Roman Empire The Roman Empire , ruled from the city of Rome , was a large empire that existed in Europe . ( TV : " The Romans " ) It encompassed cities like Pompeii ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) and Byzantium ( PROSE : " Byzantium ! " ) and had a presence as far as Aberdeen ( TV : " The Eaters of Light " ) and Gelligaer , where a Roman fort was situated . ( TV : " End of Days " ) Society . The Romans spoke Latin . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) The sesterce was a coin currency used by the Roman Empire . ( TV : " The Romans " ) In Roman culture , bisexuality was seen as " ordinary " , and to only like one sex was seen by some as surprising . ( TV : " The Eaters of Light " ) Merchant s in Roman times traded in items including amphora s and marble . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) According to Doland , the Empire was built on slave labour . ( TV : " Terror of the Vervoids " ) Romans ate ants in honey and dormice . They were known to drink wine . Olive oil could be used for medicinal purposes . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) Military . According to the Doctor , the Romans were the greatest military machine in the history of the universe , beating even the Dalek s . ( TV : " The Pandorica Opens " ) The Roman army fought in large groups , known as legions . Centurion was a rank . They fought with sword s and shield s . ( TV : " The Eaters of Light " ) Soldiers in the Roman army were usually male . ( TV : " The Pandorica Opens " , " The Eaters of Light " ) Religion . The Roman Empire existed during an age of superstition . Romans could therefore be easily deceived or frightened by more evolved species and futuristic technologies . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " , TV : " The Pandorica Opens " ) The Romans believed in numerous Gods and prophesies . Named Gods and Goddesses included Vulcan and Venus . There were also " Gods of commerce " and " Gods of the Underworld " . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) Romans worshipped Household God s , who they believed were " always watching " . In the Roman city of Pompeii , the tremors caused by Mount Vesuvius were believed by some to be the talk of the Gods , making their anger or approval known . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) The Sibylline Sisterhood were a cult of soothsayers active during the Roman Empire , who followed prophesises set down in the Sibylline Oracles . Augur s were paid by cities to tell the future . Haruspices were also known for seeing the truth . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) Architecture and engineering . When the Romans took over places , they built roads . These roads were famous for being straight . ( PROSE : " The Way Through the Woods " ) Roman buildings included temple s , thermopolium s and amphitheatre s . Hypocaust s or wood - burning furnaces were used for heating . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) History . One of Scaroth ' s temporal splinters posed as a high - ranking Roman . ( TV : " City of Death " ) After several failed attempts , the Roman Empire succeeded in conquering Britain in 43 . The Roman occupation of Britain lasted until the early 5th century . ( AUDIO : " The Wrath of the Iceni " ) One of these failed attempts was led by Julius Caesar in 55 BC . ( AUDIO : " Living History " ) In 73 , a Roman legion under Flavius Silva laid siege to Masada , which was being held by rebel Jew s . The siege ended when the Jews killed each other . The First Doctor and his companions were involved in those events . ( PROSE : " The Last Days " ) When the town of Pompeii was taken over by the Pyrovile in August 79 , they planned to build an empire that would " topple Rome itself " . ( TV : " The Fires of Pompeii " ) The Doctor visited southern Europe many times during the Roman period . At one point , the First Doctor met Emperor Nero and inadvertently gave him the idea to burn Rome . ( TV : " The Romans " ) He was also alleged to have met , among other human s native to this time , Hannibal ( TV : " Robot " ) and Cleopatra . ( TV : " The Masque of Mandragora " , " The Girl in the Fireplace " ) He was also familiar with the accounts of Julius Caesar and Tacitus of the customs of the Celt s and their Druid priests , noting them as among the few historically reliable ones , but with no great detail . ( TV : " The Stones of Blood " ) He also visited Judea during the reign of Augustus , and beat Mary and Joseph to the last room in a local inn . ( TV : " Voyage of the Damned " ) In 111 , Trajan was the Roman Emperor . ( COMIC : " The Long Con " ) A group of Roman soldiers were kidnapped by the War Lord s for their war games . ( TV : " The War Games " ) The Doctor and Rory Williams were both present , but not together , during the fall of Rome . ( TV : " Day of the Moon " ) River Song ' s World . In an alternate timeline where all of history occurred at the same time , parts of the Roman Empire were integrated into Earth in 2011 . Winston Churchill was the Holy Roman Emperor , with the title of Caesar . A Senate existed , and Roman soldiers were seen . ( TV : " The Wedding of River Song " ) Legacy . In an alternate history , the Lone Centurion was a legend emanating in Great Britain from the time of the Roman Empire . ( TV : " The Big Bang " ) From the graffiti in Pompeii , historian s were able to learn a great deal about Roman life . ( AUDIO : " The Unwinding World " ) By the year 12005 , a New Roman Empire flourished . ( TV : " The End of the World " )