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In modern historiography, ancient Rome encompasses the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC, the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), Roman Republic (509–27 BC), Roman Empire (27 BC– 395 AD), and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD.

Ancient Rome began as an Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian Peninsula. The settlement grew into the city and polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and military strength. It eventually controlled the Italian Peninsula, assimilated the Greek culture of southern Italy (Magna Grecia) and the Etruscan culture, becoming a dominant power in the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe. It was among the largest empires in the ancient world, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants, roughly 20% of the world's population at the time. It covered around 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square miles) at its height in AD 117.

The Roman state evolved from an elective monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic semi-elective military dictatorship during the Empire. Through conquest, cultural, and linguistic assimilation, at its height it controlled the North African coast, Egypt, Southern Europe, and most of Western Europe, the Balkans, Crimea, and much of the Middle East, including Anatolia, Levant, and parts of Mesopotamia and Arabia. It is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world.

Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern language, religion, society, technology, law, politics, government, warfare, art, literature, architecture, and engineering. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. It achieved impressive technological and architectural feats, such as the empire-wide construction of aqueducts and roads, as well as more grandiose monuments and facilities. (Full article...)

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The Roman–Persian Wars, also known as the Roman–Iranian Wars, were a series of conflicts between states of the Greco-Roman world and two successive Iranian empires: the Parthian and the Sasanian. Battles between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic began in 54 BC; wars began under the late Republic, and continued through the Roman (later Eastern Roman (Byzantine)) and Sasanian empires. A plethora of vassal kingdoms and allied nomadic nations in the form of buffer states and proxies also played a role. The wars were ended by the early Muslim conquests, which led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and huge territorial losses for the Byzantine Empire, shortly after the end of the last war between them.

Although warfare between the Romans and Persians continued over seven centuries, the frontier, aside from shifts in the north, remained largely stable. A game of tug of war ensued: towns, fortifications, and provinces were continually sacked, captured, destroyed, and traded. Neither side had the logistical strength or manpower to maintain such lengthy campaigns far from their borders, and thus neither could advance too far without risking stretching its frontiers too thin. Both sides did make conquests beyond the border, but in time the balance was almost always restored. Although initially different in military tactics, the armies of both sides gradually adopted from each other and by the second half of the 6th century, they were similar and evenly matched. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various ancient Rome-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Funerary urn of the Villanovan culture showing a hut with a door (from Founding of Rome)
Image 2The Temple of Saturn, a religious monument that housed the treasury in ancient Rome (from Roman Empire)
Image 3The Zliten mosaic, from a dining room in present-day Libya, depicts a series of arena scenes: from top, musicians; gladiators; beast fighters; and convicts condemned to the beasts (from Roman Empire)
Image 4Cinerary urn for the freedman Tiberius Claudius Chryseros and two women, probably his wife and daughter (from Roman Empire)
Image 5Reconstructed peristyle garden based on the House of the Vettii (from Roman Empire)
Image 6So-called "Bikini Girls" mosaic from the Villa del Casale, Roman Sicily, 4th century (from Roman Empire)
Image 7Fresco of a seated woman from Stabiae, 1st century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 8A multigenerational banquet depicted on a wall painting from Pompeii (1st century AD) (from Roman Empire)
Image 9Aquae Sulis in Bath, England: architectural features above the level of the pillar bases are a later reconstruction. (from Roman Empire)
Image 10The Pont du Gard aqueduct, which crosses the river Gardon in southern France, is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. (from Roman Empire)
Image 11The Barbarian Invasions consisted of the movement of (mainly) ancient Germanic peoples into Roman territory. Historically, this event marked the transition between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages. (from Roman Empire)
Image 12The Tabula Peutingeriana (Latin for "The Peutinger Map") an Itinerarium, often assumed to be based on the Roman cursus publicus (from Roman Empire)
Image 13A green Roman glass cup unearthed from an Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD) tomb in Guangxi, China (from Roman Empire)
Image 14Circus Maximus, a mass entertainment venue located in Rome (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 15The Roman empire under Hadrian (ruled 117–138) showing the location of the Roman legions deployed in 125 AD (from Roman Empire)
Image 16Relief from the Arch of Titus in Rome depicting a menorah and other spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem carried in Roman triumph. (from Roman Empire)
Image 17Plato's Academy mosaic from Pompeii (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 18Eggs, thrushes, napkin, and vessels (wall painting from the House of Julia Felix, Pompeii) (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 19Recreation of a deer hunt inspired by hunting scenes represented in Roman art. (from Roman Empire)
Image 20Fragment of a sarcophagus depicting Gordian III and senators (3rd century) (from Roman Empire)
Image 21Romulus and Remus on the House of the She-wolf at the Grand Place of Brussels (from Founding of Rome)
Image 22Workers at a cloth-processing shop, in a painting from the fullonica of Veranius Hypsaeus in Pompeii (from Roman Empire)
Image 23Wall painting (1st century AD) from Pompeii depicting a multigenerational banquet (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 24Marble relief of Mithras slaying the bull (2nd century, Louvre-Lens); Mithraism was among the most widespread mystery religions of the Roman Empire. (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 25Winged Victory, ancient Roman fresco of the Neronian era from Pompeii (from Roman Empire)
Image 26Roman portraiture fresco of a young man with a papyrus scroll, from Herculaneum, 1st century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 27A victor in his four-horse chariot (from Roman Empire)
Image 28A late Republican banquet scene in a fresco from Herculaneum, Italy, c. 50 BC; the woman wears a transparent silk gown while the man to the left raises a rhyton drinking vessel (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 29Mosaic depicting a theatrical troupe preparing for a performance (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 30On the Ludovisi sarcophagus (from Roman Empire)
Image 31The Roman Empire by 476, noting western and eastern divisions (from Roman Empire)
Image 32Forum of Gerasa (Jerash in present-day Jordan), with columns marking a covered walkway (stoa) for vendor stalls, and a semicircular space for public speaking (from Roman Empire)
Image 33Reconstruction of a wax writing tablet (from Roman Empire)
Image 34Aeneas' fictional route, according to Virgil's Aeneid. The epic poem was written in the early first century BC. (from Founding of Rome)
Image 35Sestertius issued under Hadrian circa AD 134–138 (from Roman Empire)
Image 36The foundations of a hut on the Palatine hill are believed to correspond to those of the Hut of Romulus, a hut which the Romans believed that Romulus had inhabited and which they preserved into late antiquity. (from Founding of Rome)
Image 37Brescia Casket, an ivory box with Biblical imagery (late 4th century) (from Roman Empire)
Image 38The emperor Marcus Aurelius sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter (from Roman Empire)
Image 39Slave holding writing tablets for his master (relief from a 4th-century sarcophagus) (from Roman Empire)
Image 40Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Academy of Plato (from Roman Empire)
Image 41The Colosseum in Rome (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 42Gold earrings with gemstones, 3rd century (from Roman Empire)
Image 43Toga-clad statue, restored with the head of the emperor Nerva (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 44Bread stall, from a Pompeiian wall painting (from Roman Empire)
Image 45The so-called Primavera of Stabiae, perhaps the goddess Flora (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 46Capitoline Wolf, sculpture of the she-wolf feeding the twins Romulus and Remus, the most famous image associated with the founding of Rome. According to Livy, it was erected in 296 BC. (from Founding of Rome)
Image 47Still life on a 2nd-century Roman mosaic (from Roman Empire)
Image 48The Triumph of Neptune floor mosaic from Africa Proconsularis (present-day Tunisia) (from Roman Empire)
Image 49Augustus of Prima Porta (from Roman Empire)
Image 50Glass cage cup from the Rhineland, 4th century (from Roman Empire)
Image 51A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, overlooking Crag Lough (from Roman Empire)
Image 52This funerary stele from the 3rd century is among the earliest Christian inscriptions, written in both Greek and Latin: the abbreviation D.M. at the top refers to the Di Manes, the traditional Roman spirits of the dead, but accompanies Christian fish symbolism. (from Roman Empire)
Image 53The Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Colosseum (from Roman Empire)
Image 54Pride in literacy was displayed through emblems of reading and writing, as in this portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife (c. 20 AD) (from Roman Empire)
Image 55Condemned man attacked by a leopard in the arena (3rd-century mosaic from Tunisia) (from Roman Empire)
Image 56Silver cup, from the Boscoreale Treasure (early 1st century AD) (from Roman Empire)
Image 57Cityscape from the Villa Boscoreale (60s AD) (from Roman Empire)
Image 58Trio of musicians playing an aulos, cymbala, and tympanum (mosaic from Pompeii) (from Roman Empire)
Image 59A teacher with two students, as a third arrives with his loculus, a writing case (from Roman Empire)
Image 60Detail of Romulus and Remus suckling the she-wolf from the Capitoline Wolf. The twins at the bottom are not original. (from Founding of Rome)
Image 61Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161) wearing a toga (Hermitage Museum) (from Roman Empire)
Image 62Eighteenth century painting by Pompeo Batoni depicting Aeneas fleeing from Troy. Aeneas carries his father. (from Founding of Rome)
Image 63Musicians playing a Roman tuba, a water organ (hydraulis), and a pair of cornua, detail from the Zliten mosaic, 2nd century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 64Dressing of a priestess or bride, Roman fresco from Herculaneum, Italy (30–40 AD) (from Roman Empire)
Image 65Landscape resulting from the ruina montium mining technique at Las Médulas, Spain, one of the most important gold mines in the Roman Empire (from Roman Empire)
Image 66Statue in Constanța, Romania (the ancient colony Tomis), commemorating Ovid's exile (from Roman Empire)
Image 67Solidus issued under Constantine II, and on the reverse Victoria, one of the last deities to appear on Roman coins, gradually transforming into an angel under Christian rule (from Roman Empire)
Image 68Finely decorated Gallo-Roman terra sigillata bowl (from Roman Empire)
Image 69A Roman priest, his head ritually covered with a fold of his toga, extends a patera in a gesture of libation (2nd–3rd century) (from Roman Empire)
Image 70Fragmentary military diploma from Carnuntum; Latin was the language of the military throughout the Empire (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 71Togate statue in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo (from Roman Empire)
Image 72The Pantheon in Rome, a Roman temple originally built under Augustus and later rebuilt under Hadrian in the 2nd century, later converted into a Catholic church in the 7th century (from Roman Empire)
Image 73A bust of Cicero, Capitoline Museums, Rome (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 74Public toilets (latrinae) from Ostia Antica (from Roman Empire)
Image 75All-male theatrical troupe preparing for a masked performance, on a mosaic from the House of the Tragic Poet (from Roman Empire)
Image 76Model of archaic Rome. The image faces northeast, with the Capitoline hill on left and the Palatine on right. The city would not have looked like this prior to the seventh century BC. (from Founding of Rome)
Image 77A fresco from Herculaneum depicting Heracles and Achelous from Greco-Roman mythology, 1st century CE (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 78A fresco portrait of a man holding a papyrus roll, Pompeii, Italy, 1st century AD (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 79Head of Constantine the Great, part of a colossal statue. Bronze, 4th century, Musei Capitolini, Rome. (from Culture of ancient Rome)
Image 80Relief panel from Trajan's Column in Rome, showing the building of a fort and the reception of a Dacian embassy (from Roman Empire)

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Antoninianus of Etruscus as emperor. Legend: imp c q her etr mes decio aug.

Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius (died June 251), known simply as Herennius Etruscus (lit. Herennius the Etruscan), was briefly Roman emperor in 251, ruling jointly under his father Decius. His father was proclaimed emperor by his troops in September 249 while in Pannonia and Moesia, in opposition to Emperor Philip the Arab. Decius defeated Philip in battle, and was then proclaimed emperor by the Roman Senate. Herennius Etruscus was elevated to Caesar in 250, then further raised to Augustus in May 251. When the Goths, under Cniva, invaded the Danubian provinces, Herennius Etruscus was sent with a vanguard, followed by the main body of Roman troops, led by Decius. They ambushed Cniva at the Battle of Nicopolis ad Istrum in 250, routing him, before being ambushed and routed themselves at the Battle of Beroe. Herennius Etruscus was killed in the Battle of Abritus the following year, alongside his father. After the deaths of both emperors, Trebonianus Gallus, who had been governor of Moesia, was elected emperor by the remaining Roman forces. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...That according to Suetonius, Caligula "often sent for men whom he had secretly killed, as though they were still alive, and remarked offhandedly a few days later that they must have committed suicide"?
...That Mark Antony, who avenged Julius Caesar, was killed by Julius Caesar's grand nephew (Octavian) Augustus Caesar?
...That Sulla's grave read No friend ever surpassed him in kindness, and no enemy in ill-doing?
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Trajan's Column (Italian: Colonna Traiana) is a monument in Rome which commemorates the Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars in 101-106 AD.

Photo credit: Radomil

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The following WikiProjects are related to Ancient Rome:

WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome: The project regularly invites its members to collaborate on article development.
WikiProject Rome: Includes stylistic help and lists of articles requiring attention or expansion.
WikiProject Military history: Highly-active WikiProject with regular competitions to improve military history articles.

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Quotes

“

[...] Caesar is a god in his own city. Outstanding in war or peace, it was not so much his wars that ended in great victories, or his actions at home, or his swiftly won fame, that set him among the stars, a fiery comet, as his descendant. There is no greater achievement among Caesar's actions than that he stood father to our emperor. Is it a greater thing to have conquered the sea-going Britons; to have led his victorious ships up the seven-mouthed flood of the papyrus-bearing Nile; to have brought the rebellious Numidians, under Juba of Cinyps, and Pontus, swollen with the name of Mithridates, under the people of Quirinus; to have earned many triumphs and celebrated few; than to have sponsored such a man, with whom, as ruler of all, you gods have richly favoured the human race? Therefore, in order for the emperor not to have been born of mortal seed, Caesar needed to be made a god. [...]

Augustus, his 'son', will ensure that he ascends to heaven as a god, and is worshipped in the temples. Augustus, as heir to his name, will carry the burden placed upon him alone, and will have us with him, in battle, as the most courageous avenger of his father's murder. Under his command, the conquered walls of besieged Mutina will sue for peace; Pharsalia will know him; Macedonian Philippi twice flow with blood; and the one who holds Pompey's great name, will be defeated in Sicilian waters; and a Roman general's Egyptian consort, trusting, to her cost, in their marriage, will fall, her threat that our Capitol would bow to her city of Canopus, proved vain.

Why enumerate foreign countries or the nations living on either ocean shore? Wherever earth contains habitable land, it will be his: and even the sea will serve him!

”

— Ovid, Metamorphoses, XV, 745–842

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