1. The Roman EmpirePeoples and Empires By: Maria Vassilakis History 140 Professor Arguello August 13, 2011

2. The Roman Empire Rome had been the basis of for “inspiration, imagery, and the vocabulary for all European empires.” Rome had begun in the 7th century B.C. By 272 B.C., the Romans had taken over the Italian peninsula. The first man to take rule over Rome, was Julius Caesar. And in 44 B.C., he was stabbed to death.

3. Empire continued… Caesar’s successor was Octavian in 27 B.C. He took the title of Augustus as “emperor.” The Roman empire became a world in which the people were versatile, in which a bishop would be a soldier or local governors would also be a soldier. Roman law became the law of all Europe. “The history of Roman law begins with the Twelve Tables, composed between 415 and 450 B.C.”

4. Roman Law Roman jurists organized their laws in series of codes, known as the Justinian. Roman law was civil law, which governs the people. “Roman law also introduced into Europe the crucial idea that warfare itself had to be regulated that all wars could be fought simply for personal gain.” The Romans also introduced distinctions between just and unjust wars.

5. people of Rome Emperor Constantine Niccolo Machiavelli had observed that Rome “ruined her neighbors and created a world empire freeing strangers to her privileges and honors.” In 212 A.D., the emperor Caracalla granted citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. “The rulers of Rome created an ideology aimed at world domination.” In 312, emperor Constantine defeated his rival Maxentius. The Byzantine Empire lasted until 1453, and had evolved into a Greek-speaking culture.