Ancient Rome Inside Out

Ancient Rome Inside Out — page 3
Who Were the ancient Romans Italy is a country in southern Europe It was home to the Romans one of the greatest ancient civilizations Roman civilization spread over 500 years to include an empire that stretched east to western Asia and west to Britain Rise of the Romans Many different groups of people lived in Italy before the Romans One group the Latins lived in villages in central Italy on seven low hills close to the Tiber River These farming villages developed into the city of Rome whose citizens were known as Romans At first a rival group from the north called the Etruscans ruled over the city In 509 B C E the Roman people overthrew the Etruscan kings and took control Rome then became a republic It was ruled by the Senate which was a political body or council made up of leading Roman citizens As the Romans grew in power they took over all of Italy They then spread out from Italy and took control of nearby lands Emperors and the Roman Empire In 27 B C E during a time of confusion and crisis Roman noble and general Octavian seized power The Senate gave him the name Augustus which means deeply respected one The Roman people called him imperator from which we get the word emperor Augustus was the first Roman emperor He expanded the Roman Empire Many emperors about 80 in 500 years followed after Augustus’s death and the empire reached the height of its power in 117 C E The Romans controlled much of western and central Europe the Middle East and North Africa About 50 million people came under Roman control Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire The borders of the vast empire were not secure and enemy tribes invaded In 284 C E the Romans divided the empire into Western and Eastern parts hoping smaller parts would be easier to control But in 410 C E Rome was taken over by an invading tribe and in 476 C E the last emperor of the Western Empire abdicated 4