Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, and was ruled by emperors. From the accession of Caesar Augustus as the first Roman emperor to the military anarchy of the 3rd century, it was a Principate with Italia as the metropole of its provinces and the city of Rome as its sole capital. The Empire was later ruled by multiple emperors who shared control over the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. The city of Rome remained the nominal capital of both parts until AD 476 when the imperial insignia were sent to Constantinople following the capture of the Western capital of Ravenna by the Germanic barbarians. The adoption of Christianity as the state church of the Roman Empire in AD 380 and the fall of the Western Roman Empire to Germanic kings conventionally marks the end of classical antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages.

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Nomads thrived in Greece after the collapse of the Roman Empire

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Plagues that shook the Roman Empire linked to cold, dry periods

Cold, dry snaps accompanied three plagues that struck the Roman Empire

Tracing the Roman Empire’s Rise and Fall Through Ancient Balkan Genomes

Unraveling the Roman Empire’s Legacy: Balkan Genomes Illuminate Ancient Migrations

Ancient DNA analysis reveals how the rise and fall of the Roman Empire shifted populations in the Balkans

Declassified spy satellite images reveal 400 Roman Empire forts in the Middle East

Severe Droughts Triggered ‘Barbarian Invasion’ Leading To The Downfall Of The Roman Empire

Drought encouraged Attila's Huns to attack the Roman empire, tree rings suggest

Why did the Roman Empire split in two?

The Hierarchy of the 1,200-Year-Long Roman Empire

The Roman Empire: Rulers, expansion and fall

'Box seats' found at Roman Empire-era arena in Turkey

Amateur freedivers find gold treasure dating to the fall of the Roman Empire

Did lead poisoning cause downfall of Roman Empire? The jury is still out - A new video from the American Chemical Society revisits longstanding academic debate