page_title: History of the Mediterranean region
section_title: Roman Mare Nostrum
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Mediterranean region / Classical antiquity / Roman Mare Nostrum
caption_attribution_description: Map of the Roman Empire ca. 400 AD, showing the administrative division into dioceses and provinces, as well as the major cities. The demarcation between Eastern and Western Empires is noted in red.
context_page_description: The Mediterranean Sea was the central superhighway of transport, trade and cultural exchange between diverse peoples encompassing three continents: Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe. The history of the cultures and people of the Mediterranean Basin is important for understanding the origin and development of the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Canaanite, Phoenician, Hebrew, Carthaginian, Greek, Persian, Thracian, Etruscan, Iberian, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian, Arab, Berber, Ottoman, Christian and Islamic cultures.
context_section_description: When Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Mediterranean sea began to be called Mare Nostrum (Latin: "Our Sea") by the Romans. Their empire was centered on this sea and all the area was full of commerce and naval development. For the first time in history, an entire sea (the Mediterranean) was free of piracy. For several centuries, the Mediterranean was a "Roman Lake", surrounded on all sides by the empire.
  The empire began to crumble, however, in the fifth century and Rome collapsed after 476 CE.
caption: The Mare nostrum, surrounded by Roman territory in c. 400 AD.
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