Definition
Ancient Rome is the civilization that, according to tradition, began as a small settlement on the Tiber River around 753 BCE and over roughly a thousand years became the largest and most influential power of the ancient Mediterranean. Its history is usually divided into three phases: an early monarchy, the Republic, and the Empire.
Rome's reach eventually stretched from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Near East. More lasting than its borders, however, was its legacy in law, language, engineering, and government, which shaped the cultures of Europe and beyond long after the city itself declined.
Why it matters
How it works
Rome expanded through a combination of military strength and political flexibility. Conquered peoples were often offered a path to Roman citizenship rather than being simply ruled, which gave them a stake in the system and reduced the cost of holding territory. Roads and a common legal framework then knit those territories together.
That same scale eventually became a burden. Defending long frontiers, paying large armies, and governing distant provinces strained Rome's resources, and the western half of the empire fragmented in the fifth century CE.