PDF, p. 611. Jump up ^ Beckwith, John, Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Penguin History of Art ( now Yale ), 2nd edn. 1979, ISBN 0140560335, p. 25. Jump up ^ Boardman, John ed., The Oxford History of Classical Art, 1993, OUP, ISBN 0198143869, pp 338 -- 340. Jump up ^ Grig, Lucy, `` Portraits, Pontiffs and the Christianization of Fourth - Century Rome '', Papers of the British School at Rome, Vol. 72, ( 2004 ), pp. 203 -- 230, JSTOR 40311081, p. 207 Jump up ^ Jás Elsner ( 2007 ). `` The Changing Nature of Roman Art and the Art Historical Problem of Style, '' in Eva R. Hoffman ( ed ), Late Antique and Medieval Art of the Medieval World, 11 -- 18. Oxford, Malden & Carlton : Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4051 - 2071 - 5, p. 17, Figure 1.3 on p. 18. ^ Jump up to : Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 146. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. ^ Jump up to : Casson, Lionel ( 1998 ). Everyday Life in Ancient Rome. Baltimore : The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 10 -- 11. ISBN 0 - 8018 - 5992 - 1. Jump up ^ Family Values in Ancient Rome by Richard Saller. The University of Chicago Library Digital Collections : Fathom Archive. Written 2001. Visited 14 April 2007. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 339. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 340. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Rawson, Beryl ( 1987 - 01 - 01 ). The Family in Ancient Rome : New Perspectives. Cornell University Press. pp. 2 of introduction. ISBN 0801494605. Jump up ^ LifepacHistory&Geography, Grade6 Unit 3, page 28. z ^ Jump up to : Lecture 13 : A Brief Social History of the Roman Empire by Steven Kreis. Written 11 October 2006. Retrieved 2 April 2007. ^ Jump up to : Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 211. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Werner, Paul ( 1978 ). Life in Rome in Ancient Times. Geneva : Editions Minerva S.A. p. 31. Jump up ^ Duiker, William ; Spielvogel, Jackson ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. p. 143. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. ^ Jump up to : Roman Education. Latin ExCET Preparation. Texas Classical Association. Written by Ginny Lindzey, September 1998. Retrieved 27 March 2007. Jump up ^ Matyszak, Philip ( 2003 ). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London : Thames & Hudson. pp. 16 -- 42. ISBN 0 - 500 - 05121 - 6. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Sabin, Philip ; van Wees, Hans ; Whitby, Michael, eds. ( 2007 ). The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare. Cambridge University Press. p. 231. ISBN 0521782740. Jump up ^ Heseltine, John ( 2005 ). Roads to Rome. J. Paul Getty Museum. p. 11. ISBN 0711225524. Jump up ^ Temin, Peter ( 2001 ). `` A Market Economy in the Early Roman Empire ''. Abstract Archives. Economy History Services. Archived from the original on June 15, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Keegan, John ( 1993 ). A History of Warfare. New York : Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 263 -- 264. ISBN 0 - 394 - 58801 - 0. ^ Jump up to : Potter, David ( 2004 ). `` The Roman Army and Navy ''. In Flower, Harriet I. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge, U.K. : Cambridge University Press. pp. 67 -- 70. ISBN 0 - 521 - 00390 - 3. Jump up ^ For a discussion of hoplite tactics and their sociocultural setting, see Victor Davis Hanson, The Western Way of War : Infantry Battle in Classical Greece, Alfred A. Knopf ( New York 1989 ) ISBN 0 - 394 - 57188 - 6. Jump up ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian ( 1996 ). The Roman Army at War 100BC - AD200. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815057 - 1. Jump up ^ Jo - Ann Shelton, ed., As the Romans Did : A Sourcebook in Roman Social History, Oxford University Press ( New York 1998 ) ISBN 0 - 19 - 508974 - X, pp. 245 -- 249. Jump up ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian ( 2003 ). The Complete Roman Army. London : Thames and Hudson, Ltd. pp. 22 -- 24, 37 -- 38. ISBN 0 - 500 - 05124 - 0. Jump up ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian ( 2008 ). Caesar : Life of a Colossus. U.K. : Yale University Press. pp. 384, 410 -- 411, 425 -- 427. ISBN 0300126891. Another important factor discussed by Goldsworthy was absence of legionaries on detached duty. Jump up ^ Between 343BC and 241BC, the Roman army fought every year except for five. Oakley, Stephen P. ( 2004 ). `` The Early Republic ''. In Flower, Harriet I. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge, U.K. : Cambridge University Press. p. 27. ISBN 0 - 521 - 00390 - 3. Jump up ^ P.A. Brunt, `` Army and Land in the Roman Republic, '' in The Fall of the Roman Republic and Related Essays, Oxford University Press ( Oxford 1988 ) ISBN 0 - 19 - 814849 - 6, p. 253 ; William V. Harris, War and Imperialism in Republican Rome 327 -- 70 BC, Oxford University Press ( Oxford 1979 ) ISBN 0 - 19 - 814866 - 6, p. 44. Jump up ^ Keegan, John ( 1993 ). A History of Warfare. New York : Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 273 -- 274. ISBN 0 - 394 - 58801 - 0. Jump up ^ Brunt, pp. 259 -- 265 ; Potter, pp. 80 -- 83. Jump up ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian ( 2008 ). Caesar : Life of a Colossus. U.K. : Yale University Press. p. 391. ISBN 0300126891. Jump up ^ Karl Christ, The Romans, University of California Press ( Berkeley, 1984 ) ISBN 0 - 520 - 04566 - 1, pp. 74 -- 76. Jump up ^ Mackay, Christopher S. ( 2004 ). Ancient Rome : A Military and Political History. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. pp. 249 -- 250. ISBN 0 - 521 - 80918 - 5. Mackay points out that the number of legions ( not necessarily the number of legionaries ) grew to 30 by 125AD and 33 during the Severan period ( 200 -- 235AD ). Jump up ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian ( 1996 ). The Roman Army at War 100BC - AD200. Oxford : Oxford University Press. pp. 36 -- 37. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815057 - 1. ^ Jump up to : Elton, Hugh ( 1996 ). Warfare in Roman Europe AD350 - 425. Oxford : Oxford University Press. pp. 89 -- 96. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815241 - 8. ^ Jump up to : Brennan, Correy T. ( 2004 ). `` Power and Process Under the Republican ' Constitution ' ''. In Flower, Harriet I. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge, U.K. : Cambridge University Press. pp. 66 -- 68. ISBN 0 - 521 - 00390 - 3. Jump up ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian ( 1996 ). The Roman Army at War 100BC - AD200. Oxford : Oxford University Press. pp. 121 -- 125. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815057 - 1. Jump up ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian ( 1996 ). The Roman Army at War 100BC - AD200. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 124. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815057 - 1. Jump up ^ Mackay, Christopher S. ( 2004 ). Ancient Rome : A Military and Political History. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. pp. 245 -- 252. ISBN 0 - 521 - 80918 - 5. Jump up ^ Mackay, Christopher S. ( 2004 ). Ancient Rome : A Military and Political History. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. pp. 295 -- 296. ISBN 0 - 521 - 80918 - 5... Also chapters 23 -- 24. ^ Jump up to : This paragraph is based upon Potter, pp. 76 -- 78. Jump up ^ Elton, Hugh ( 1996 ). Warfare in Roman Europe AD350 - 425. Oxford : Oxford University Press. pp. 99 -- 101. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815241 - 8. Jump up ^ Latin Online : Series Introduction by Winfred P. Lehmann and Jonathan Slocum. Linguistics Research Center. The University of Texas at Austin. Written 15 February 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007. Jump up ^ Calvert, J.B. ( August 8, 1999 ). `` The Latin Alphabet ''. University of Denver. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2007. Jump up ^ Classical Latin Supplement. page 2. Retrieved 2 April 2007. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 203. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Matyszak, Philip ( 2003 ). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London : Thames & Hudson. p. 24. ISBN 0 - 500 - 05121 - 6. Jump up ^ Edward Gibbon ( 1787 ). The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. printed for J.J. Tourneisen. pp. 91 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ The Encyclopedia Americana : A Library of Universal Knowledge. Encyclopedia Americana Corporation. 1919. pp. 644 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Willis, Roy ( 2000 ). World Mythology : The Illustrated Guide. Victoria : Ken Fin Books. pp. 166 -- 168. ISBN 1 - 86458 - 089 - 5. Jump up ^ willis Jump up ^ Theodosius I ( 379 -- 395 AD ) by David Woods. De Imperatoribus Romanis. Written 2 February 1999. Retrieved 4 April 2007. ^ Jump up to : Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. pp. 350 -- 352. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Roman Painting from Timeline of Art History. Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Written 2004 -- 10. Retrieved 22 April 2007. ^ Jump up to : Donald Jay Grout ; Claude V. Palisca ( June 1988 ). A history of western music. Norton. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 89. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. pp. 349 -- 350. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Adkins, Lesley ; Adkins, Roy ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. p. 300. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Jump up ^ Grant, Michael ( 2005 ). Cities of Vesuvius : Pompeii and Herculaneum. London : Phoenix Press. pp. 130 -- 134. ISBN 1 - 898800 - 45 - 6. Jump up ^ Civitello, Linda ( 2011 - 03 - 29 ). Cuisine and Culture : A History of Food and People. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470403716. ^ Jump up to : Casson, Lionel ( 1998 ). Everyday Life in Ancient Rome. Baltimore : The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 98 -- 108. ISBN 0 - 8018 - 5992 - 1. ^ Jump up to : `` Daily Life : Entertainment ''. SPQR Online. 1998. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved April 22, 2007. Jump up ^ Circus Maximus. Encyclopedia Romana. University of Chicago. Retrieved 19 April 2007. Jump up ^ John Humphrey, Roman circuses : arenas for chariot racing, University of California Press, 1986, p. 216. ^ Jump up to : Astore, William. `` Bread and Circuses in Rome and America ''. Retrieved August 11, 2017. Jump up ^ Annual Editions : Western Civilization. 1 ( 12 ed. ). McGraw - Hill / Dushkin. 2002. p. 68... where compassion was regarded as a moral defect... Jump up ^ Jackson, Michael Anthony ( 2004 ). Look Back to Get Ahead : Life Lessons from History 's Heroes. Arcade Publishing. p. 174. Gladatorial games were popular because the Romans actually believed that compassion was a vice and a weakness Jump up ^ Harvey, Brian K., ed. ( 2016 ). Daily Life in Ancient Rome : A Sourcebook. Hackett Publishing Company. pp. 21 -- 28. Jump up ^ Langlands, Rebecca ( 2006 ). Sexual Morality in Ancient Rome. Cambridge University Press. pp. 3 -- 20. Jump up ^ Mathew Dillon and Lynda Garland. Ancient Rome : From the Early Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar. Taylor & Francis, 2005. p. 382. ISBN 9780415224598. Jump up ^ Ancient Roman laws protected against a person corrupting slaves to obtain secrets about the master 's arts. Zeidman, Bob ( 2011 ). The Software IP Detective 's Handbook : : Measurement, Comparison, and Infringement Detection ( 1st ed. ). Prentice Hall. p. 103. ISBN 0137035330. Jump up ^ Nelson, Winter, Thomas ( 1979 - 01 - 01 ). `` ROMAN CONCRETE : THE ASCENT, SUMMIT, AND DECLINE OF AN ART ''. Jump up ^ `` Roman road system ''. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2017. Jump up ^ Keegan, John ( 1993 ). A History of Warfare. New York : Alfred A. Knopf. p. 303. ISBN 0 - 394 - 58801 - 0. Jump up ^ Peck, Harry Thurston, ed. ( 1963 ). `` Aquae Ductus ''. Harper 's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities. New York : Cooper Square Publishers, Inc. pp. 104 -- 106. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Murray, Alexander Stuart ; Mitchell, John Malcolm ( 1911 ). `` Aqueduct ''. In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 ( 11th ed. ). pp. 240 -- 244. Retrieved 31 October 2017. Jump up ^ Roman Aqueducts and Water Supply by A.T. Hodge ( 1992 ) Jump up ^ Grout, James. `` Lead Poisoning and Rome ''. University of Chicago. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011. Jump up ^ `` Ancient Rome ''. Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved 16 April 2013. Jump up ^ Jacob Dorsey Forrest ( 1906 ). The development of western civilization : a study in ethical, economic and political evolution. The University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ William Cunningham ( 1900 ). An Essay on Western Civilization in Its Economic Aspects : Mediaeval and modern times. University Press. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Andrew Fleming West, Value of the classics. 1917. Page 185 Jump up ^ Kuno Fischer ( 1887 ). History of modern philosophy. C. Scribner 's Sons. pp. 85 --. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ Michael Burger ( 1 April 2008 ). The Shaping of Western Civilization : From Antiquity To the Enlightenment. University of Toronto Press. pp. 203 --. ISBN 978 - 1 - 55111 - 432 - 3. Retrieved 31 May 2012. Jump up ^ ( 50 ) Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Marius, XI, 5 -- 7. Jump up ^ The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 12 vols. Jump up ^ Liukkonen, Petri. `` Theodor Mommsen ''. Books and Writers ( kirjasto.sci.fi ). Finland : Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Jump up ^ see excerpt and text search Jump up ^ Levick, Barbara ( 10 September 1993 ). `` Claudius ''. Yale University Press -- via Amazon. Jump up ^ see online edition Jump up ^ Syme, Ronald ( 22 August 2002 ). `` The Roman Revolution ''. Oxford University Press -- via Amazon. Jump up ^ `` Dr Adrian Goldsworthy, the historian and author ''. Adriangoldsworthy.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013. References Adkins, Lesley ; Roy Adkins ( 1998 ). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 512332 - 8. Cary, M. ( 1967 ). A History of Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine ( 2nd ed. ). New York : St. Martin 's Press. Casson, Lionel ( 1998 ). Everyday Life in Ancient Rome. Baltimore : The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0 - 8018 - 5992 - 1. Dio, Cassius. `` Dio 's Rome, Volume V., Books 61 -- 76 ( AD 54 -- 211 ) ''. Retrieved 17 December 2006. Duiker, William ; Jackson Spielvogel ( 2001 ). World History ( Third ed. ). Wadsworth. ISBN 0 - 534 - 57168 - 9. Durant, Will ( 1944 ). The Story of Civilization, Volume III : Caesar and Christ. Simon and Schuster, Inc. Elton, Hugh ( 1996 ). Warfare in Roman Europe AD350 - 425. Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815241 - 8. Flower ( editor ), Harriet I. ( 2004 ). The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 - 521 - 00390 - 3. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith ( 2008 ). Caesar : Life of a Colossus. Yale University Press Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith ( 1996 ). The Roman Army at War 100BC - AD200. Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 815057 - 1. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith ( 2003 ). The Complete Roman Army. London : Thames and Hudson, Ltd. ISBN 0 - 500 - 05124 - 0. Grant, Michael ( 2005 ). Cities of Vesuvius : Pompeii and Herculaneum. London : Phoenix Press. ISBN 1 - 898800 - 45 - 6. Haywood, Richard ( 1971 ). The Ancient World. David McKay Company, Inc. Keegan, John ( 1993 ). A History of Warfare. New York : Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0 - 394 - 58801 - 0. Livy. The Rise of Rome, Books 1 -- 5, translated from Latin by T.J. Luce, 1998. Oxford World 's Classics. Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 282296 - 9. Mackay, Christopher S. ( 2004 ). Ancient Rome : A Military and Political History. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 - 521 - 80918 - 5. Matyszak, Philip ( 2003 ). Chronicle of the Roman Republic. London : Thames & Hudson, Ltd. ISBN 0 - 500 - 05121 - 6. O'Connell, Robert ( 1989 ). Of Arms and Men : A History of War, Weapons, and Aggression. Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 505359 - 1. Scarre, Chris ( September 1995 ). The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome. Penguin Books. ISBN 0 - 14 - 051329 - 9. Scullard, H.H. ( 1982 ). From the Gracchi to Nero. ( 5th edition ). Routledge. ISBN 0 - 415 - 02527 - 3. Ward - Perkins, John Bryan ( 1994 ). Roman Imperial Architecture. Yale University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 300 - 05292 - 3. Werner, Paul ( 1978 ). Life in Rome in Ancient Times. translated by David Macrae. Geneva : Editions Minerva S.A. Willis, Roy ( 2000 ). World Mythology : The Illustrated Guide. Collingwood, Victoria : Ken Fin Books. ISBN 1 - 86458 - 089 - 5. Library resources about Ancient Rome Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Further reading Coarelli, Filippo. Rome and environs : An archaeological guide. Berkeley : Univ. of California Press, 2007. Cornell, Tim J. The beginnings of Rome : Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars ( c. 1000 -- 264 BC ). London : Routledge, 1995. Coulston, J. C, and Hazel Dodge, editors. Ancient Rome : The archaeology of the eternal city. Oxford : Oxford University School of Archaeology, 2000. Forsythe, Gary. A critical history of early Rome. Berkeley : University of California Press, 2005. Fox, Matthew. Roman historical myths : The regal period in Augustan literature. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1996. Gabba, Emilio. Dionysius and the history of Archaic Rome. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1991. Holloway, R. Ross. The archaeology of early Rome and Latium. London : Routledge, 1994. Keaveney, Arthur. Rome and the unification of Italy. 2nd edition. Bristol : Bristol Phoenix, 2005. Kraus, Christina Shuttleworth, and A.J. Woodman. Latin historians. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1997. Mitchell, Richard E. Patricians and plebeians : The origin of the Roman state. Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1990. Potter, T.W. Roman Italy. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1987. Raaflaub, Kurt A., editors. Social struggles in Archaic Rome : New perspectives on the conflict of the orders. 2nd edition. Oxford : Blackwell, 2004. Rosenstein, Nathan S., and Robert Morstein - Marx, editors. A companion to the Roman Republic. Oxford : Blackwell, 2006. Scheidel, Walter, Richard P Saller, and Ian Morris. The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco - Roman World. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007. Smith, Christopher J. Early Rome and Latium : Economy and society c. 1000 -- 500 BC. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1996. Stewart, Roberta. Public office in early Rome : Ritual procedure and political practice. Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 1998. Woolf, Greg. Rome : An Empire 's Story. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012. Wyke, Maria. Projecting the Past : Ancient Rome, Cinema, and History. New York : Routledge, 1997. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome resources for students from the Courtenay Middle School Library. History of ancient Rome OpenCourseWare from the University of Notre Dame providing free resources including lectures, discussion questions, assignments, and exams. 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century civil wars Decline and fall of the Western Empire Military history Roman and Byzantine emperors Principate 27 BC -- 235 AD Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus ( Pescennius Niger ) ( Clodius Albinus ) Septimius Severus Caracalla with Geta Macrinus with Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235 -- 284 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I and Gordian II Pupienus and Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab with Philip II Decius with Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus with Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus with Saloninus and Valerian II Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus and Numerian Gallic Emperors : Postumus ( Laelianus ) Marius Victorinus ( Domitianus II ) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as Caesar Dominate 284 -- 395 Diocletian ( whole empire ) Diocletian ( East ) and Maximian ( West ) Diocletian ( East ) and Maximian ( West ) with Galerius ( East ) and Constantius Chlorus ( West ) as Caesares Galerius ( East ) and Constantius Chlorus ( West ) with Severus ( West ) and Maximinus II ( East ) as Caesares Galerius ( East ) and Severus ( West ) with Constantine the Great ( West ) and Maximinus II ( East ) as Caesares Galerius ( East ) and Maxentius ( West ) with Constantine the Great ( West ) and Maximinus II ( East ) as Caesares Galerius ( East ) and Licinius I ( West ) with Constantine the Great ( West ) and Maximinus II ( East ) as Caesares Maxentius ( alone ) Licinius I ( West ) and Maximinus II ( East ) with Constantine the Great ( Self - proclaimed Augustus ) and Valerius Valens Licinius I ( East ) and Constantine the Great ( West ) with Licinius II, Constantine II, and Crispus as Caesares ( Martinian ) Constantine the Great ( whole empire ) with son Crispus as Caesar Constantine II Constans I Magnentius with Decentius as Caesar Constantius II with Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian the Great Valens Gratian Valentinian II Magnus Maximus with Victor Theodosius the Great ( Eugenius ) Western Empire 395 -- 480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus with Palladius Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern / Byzantine Empire 395 -- 1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Pulcheria Marcian Leo I the Thracian Leo II Zeno ( first reign ) Basiliscus with son Marcus as co-emperor Zeno ( second reign ) Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian the Great Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II ( first reign ) Leontios Tiberios III Justinian II ( second reign ) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios - Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë ( first reign ) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë ( first reign ) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë ( second reign ) with Theodora Zoë ( second reign ) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos ( sole emperor ) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos ( chosen by the Senate ) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204 -- 1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Eastern / Byzantine Empire 1261 -- 1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a co-emperor, while underlining indicates an usurper. Former states of the Italian Peninsula, Savoy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Malta Etruscan civilization Lega dei popoli Etruscan dodecapolis Ancient Rome Roman Kingdom ( 753 BC -- 509 BC ) Roman Republic ( 509 BC -- 27 BC ) Roman Italy Sicilia ( 241 BC -- 476 AD ) Corsica and Sardinia ( 238 BC -- 455 AD ) Roman Empire ( 27 BC -- 395 AD ) Praetorian prefecture of Italy ( 337 AD -- 584 AD ) Western Roman Empire ( 285 AD -- 476 AD ) Medieval and Early Modern states Early Italian Kingdom ( 476 - 774 ) Odoacer 's rule ( 476 -- 493 ) Ostrogothic rule ( 493 -- 553 ) Vandal rule ( 435 -- 534 ) Lombard rule ( 568 -- 774 ) Duchy of Benevento Duchy of Friuli Duchy of Ivrea Duchy of Spoleto Duchy of Tridentum Byzantine Empire ( 584 - 751 ) Exarchate of Ravenna ( 584 -- 751 ) Duchy of Rome ( 533 -- 751 ) Duchy of Perugia ( 554 -- 752 ) Duchy of the Pentapolis ( 554 -- 752 ) Exarchate of Africa ( 585 -- 698 ) Holy Roman Empire and Kingdom of Italy ( 774 / 962 -- 1806 ), Papal States and other independent states March of Ancona Patria del Friuli ( Patriarchate of Aquileia ) Bishopric of Bressanone Duchy of Castro Commune of Rome Marquisate of Ceva Republic of Cospaia Duchy of Ferrara Marquisate of Finale City of Fiume and its District Republic of Florence Duchy of Florence March of Friuli Republic of Genoa Republic of Noli County of Gorizia Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca County of Guastalla Duchy of Guastalla March of Istria Duchy of Ivrea Republic of Lucca Margravate of Mantua Duchy of Mantua Duchy of Massa and Carrara Duchy of Merania Duchy of Milan Duchy of Mirandola Duchy of Modena and Reggio March of Montferrat Duchy of Montferrat Duchy of Parma Principality of Piombino Republic of Pisa Duchy of Reggio Marquisate of Saluzzo Republic of Siena Duchy of Spoleto Terra Sancti Benedicti Bishopric of Trento March of Turin March of Tuscany Grand Duchy of Tuscany County of Tirolo Duchy of Urbino March of Verona Imperial Free City of Trieste Republic of Venice ( 697 -- 1797 ) Dogado Stato da Màr Domini di Terraferma Southern Italy ( 774 -- 1139 ) Byzantine Duchy of Amalfi Duchy of Gaeta Catepanate of Italy Longobardia Theme of Lucania Duchy of Naples Theme of Sicily and Byzantine Sicily Duchy of Sorrento Arab Emirate of Bari Emirate of Sicily Lombard Principality of Benevento Principality of Salerno Principality of Capua Norman County of Apulia and Calabria County of Aversa County of Sicily Principality of Taranto Sardinia and Corsica ( 9th century -- 1420 ) Giudicati Agugliastra Arborea Cagliari Gallura Logudoro Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica Corsican Republic ( 1755 -- 1769 ) Kingdom of Sicily ( 1130 -- 1816 ) and Kingdom of Naples ( 1282 -- 1816 ) State of the Presidi Duke of San Donato Duchy of Sora Principality of Taranto Neapolitan Republic ( 1647 -- 1648 ) Malta under the Order Gozo Malta Protectorate Crown Colony of Malta Savoy and the Savoyard state ( from the 10th century ) Savoy County of Savoy County of Geneva Duchy of Chablais Barony of Faucigny Piedmont Duchy of Aosta County of Nice Savoyard Sicily ( 1713 - 1720 ) Savoyard Sardinia ( 1720 - 1861 ) French Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras ( 1792 -- 1815 ) Republics Alba Ancona Bergamo Bologna Brescia Cisalpinia Cispadania Crema Italy Liguria Lucca Parthenopea Piedmont Rome Subalpinia Tiberinia Transpadania Monarchies Benevento Etruria Guastalla Italy Lucca and Piombino Massa and Carrara Naples Pontecorvo Tuscany Elba Corsica Post-Napoleonic states Duchy of Genoa ( 1815 -- 1848 ) Duchy of Lucca ( 1815 -- 1847 ) Duchy of Massa and Carrara ( 1814 -- 1829 ) Duchy of Modena and Reggio ( 1814 -- 1859 ) Duchy of Parma ( 1814 -- 1859 ) Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( 1815 -- 1859 ) Italian United Provinces ( 1831 ) Provisional Government of Milan ( 1848 ) Republic of San Marco ( 1848 -- 1849 ) Roman Republic ( 1849 ) United Provinces of Central Italy ( 1859 -- 1860 ) Kingdom of Sardinia ( 1814 -- 1860 ) Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( 1816 -- 1861 ) Kingdom of Lombardy -- Venetia ( 1815 -- 1866 ) Papal States ( 1814 -- 1870 ) Post-unification Kingdom of Italy ( 1861 -- 1946 ) Italian Empire ( 1869 -- 1946 ) Free State of Fiume ( 1920 -- 1924 ) Italian Social Republic ( 1943 -- 1945 ) Free Territory of Trieste ( 1947 - 1954 ) GND : 4076778 - 4 LCCN : n79039816 NDL : 00569665 VIAF : 244992873 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Rome&oldid=842524690 '' Categories : Former countries in Europe States and territories established in the 8th century BC Ancient Rome Civilizations Ancient history States and territories disestablished in the 5th century 8th - century BC establishments in Italy 5th - century disestablishments Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Articles needing cleanup from January 2017 All pages needing cleanup Articles with incomplete book citations from January 2017 Use dmy dates from July 2014 Former country articles requiring maintenance Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters Articles needing additional references from September 2014 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles needing clarification from June 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2016 All articles with specifically marked weasel - 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Question: where did the civilisation of ancient rome begin
Answer: an Italic settlement in the Italian peninsula, dating from the 8th century BC, that grew into the city of Rome