The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was one of the most well known empires in the history of human civilization on Earth. There are many good things that came from or can be rooted back to the Roman Empire. Capital cities included Rome, Milan, and Constantinople. The imperial spoken language was Latin, and the religious views were paganism, which later turned to Christianity. The main form of government was an autocracy; meaning one single ruler led it. The Roman Empire fell at the hands of the people, and couldn't stand the test of time. Augustus was the most important figure in the Roman Empire, leading the empire for many years. The cost of conquering the highly successful Roman Empire most definitely justified the benefits received from the empire.

Before there was the Roman Empire, there was the Roman Republic. This was led by the perpetual dictator, Julius Caesar. The transition from Republic to Empire was smooth, with Augustus taking the reigns as commander-in-chief. The Roman Empire succeeded what had been a 500-year run as the Roman Republic. The becoming of the Empire was a result of several conflicts.

The Roman Empire was best known for its most important ruler, Romulus Augustus. He was a strict, yet fair ruler. He was an autocrat, meaning he was the one single ruler of the entire Roman Empire. Augustus implemented Pax Romana, meaning the Roman Peace, which was a long period of peace and involved little to no forceful expansion. This policy was imitated by his successors, and when it ended, it was considered the beginning of the downfall of the Roman Empire.

Many consider the death of Marcus Aurelius to be the downfall and eventual end of the Roman Empire, because this was the end of Pax Romana. Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius, went insane with paranoia after an assassination attempt. The entire empire was broken into two halves, the Western and the Eastern. This was a sign of things to come. The Western Empire fell, and shortly after