Worlds History

Running Head : The Roman Empire

The Provinces of Rome

During the Height of the Roman Empire

Introduction

Rome was not built in a day ' This has been such a common saying that it has become somewhat of a clichy . Yet , there is merit in the saying . This will give an insight to the extent of the Roman Empire when Rome was at its pinnacle

The Roman Empire

For a civilization to be considered as an empire , one of the key characteristics it must possess is how far from the capital

does its way of living is manifested and its jurisdiction in terms of government extends (Moore , 2005 . For 200 years , the Roman Empire had stretched its territories through conquest and alliances (Manas , 2002 , making it one of the greatest empires in the Old World , and perhaps throughout history

The expansion began when apart from the threats from surrounding cities , the Romans believed that it was the wish of the gods that they extend their way of living throughout the known world . In 509 BC began to improve its army and increased its defenses . After a series of wars , it finally conquered the cities in what is now modern day Northern and Central Italy . Soon after , cities in the southern side of Italy began to form alliances with Rome and agreed to be governed by it Thus , Rome became the sole ruler of Italy ( Chronology of the Provincial Expansion of the Roman Empire ' 2003 Manas , 2002

Not long after this , the Punic Wars which took place between 264 and 146 BC . Rome emerged the victor and as a result , it took control of Carthage , Sicily , Gaul , which is composed of modern day France , parts of Belgium , Western Germany and Northern Italy , Sardinia and Corsica Eventually , Greece also succumbed to the Romans and Rome had control of the entire Mediterranean . Rome had now grown from a republic to an empire ( Gallia ' 2003 Manas , 2002 The Punic Wars and Expansion 2003

For its own glory , Rome continued to expand its area . Under the rule of Emperor Claudius , Rome conquered Brittania known today as Great Britain . Emperor Trajan further expanded the empire to include Eastern Europe and the Persian Gulf . This brought the entire span of the Roman Empire to measure about 2 .2 million square miles or 5 .7 million square kilometers and covered cities and provinces located in what is today Italy , France , Switzerland , France , Germany , United Kingdom , Spain Portugal , the Netherlands , Belgium , Morocco , Alegria , Tunisia , Libya Egypt , Israel , Jordan , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Turkey , Armenia , Iraq , Iran Bulgaria , Romania , Hungary , Yugoslavia and Austria . This meant that at the height of the Roman Empire , there were as much as 120 million citizens under the empire ( Map of Europe ' 2008 Maps of Europe n . d Middle East ' 2001 Nelson , 2001 On the Frontiers ' 2006 Provinces of the Roman Empire ' 2003 Roman Empire ' 2003

Rome eventually fell in the year AD 476 . However , the Roman Empire continued on despite the decline of Rome itself...