When was the Roman empire founded? 
 The Roman empire was founded after the Republican period in 27BC and went through 1453AD. Some sources claim that the Roman Empire ended in 476AD with the fall of Rome via the Barbarian leader, Odoacer, however this is not true. The Roman empire continued on through the Eastern half of the Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire is commonly referred to as the Byzantines. However, the Byzantines is a modern creation of referring to this Eastern Empire. In fact, all of the way through 1453AD, the people of the Eastern Roman Empire referred to themselves as Romans.