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The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced many modern legal systems. Roman history can be divided into the following periods:
Definition. The Roman Empire, at its height (c. 117), was the most extensive political and social structure in western civilization. Building upon the foundation laid by the Roman Republic, the empire became the largest and most powerful political and military entity in the world up to its time and expanded steadily until its fall, in the west, in 476.
- Joshua J. Mark
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One of their most impressive contributions is in the separation of the government's branches – executive, legislative, judiciary – so that no one branch held exclusive power and each provided a check and balance to the others. The Romans had deposed their king in 509 BCE and wanted to protect their new form of government from the kind of tyranny th...
The concept that everyone was subject to the law equally no matter their social class is also a Roman innovation as is trial by jury, civil rights, personal wills, and business corporations. The Twelve Tables addressed specifics of the law as well as penalties. The Twelve Tables were expanded under the reign of Justinian I (527-565 CE) into 50 book...
Engineering, sciences, art, and architecture follow this same pattern and many of the commonplace items taken for granted today were either invented or developed by the Romans. The Roman road is the most famous example, but the Romans also made concrete – which most people think is a 19th-century CE development – which was fast-drying and much stro...
The Roman development of the amphitheater is an excellent example of one of Rome's most important policies: borrowing and improving on the concepts and inventions of other cultures, which they would absorb into their own. Sometimes they encountered a people they simply could not deal with – like the Picts of Scotland – and so they would build a wal...
Ancient Rome had many of the same public services as municipalities in the present day. The first fire brigade was formed under the general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus (l. c. 115-53 BCE) whose motivation was far from altruistic. His firefighters would instantly respond to a burning house or building but could do nothing until Crassus neg...
Governmental control of trade is another Roman innovation. Governments, theoretically at least, exercise control of trade to protect domestic interests and the quality of goods, and this concept was developed by the Romans. Goods were stamped with seals marking where they were made, the port they left from and arrived to, and – depending on the typ...
Rome developed or invented many of the most popular foods enjoyed by modern diners such as pasta dishes, pizza (in an early form), cheese dishes, fish, and especially, any meal accompanied by a sauce. The Romans were fond of sauces, especially one called garum, a fermented fish paste, eaten with almost anything. Roman cuisine is better known than t...
People of every class, however, admired dogs whether these were raised to guard a home or business, for hunting, racing, or as a pet. Dogs were quite popular among the Romans and the writer Columella (l. 4-70 CE), in fact, claims that a dog is the first purchase one should make after buying a home or establishing a business as it will serve to best...
Although it was not the first professional standing army in the world (that honor belongs to the earlier Assyrian Empire), the Roman military was the most efficient and powerful of its time and the Romans developed many aspects of military life still in use today. Basic training was mandated in order to instill discipline as well as skill in battle...
The Romans spoke Latin and this language spread to regions conquered by Rome in the same way that Roman architecture and overall culture did. The Latin language is the basis for the Romance Languages of French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian, and many Latin words or phrases remain in use today or form the basis for English words. “Schoo...
- Joshua J. Mark
May 18, 2024 · Roman Empire, the ancient empire, centred on the city of Rome, that was established in 27 bce following the demise of the Roman Republic and continuing to the final eclipse of the empire of the West in the 5th century ce. A brief treatment of the Roman Empire follows.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mar 22, 2018 · The Roman Empire, at its height (c. 117), was the most extensive political and social structure in western civilization. Building upon the foundation laid by the Roman Republic, the empire became the largest and most powerful political and military entity in the world up to its time and expanded steadily until its fall, in the west, in 476.
- Joshua J. Mark
- The Roman Empire began in 27 BCE and, in the West, ended in 476 CE; in the East, it ended in 1453 CE.
- Augustus Caesar was the first emperor of Rome, reigning 27 BCE-14 CE.
- The Five Good Emperors of Rome were: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius who reigned between 96-180 CE.
- The Roman Empire in the West declined and fell in 476 CE for many reasons including: political instability, religious/cultural instability, governm...
Territorial development of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire (Animated map) The history of the Roman Empire covers the history of ancient Rome from the fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC until the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in AD 476 in the West, and the Fall of Constantinople in the East in AD 1453.
His most famous and recognized work is called the Roman History, which consists of 80 books. This work is dominated by the change from a Roman republic to a monarchy of emperors, which Dio Cassius believed was the only way Rome could have a stable government. Today, the only surviving portion of the Roman History is the part from 69 BC to 46 AD.
