The Roman Empire: 44 BC-476 AD
The Roman Empire began in 44 BC with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The main difference between the Republic and the Empire was the system of government – a senate versus an emperor.
Originally the Roman Empire was split into a eastern half (ruled by Mark Antony – Caesar’s friend – and his lover Cleopatra) and a western half (ruled by Gaius Octavius, Caesar’s nephew and heir as of 45 BC). They fought for control of the Roman Empire with Octavius coming out on top at the naval battle of Actium in 31 BC. Afterwards, Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Octavius (eventually changing his name to "Caesar Augustus") ruled very capably. During the rest of the Roman Empire the Romans emerged as a ‘tolerant, cosmopolitan people’ allowing many different religions and people. (Though the love of their empire often led them to be cruel.) They came to view themselves as the inheritors of Greek culture--most educated Romans spoke both Latin and Greek. They were artists and authors and philosophers but all in the style of the Greeks – the only true Roman originality could be seen in engineering and law.
However, despite the wonderful people, the rulers were incompetent leaders (except for 100 AD – 200 AD which was the Age of Antonines, featuring highly capable emperors). Power and wealth became concentrated increasingly in the wealthy creating a massive gap between rich and poor. Before the emperor Constantine came to power the empire was split in four parts. Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople, and made the official religion Christianity.
After him, the Roman Empire was increasingly harassed by Germanic tribes and in the end it fell. No one is entirely sure what led to the fall of the Roman Empire, though some speculate it could have been one of many factors including: lead in drinking water, a lifestyle too luxurious, religious problems, incapable and generally bad emperors, the ever-widening gap between poor and wealthy, the exhausting dependence on military power, and citizens who no longer felt any responsibility for Rome.
The Battle of Actium
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Images courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/Castro%2C_Battle_of_Actium.jpg