Civilization · Classical antiquity · Roman Empire

Roman Empire

27 BCE–476 CE

The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean world for five centuries. At its height under Trajan it stretched from Britain to Egypt. The western half fell in 476 CE; the eastern half lived on as Byzantium.

Facts

Founded: 27 BCE, Augustus became the first emperor.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Roman Empire
Ended: 476 CE, the last western emperor deposed; the east survived to 1453.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Roman Empire
Heartland: The Mediterranean, capital Rome, later Constantinople in the east.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Roman Empire
Major rulers: Augustus, the founder; Trajan, at the greatest extent; Constantine, who made Christianity legal; Justinian, who reconquered the west.; Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Roman Empire

Images

The Colosseum in Rome, the great arena of the emperors. (Wikimedia Commons)

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